Updates
As always, our Food and Climate Action team have been busy across Glasgow delivering a range of events, walks, workshops and discussions. From facilitating storytelling sessions enabling folk in Blackhill to tell their own food stories to foraging walks and climate conversations our team has worked hard to provide fun, engaging and free events to communities across Glasgow.
Key events
A group visit with the St Paul's cooking group to Gartur Stitch Farm.
Continuing to support a new initiative, Zam'munda who formed following the Women in Urban Agroecology project (supported with match-funding from Solace Women's Aid).
Celebrating the launch of the ‘Sowing a Seed, Growing a World’ produced as part of the Women in Urban Agroecology project.
After attending this course I have come up with the idea of having my own farm in the future.
As I came to these sessions I feel more interest in having my own place to grow plants and animals. I would really like to know more about it and maybe one day I could have my own.
Improved my mental health (therapy). Improved my physical health. Improved my confidence. Improve my cultural knowledge.
Launching the fermentation club at Pollokshields Bowling Green, established in response group desire from a climate cafe conversation starter.
Developing a partnership for a storytelling project in Pollok with local artist Hannah Brackston, which secured funding from the Glasgow City Council Area Budget Fund.
Cross-team collaboration with Activators from different areas delivering activities they're experienced in with new groups e.g. foraging walks as part of the ongoing 'walk to grow' sessions and cookery workshops with discussion focusing on food waste, seasonal cooking and the use of herbs, delivered in partnership with Thriving Places, and Unity Social Kitchen.
Thanks for a wonderful day! So much fun. It was great to learn about what we can do right on our doorstep. Can’t wait to make Nettle tea! I can’t wait to taste the food we make next week
More media presence including a feature on a radio recording at Shettleston Community Growing Project and another in the Glasgow Evening Times.
Food and Climate Cafes
We have continued to deliver our Food Forums and Climate Cafes across the city to continue to to create spaces for conversations, connect activity, foster collaboration, and to move people on a journey towards taking climate action.
Ways we've done this:
Facilitating space for organisations to take part in in-depth discussion about the training the group needs to take their ideas forward; this has ranged from how to lead cookery sessions, food sustainability overview and a food systems explainer workshop.
Site visits to places such as The Wash House Garden to see first-hand how alternative food systems could function
Connecting up with the Good Food Movement team and our City Food Plan colleagues from Glasgow Centre for Population Health and and platforming the Glasgow City Food Plan as a mechanism for change.
Facilitating practical sessions on how to set up community growing spaces.
Inviting external speakers and facilitators such as Incredible Edible Neilston, Breathe and Many Studios.
One of our team commented that:
One of the take-aways from the discussion for me was, that the climate crisis is very much on everyone’s mind, but different people/ communities have different language and concepts to talk about... Talking about climate justice can still be alienating for some people but the cost-of-living crisis and people’s lived realities... are very much tied to the climate crisis and people do want to talk about [how] these things...are connected.
What We've Learnt
Food is a great leveller and brings people together! When delivering intercultural sessions, many people were describing foods new to many of us and also tasting the variety of foods provided, opening up discussion on how food tastes can be quite culturally specific.
We've reflected a lot these past few months on the potential benefits of drop-in sessions versus a more linear session plan. It can be better to have more flexibility than set times workshops for communities and/or individuals who have access needs i.e. translation or childcare needs.
We're able to more easily access community members that wouldn’t usually engage with our activities by working directly with existing groups and organisations.
By engaging with older people who have families, we hope that new skills such as cooking techniques, will be passed on to their children and grandchildren.
We'll be sharing our 'We've Beeeeen Busy' posts every quarter so check back in a couple of months so see what we've been working on over Autumn.
Food and Climate Action is a project delivered in partnership by 6 organisations in Glasgow and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.