Marking the closing of a five-month exhibition run, we invite you (and your saved and harvested seeds!) to a soul-nourishing day in Derby.
Three stories from our We Feed The UK collection have been welcoming Derby audiences into the fronds of food sovereignty this summer. Stories of women cultivating equality in Scotland; of soil-enriching creatures collaborating with a Northumberland farmer; of Black-led collectives sowing the seeds of their ancestors' recipes in London.
The shared wisdom and unfurling connections nurtured over the past months will be solidified through a series of celebrations and workshops flowing throughout the day.
QUAD events are free, drop in events with spaces available on a first come, first served basis. No booking required.
12:00 - 13:00
Short Film Showcase
The Box, QUAD
Seed Sovereignty by Erick Otieno and Hellen Songa
A documentary short, shot in Zimbabwe, telling a tale of incredible resistance against corporate seed ownership.
Dr Debal Deb and The Last Harvest by Jason Taylor and Dan Saladino for The Gaia Foundation
Meet Dr Debal Deb: the man saving thousands of endangered rice varieties, gifting future resilience to the food that half of humankind rely on.
13:00 - 14:00
Seed Guardian Panel
The Box, QUAD
In a warm discussion hosted by Gaia's North England Seed Sovereignty Coordinator, Catherine Howell, we'll hear the stories of four seed guardians sowing a food revolution in and around Derby.
Jamie Quince-Starkey
Founder of Down to Earth and Electric Daisy, two Derby-based community and nature regeneration initiatives seeding culture and joy in the city.
Neville Portas
Protagonist of our West Midlands We Feed The UK story, Nev started up No Diggity Gardens, inviting urban communities onto his organic allotment site and reconnecting them with Nature's healing potential.
Catrina Fenton
Head of Garden Organic's Heritage Seed Library, a unique ‘living library’ of heritage vegetables, which may hold the key to our future resilience against record temperatures and drought.
Bethan McIlroy
Bethan is part of the newly established Notts Seed Network, launched at our recent exhibition at Primary in Nottingham, which has brought renewed energy around seed sovereignty to the city.
14:00 - 16:00
Seed Processing & Creative Workshops
Studio 1, QUAD
From 14:30, come along to a Seed Processing drop-in session, hosted by Catherine Howell, Gaia's North England Seed Sovereignty Coordinator. Bring your saved and harvested seed to be processed and prepared for resowing next season. Learn how to use processing equipment and machinery from a seasoned seed custodian.
Any local, wondrous, exotic, or heirloom seeds and their stories are also warmly welcomed.
From 14:00 - hosted by QUAD's Mandy McKirdy, a colourful selection of creative workshops will run alongside the seed processing drop-in, inviting families to reflect on food sovereignty through art and poetry.
16:00 - 18:00
Music, Gardening, Seed Library Opening
Electric Daisy
Around the corner from QUAD lies Electric Daisy, a vibrant community hub where the day's festivities will continue. Enveloped by music and bubbling conversations, with fingers in the soil, there will be compost workshops to attend, borders to tend to, garden tours, and plenty of worms.
Leaving a lasting legacy of all that's germinated over the past five months, the evening is set to include the launch of a new Derby seed library. Growers, home gardeners, allotmenteers, and windowsill planters can freely gift, share, and exchange saved open-pollinated seed, each carrying forward the memory of how to flourish in Derby's soil.
We look forward to sharing this joyous Derby event with you.