Roots and Shoots FlourishFest 2024 takes place in Lambeth on 19 May 2024

Roots and Shoots Community Open Days are much-loved annual events that local Lambeth people flock to and many others travel from further afield specifically to connect with nature in the city.

Celebrating the positive impact of urban gardening with creative and eco-friendly activities for all ages, Roots and Shoots FlourishFest takes place on Sunday 19 May 2024.

From pond dipping to butterfly sessions, beekeeper demonstrations and art workshops such as cyanotype printing and chalk painting, there is something for all ages to enjoy.

The event also features delicious food stalls, live music and inspiring storytelling and stories about transforming nature through community.

Talks on sustainable gardening practices in the Main Hall include RHS award-winning garden designer Jason Williams aka Cloud Gardener on balcony and small space gardening, solarpunk eco-futurist Kalpana Arias on guerrilla garden planning with a seed bomb making workshop and activists. Land on peat-free gardening and transforming green spaces with homemade compost.

Roots and Shoots director and founder Linda Phillips MBE AoH says,

“Despite pollution and rubble, Roots and Shoots thrives on London’s industrial estates, showing that through collective nurturing, anywhere can be transformed into a place of beauty.

We’re excited to invite our community to see what we’re up to and be inspired to transform their own gardens, balconies and community green spaces.”

Roots and Shoots has been at the heart of Lambeth life for more than 40 years, providing vocational training for inner-city youth and environmental education for the wider community.

From an abandoned and polluted former industrial site in 1982, it became a UNESCO award-winning charity with thriving wildlife and community gardens that provide a safe haven for both people and nature to flourish.

The transformative story of Roots and Shoots illustrates that any site, no matter how degraded, can be restored by communities into vibrant places – a refuge for people and wildlife alike. FlourishFest was born out of Roots and Shoots’ desire to share the joy an oasis like this can bring to the city and empower Londoners to transform their own green spaces.

More information

Roots and Shoots FlourishFest 2024
Sunday 19 May 2024, 11:00-16:00
Admission: 3 pounds for adults, 1 pound for children.
Tickets: cash and card at the gates
Roots and Shoots, Walnut Tree Walk, London, SE11 6DN
www.rootsandshoots.org.uk