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Thursday, 5th Febuary
Opening Exhibition (10am - Late)
Join us for the opening day of the Food For Thought Festival by Nottz Garden Project!
Kick off a vibrant celebration of community and creativity with immersive installations, hands-on workshops, The Community Kitchen, interactive spaces for all ages and more.
Enjoy small plates from local groups' diverse community alongside film screenings, storytelling, and the Picturing Food Justice photography pop-up exhibition. Explore thought-provoking art, spark conversations about food, identity, and growth, and discover what helps a community garden thrive.
Whether you’re curious, hungry, or ready to get involved, our opening day offers ideas, inspiration, and hands-on experiences that nourish both body and community.
Come share, taste, and connect because food is where community begins!
What's On:
WELCOME, INTRO & Q&A: 11am - 12pm
Begin the day with an introduction to Food For Thought and Picturing Food Justice, sharing the journey of how this festival grew from community conversations, creative collaborations, and the everyday realities of food inequality in Nottingham. Micha and the exhibiting artists will discuss the ideas behind the work - how art, lived experience, and community growing inspired by a space where food, culture, identity, and justice meet. A chance to meet the artists, ask questions, and understand how collective action and local stories shaped this celebration of food and community.
PICTURING FOOD JUSTICE Photography Exhibition: 11am - 8pm
Picturing Food Justice is a participatory photography exhibition exploring food justice in Nottingham’s NG7 area. It highlights the right to healthy food and the structural barriers that limit access, connecting issues of racial, economic, and social justice to the wider food system.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT INSTALLATION: 11am - 8pm
Created by Laura Decorum, this is an evocative installation exploring how food shapes identity and community. Through layered visuals, it invites reflection on nourishment, culture, memory, and the connections that help stories and gardens take root and grow.
SEEDS OF CHANGE workshop: 11am - 4pm, Drop-in
This workshop invites participants to interact with a miniature landscape comparing plastic lawns, grass, and wildflowers, exploring their impact on biodiversity, pesticide use, and the history of lawns. Through hands-on engagement, it encourages reflection on growth, renewal, and the power of small, thoughtful actions.
Can We Dig It workshop: 11am - 4pm, Drop-in
This workshop invites you into the hushed world of school gardens, a space where the soft cadence of children’s voices mingles with the rustle of leaves and the quiet pulse of growing things. It’s an intimate soundscape of curiosity, care, and the rhythms of nature unfolding
We Can Grow Food workshop: 11am - 4pm, Drop-in
This workshop explores simple, everyday ways things can take root. Using found containers and improvised structures, the activity invites participants to notice how growth can happen in unexpected places and in many forms.
Community TEA Launch & Tasting: 2pm - 4pm
Join Micha and TK for the launch of Nottz Garden Project’s community-grown, non-for-profit herbal tea blend. This session invites participants to explore how plants, traditions, and shared stories come together in a cup of tea. Together we’ll imagine what the Hyson Green blend could be and discuss which herbs and culturally meaningful plants we might grow in our community’s herbal tea garden.
Local Food Voices: 5pm - 7pm
Facilitated by Heya, Angolan Women’s Voices, and Yello Yard, join us for a panel discussion that highlights how food shapes and strengthens their work, creativity, and community life in Nottingham. Showcasing small plates that represent them and stories of how hyson green shaped their journey. Hosted by Jowayne - Yello Yards founder.
The Community Kitchen – Nottz Garden Project Takeover: 5pm - 7pm
Join Salaam Shalom Kitchen and savour the essence of Hyson Green’s culinary culture. Delight in small plates and treats from local cooks and artisans, ignite conversations, share memories, and forge new connections. Come taste, mingle, and be part of the neighbourhood’s unfolding story. Book your ticket here.
Film Screening: Ron Finley- Urban Fruit: 6:30pm - 7:30pm
This film celebrates the visionary “Gangsta Gardener” (Ron Finley), whose bold approach to growing food transformed his LA community. After the film, share your own wishes for Nottingham’s urban fruit trees and imagine a greener, more edible city! Spaces are limited and tickets must be booked seperatley- book your ticket here.
Friday, 13 February
Workshop: “What Is Food?” (11:00–12:30)
Short Description:
An interactive workshop exploring how food expresses identity, memory, culture, and belonging through discussion, tasting, smelling, and visual reflection. Led by Laura Decorum, the session guides participants through a creative exploration of what food means to us—inviting everyone to consider, “If you were a food, what would you be?”
Urban Walk – Hyson Green (14:00– 16:00)
Short Description:
Join us on a walk through Hyson green - Start at NAE, the soon to be community boulevard garden, over to gamble street, rise as we explore local food gardens and discuss what NG7 residents would like to grow in NGP gardens and NGP origins at Himmah food back. Then our walk leads us to the primary Grown by The Gaia Foundation, We Feed The UK is a national storytelling campaign pairing award-winning photographers and poets with some of the UK’s most inspiring regenerative food producers. https://www.weareprimary.org/projects-archive/we-feed-the-uk-the-gaia-foundation
Saturday, 14 February
Workshop: “Closing the Green Gap” (11:00–12:30)
Short Description:
Participants investigate food justice, environmental inequality, and local green access through group discussions, mapping activities, and shared lived experiences. Facilitated by Nottingham Trent Uni Students and Himmah.
Cooking Demo – Heya (14:00–15:30)
Short Description:
A warm, family-friendly cooking demonstration led by Heya, celebrating Arab flavours and food traditions. The session shares cultural stories, supports community connection, and offers simple take-home recipes inspired by dishes that bring comfort, identity, and belonging to women newly settling in Nottingham.
Thursday, 19 February
Workshop: “Migration & Meals” (11:00–12:30)
Short Description:
A reflective session exploring migration stories through food, cultural identity, and how access to familiar ingredients shapes belonging and wellbeing. Led by the local Angolan Women Voices group.
Urban Walk – Berridge Road (14:00–15:30)
Short Description:
A community-led walk highlighting food heritage, local businesses, urban challenges, and shared reflections on cultural food access in daily life. Led by local NGP gardener and Hyson Green Community Action group.
Friday, 20 February
Workshop: “Closing the Green Gap – Mapping Access” (11:00–12:30)Short Description:
A practical mapping workshop analysing how local green spaces are used, who can access them, and what community-led solutions could close the gap. How do we engage with the green spaces around us? Are there enough? Led by NGP local gardener.
Cooking Workshop – Yello Yard (14:00–15:30)
Short Description:
Experience a live cooking demonstration, showcasing Jamaican traditional recipes, flavours, and culinary stories. Attendees can take home recipe sheets and learn how food connects to culture, community, and heritage in Nottingham.
Thursday, 26 February
Workshop: “Visioning” (11:00–12:30)
Short Description:
A creative workshop imagining future green spaces in Hyson Green using drawing, tracing, collage, and collaborative design.
Friday, 27 February
Workshop - Food for though: “Mapping the Future” (11:00–12:30)
Short Description:
Participants co-design utopian garden ideas, mapping future community spaces through mural-making, illustration, and collaborative planning with lead artist Laura Decorum.
Cooking Workshop – Salaam Shalom Kitchen (14:00–15:30)
Short Description:
A community-led cooking demonstration sharing traditional home-style recipes and cultural food traditions. Participants will explore how food connects to identity, community, and wellbeing, alongside discussions about food justice and supporting equitable access to healthy, culturally meaningful meals.
Sunday, 1 March
Guerrilla Gardening Day @ Boulevard Gardens (10:00–16:00)
Short Description:
Taking stock of the spoace whwere we will create a new community garden for Hyson Green.
Litter picking, clearing, painting and fixing. Food & Drink Provided (FREE)