April Newsletter
Happy Spring Everyone!
April is widely regarded as a time of renewal and fresh starts—both astrologically and in cultural traditions around the world, such as Nowruz, which celebrates the arrival of spring and the season of rebirth.
We are lucky this month to have been so blessed with sunshine, blossoms, and lots of time with you all.
Have a little read to see what we’ve been up to and what other things we have in store this spring!
Updates
Collaboration with Coffee Afrik and Iftar
We are really excited to share that over the next year we will be collaborating with our friends & comrades Coffee Afrik. Thanks to the National Lottery community fund that Coffee Afrik was awarded, we are able to expand our eco-system and create an intentional programme of connection, joy and healing with nature.
On the 25th March, we kicked off our collaboration with a beautiful Iftar at Coffee Afrik’s Hackney hub, combining with “Fallow”, our series of events which focus on community care and reparations. The wonderful facilitator Maty Gueye, (@mahtys_design) led an upcycling workshop where attendees were able to repair their clothes and learn embroidery. People in our community were observing Ramadan and so we felt it was important to connect the event to a central theme of being intentional about consumption and our relationship with communities throughout the production cycle, including our siblings in the Global South and the earth that we extract materials from. The event was open to people of all faiths and it was such a beautiful cross pollination of ideas and community. The Hackney hub aunties fed our souls with delicious nutritious food and the night was filled with laughter, joy and connection!
Look out for more upcoming Coffee Afrik X LION events!
Soup and Sauna Social - LION’s Winter Gathering
We started the year with a seasonal gathering at Glengall Wharf Garden. We wanted to keep it simple, for once, and despite February's turbulent weather, we put our faith in clear skies. Remarkably, we managed to stay dry! Warmed by sauna, soup and a fire, we had a really special evening with everyone who came through.
Events
Other Cinemas - Colonialism and the Climate Crisis Weekender - April 11th to 13th
Announcing the Other Cinemas Weekender on Friday 11th - Sunday 13th of April 2025. “Building on our programming framework ‘Radical Films, Radical Forms’, the weekender will not only examine the connection between colonialism and the climate crisis, it will also seek to ask what film forms can help us move beyond the aesthetics of spectacular environmental disaster to something more attuned to the slow and complex violence currently unfurling across our communities and the power structures which enable them.”
Sam and Sumayyah from LION will run a speculative creative writing workshop on Saturday at 3pm!
Dandelion Garden Drop In Sessions
We returned to our Dandelion Garden at the end of February for our first drop-in of the year. Volunteers made signs and harvested greens both inside the polytunnel and in our outside beds. We were graced with sun after a very rainy February, and we have been blessed with good weather since. We hosted our second session on 21st March, sowing seeds for the upcoming season.
Our Dandelion coordinators; Sam, Marcus and Naomi are all excited for this year. We are really happy to have Naomi joining us more formally as a LION associate, and it’s about time, since she’s been working with us since 2022 and has been integral to our growth.
We have set all our spring dates for drop in sessions, which will happen every other Friday 3pm to 6:30pm. You can get involved by filling out this form here and joining our whatsapp group chat. The Dandelion Garden is BPOC only.
Opportunities and Events
Karaoke Against Borders - April 18th, Pelican House, 6pm to Midnight
Fag Revolt are hosting a fundraiser for two of their collective members to raise money for their visas. There will be a raffle, a karaoke, food and drinks - all the money going towards their visa application costs. Even if you can’t attend, you can donate and support their fundraising efforts by buying a ticket. Get your ticket here and spread the word!
Earth Tenders Volunteer Sessions
Our favourite crew Earth Tenders is re-starting their volunteer sessions at the beautiful Dulwich Vegetable Garden every Friday from 11-13. They are also hosting an open garden every Second Saturday of the month from 11am - 3pm. Find out more details in the event overview on their calendar.
Food In Our Hands Demonstration - April 26th
On April 26th 2025, farmers, growers, food system workers, activists and everyone who has a stake in the UK’s food system (yes – that includes you!) are called to march in London under the banner ‘Food In Our Hands’. The Landworkers Alliance, a union of farmers, growers, foresters and land-based workers, Defra's abrupt closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme and the ongoing struggle of food producers to make a decent living in dignified conditions, to rising inequality and continued attempts by the far-right to hijack the UK farming movement.
It’s now more important than ever for us to come together and build a broad and progressive coalition across the UK’s food, farming and land working sectors, and present our vision for a more just and equitable future.
Food, workshops, protest!
More info: https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/foodinourhands2025 / / instagram.com/foodinourhandsuk
Jobs
Sutton Community Farm - 3 Paid Positions
“We're recruiting for three new roles on our fabulous growing team! 🌱 These include:
a part-time, temporary contract from May - July as an Assistant Grower
a part-time, temporary contract until October 2025 as a Harvesting Assistant
a permanent contract for 3.5 hours/week as a Leader of Therapeutic Horticulture Sessions.”
Hackney Herbal - Nature Club Project Assistant
“We are looking for someone to join our team to work on our Nature Club programme. This is an assistant facilitation role and you will be working with the Lead Facilitator to design and deliver the sessions for an existing group of people. The role includes mentoring, support and training/’on the job’ learning. Dependent on progress, there is potential for the successful candidate to move into a lead facilitation role in the future.”
Read more about the role and apply here.
🐞🌸🐞🌸🐞🌸
As always, we root our local struggles firmly in what is happening to our peoples across the globe, as fascism, detentions, deportations and brutal attacks are on the rise. We are constant in our unwavering grief, rage and solidarity with Gaza, and reaffirm today and always our belief in a Free Palestine.
Love and Rage,
Land In Our Names