The Glossary’s definitive guide to Earth Day 2022 in London
In the wake of the recent damning reports about the global climate crisis, this year’s Earth Day feels more important than ever. First established in 1970 in America, the annual event brings together millions of people from all over the world in support of the environment, and highlights the urgent action we all need to take in order to save our planet. Here’s everything you need to know about Earth Day 2022, including the best environmentally-focused London events to attend.
What can we expect from this year’s Earth Day?
This year, the theme for Earth Day is ‘Invest in our Planet’, which is a call for governments, businesses and individuals to work together to create a better future. Earth Day’s organisers have suggested plenty of ways for people to get involved, from downloading their handy toolkit to supporting its campaigns for change in the fashion industry, implementing a global plastics treaty and protecting endangered species.
While Earth Day is a brilliant event for highlighting these key issues, it’s clear that changing our ways and living more sustainably is something we need to strive to do on a daily basis, all year round. There are myriad ways to do this, including shopping from zero waste stores, purchasing from B Corps brands and eating less meat, fish and dairy. You could also write to your local MP and donate to environmental charities, such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Rainforest Alliance.
There are also numerous ways that you can celebrate and mark the day in London and beyond, with brilliant events popping up across the capital, ranging from film screenings and exhibitions to in-depth talks with key figures in the world of sustainability. Read on to find out all about the best events taking place for Earth Day 2022.Â
Earth Day events at The Conduit
Friday 22 and Friday 29 April
As the capital’s leading members’ club for social change, it’s no surprise that The Conduit is dedicating several key events to Earth Day topics. On the day itself they’ll be hosting a screening of powerful documentary The Territory, in partnership with the Doc Society. Fresh from winning the Special Jury award and Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, the film portrays the struggle of an indigenous Brazilian community as they fight to defend their rainforest.Â
The following week, they’ll also be hosting an event centred around sea mining, offering a deep-dive into this crucial issue unfolding beneath the ocean’s surface. Presented and moderated by the BBC’s former Science Editor, David Shukman, the event is co-produced with Conduit Member Luke Douglas-Home of Clear Public Space and will take a closer look at one of the least-known environments on earth, the deep ocean.Â
Our Time on Earth at the Barbican
Thursday 5 May – Monday 29 August
As part of their wider Sustainability Manifesto, the Barbican is hosting a new exhibition, Our Time on Earth, to explore our incredible ecosystem and the millions of species that live within it. Offering up the opportunity to look at the natural world in different ways, the show will be an immersive exploration of radical ideas for the way we live.
The exhibition focuses on looking towards the future, exploring how technology could bring us closer to nature while also asking whether indigenous insights can reconnect us to our long-forgotten roots. With perspectives spanning art, science, activism and technology, it’s a must-visit for anyone looking for fresh perceptions and bold new ideas.Â
The Arks Of Gimokudan By Leeroy New at Somerset House
Until 26 April
To mark World Earth Day 2022, Filipino artist-designer Leeroy New – known for transforming plastic waste into arresting, brightly coloured works of art – presents a major new commission, The Arks of Gimokudan. His first large-scale work to be shown in the UK, the enormous installation features a trio of ships – set within Somerset House’s neoclassical courtyard, each one constructed of reused and recycled materials – addressing the global climate and ecological crisis. Elevated three metres above the ground, the arks appear to float, inviting visitors to imagine they are underwater themselves and peering up at these fantastical forms.Â
Upcycling workshop in Hackney
Wednesday 20 April
A big part of living more sustainably is buying less and looking after what you’ve got to make sure it lasts as long as possible. That’s the ethos behind this upcycling workshop held by sustainable fashion advocate and designer Lydia Bolton. Held at independent concept store Shrubs and Dubs in Hackney, the workshop will centre around how you can give an old item of clothing a new lease of life with decorative embroidery.
While there you’ll be taught how to do ‘couching’, a technique that utilises scrap fabric (with all materials provided), to breathe new life into torn jeans or cover up a mark on a much-loved tote bag. The idea is to bring along anything you’d like to revive with embroidery, from T-shirts and jackets to jeans and bags, and there’ll also be napkins on hand to decorate.Â
Arizona Muse and Skye Gyngell in conversation at Heckfield Place
Saturday 23 April
Food is farmed – and so is fashion. That is the unifying factor that brings these two inspiring women together for a talk drawing on chef and Heckfield Place culinary director Skye Gyngell’s experience as one of the country’s leading seasonal cooks and Arizona Muse’s work as the founder of Dirt, a foundation for the regeneration of the earth.Â
The duo will host a thought-provoking and impassioned discussion at the country haven – a short one-hour drive from the capital – exploring the importance of biodynamics on the supply chain of what we eat and what we wear. Ahead of the talk, the hotel’s restaurant Marle will offer a special three-course no-waste Earth Menu, which echoes Gyngell’s ground-breaking Scratch menu at her London restaurant, Spring, by celebrating ingredients that might otherwise have been overlooked or discarded.Â
