Demo Day: New Covent Garden Market & Mission Kitchen
From the beginning, we’ve imagined how everyday, overlooked systems in the city could be opened up for climate learning.
We asked why museums are seen as the natural home for education, but markets or factories are not. Why shouldn’t these working places help people learn about climate action, too?
We’ve been doing exactly that and across all kinds of spaces in the past 2 years, but last week’s event was our biggest yet.
We spent Friday morning at New Covent Garden Market and Mission Kitchen, sharing the progress of this major regeneration project with changemakers from local government, industry, NGOs and other educators. It brought together many of the ideas we’ve been building towards.
A tour through a changing wholesale market
We walked the market with 15 thoughtful and committed changemakers. Together, we looked at how a site like this – currently undergoing a major redevelopment, can be a living example of what climate action skills look like in practice.
We discussed how collaboration, creativity, leadership and working with complexity are not soft skills; they are essential for anyone trying to lead change. These are at the heart of the First Hand skills curriculum.
Launching OPEN WORKS
Following the tour of the market, we shared our new database of 70+ open, place-based climate learning projects. What we’re showing is that this approach isn’t niche, it’s already happening in many places, and it works. We’ll be sharing more soon, but if you follow our LinkedIn posts, you’ll see examples being added all the time.
Reflections from our Community of Practice
Then we wanted to showcase our Community of Practice as an alternative learning format for climate action. We heard from Ioanna Rossi (Kingston Council), Paul Micklethwaite (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Dominique Phillips – three members of our 18-month learning venture. They shared what the experience had meant to them, both personally and in their work. It showed that learning formats like Communities of Practice and networks are needed if we want to widen access to climate action skills.
Why open, place-based learning matters
If we want to build climate capability across society, we need to think beyond formal training. Walking tours, open days, communities of practice and real-world challenges have to become more available as part of the way we can all learn.
Thank you to our hosts Tommy Leighton and Garin Auld at New Covent Garden Market, and Rose Wilk-Mullis at Mission Kitchen for opening their doors. And thank you to everyone who joined us. The generosity, care and energy in the room made this morning something special.
First Hand is a project by Forth Together CIC. It benefits from Horizon Europe and UKRI funding. Find out more about the LEVERS project – exploring the potential of local learning ecosystems as a tool for community climate engagement, learning and action.
