Climate Action Plan case study: Earth Day 2022 Appetite for Justice
- Written byClimate Emergency Network - Kate Keara Pelen, Professor Helen Storey and Abbi Fletcher
Creating collective experiences in the name of social and ecological justice
Earth Day has been celebrated since 1970 – a day when communities around the world have come together to honour the planet. Over half a century on, many of the environmental challenges we face have only become more urgent.
For Earth Day 2022, UAL’s Climate Emergency Network hosted Appetite for Justice, inviting staff, students, alumni and the public to “take a seat at the table”. A series of events in the name of social and ecological justice took over communal spaces at UAL sites across London.
The network collaborated with UAL’s catering supplier Baxter Storey, to devise a hot plant-based menu for all UAL canteens. With over 60 tables hosted by students, staff, alumni and guests, the network created spaces where ideas could be shared, justice defined and fought for. Collective action was planned, ritual and ceremony were welcomed. From bread-making to ‘zine workshops, seed planting, clothing swaps and sound installations, we gathered at these tables to devise, discuss, debate and digest ideas, nourishing and connecting with ourselves and each other along the way.
The tables demonstrated the vital role of culture and creativity in processing the challenge of the emergency we’re living within and how we might reimagine our lives.