2025 Speaker Programme
All of the talks are held upstairs. The lift is accessible from the side entrance. We work on a first-come, first-served basis.
All the talks are free, although we welcome donations from those who can afford it.
​
Hosting the Talks: Poet Kat Lyons

This year's host is writer, performer, facilitator, creative producer and Bristol City Poet 2022 - 2024 Kat Lyons. Kat will also be reciting some poems for us.
Kat also co-hosts the acclaimed programme of poetry and spoken word events, Raise The Bar.
1PM Diane Holness & Daniel Fox – Seed Saving as Plant Breeding for Resilient Crops

The Mendip Rainbow broad bean:
Creating a flock instead of a single variety, this plant breeding project breaks all the normal rules and encourages crossing to get diverse, resilient, locally adapted genetics over the years.
Take some seed away and take part yourself.

The Bristol blight-free tomato:
​
Diane has been on a mission to create a reliably blight-free tomato which will thrive in Bristol gardens.
Come and hear Diane talk about her journey, which she embarked on several years ago.
2 PM Becs Griffiths from Rhizome Community Herbal Clinic

At this time of year we can feel very depleted. We might experience this as getting more viruses and taking longer to recover from them. Or struggling with overwhelm and lack of sleep.
​
Come and learn how herbs can revitalise you, improving immunity, mood and energy. Hear how you can incorporate herbs into your life from the joy of growing them, harvesting wild plants and connecting with the land to making and taking herbal preparations.
​
Becs Griffiths is a community herbalist in East Bristol over the last 15 years. She runs Rhizome Community Herbal Clinic with her partner Annwen Jones. They also co-founded Herbalist without Borders Bristol and the Radical Herbal Gathering. Herbal education is a central part of their ethos, teaching hundreds of people about herbal self care.
3 PM Growing in the city, if you haven’t got a garden.

With increasing numbers of people in Bristol in precarious accommodation and more and more homes being built without gardens, as well as lengthy waiting lists for allotments, what options are available for those who want to get growing but don't have their own space to do so?
​
One possible answer is to help out at one of Bristol's many community-growing spaces. From community-supported agriculture schemes to community gardens that support wellbeing, Bristol has it all.
​
​Any questions you would like asked of the panel, please email us (bristolseedswap@gmail.com) us in advance with Community Panel in the title.
​
Joining us for this panel will be:
​
• Alex Goodman - Garden Folk CIC, Purple Patch
• Guy Manchester - ALIVEgardening
• Noah James Cooper - Edible Bristol
• Louise Matthews - Redcatch Community Garden
• Lucy Mitchell - Golden Hill Community Garden
​
​A
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Redcatch Community Garden: Redcatch Community Garden (RCG) was founded 7 years ago by local volunteers on an old bowling green in Redcatch Park, Knowle. As a Charitable Community Benefit Society, RCG enables community connection by offering inclusive opportunities to learn, share skills, and improve well-being. We promote socialising, reducing isolation, and empowering individuals to thrive, while creating a healthier, happier, and more cohesive community.
Find out more: redcatchcommunitygarden.com.
​
Edible Bristol: Edible Bristol is a community-led project that transforms urban spaces into edible gardens, promoting sustainable food production and biodiversity. By creating public growing spaces across the city, it encourages people to reconnect with nature and local food. Volunteers cultivate fruits, vegetables, and herbs, fostering education, community engagement, and food resilience. The initiative supports local food networks, inclusivity, and environmental sustainability, empowering Bristol’s residents to make the city greener, more self-sufficient, and food-secure.
​
Find out more: instagram.com/ediblebristol.
​
Golden Hill Community Garden: Golden Hill Community Garden is an inclusive and accessible garden founded on the principle that everyone benefits from having the opportunity to grow their own food. Their aim is to increase the skills and confidence of local people in growing food through volunteering and training. Just off Gloucester Rd, this wheelchair-accessible garden is busy every week year round with toddler groups, after-school clubs and the popular open access Wednesday volunteering days.
Find out more: thegoldenhillcommunitygarden.com.
Purple Patch: Garden Folk CIC grow flowers and salad at Purple Patch Market Garden. The garden holds a creative and collaborative community of artists, growers and local people working to cultivate connections with the land and seasons around us. Together we exist to nourish and sustain all folk as we sing, dance, garden, create and celebrate our way towards a more resilient future.
​
Find out more: gardenfolk.org.

ALIVEgardening: Alive Activities is a charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people. Our social and therapeutic horticulture team provides gardening for wellbeing activities in NHS settings, care homes, and community gardens/allotments across Bristol. We are one of the country's leading practitioners of dementia-friendly gardening.
​
Find out more: aliveactivities.org.
