English We are pleased to bring you regular webinars on topics important to our members.
We are currently offering a programme of webinars through our Future Farming Resilience project. For more information about these webinars and how to attend, please see this webpage.
Please see the schedule below for the rest of our upcoming webinars and details of how to book, and you will find recordings of past webinars below. If you have suggestions of webinars you would like to see, please email info@staging.landworkersalliance.org.uk
Solidarity with Migrant Landworkers in Europe
In this webinar, Catherine explores the working and environmental conditions of migrant agricultural workers in Souther Spain and Portugal. Through a presentation of photos, the webinar reveals the reality of an industrial food system based on the exploitation of the land and the people that work it.
How can we show solidarity with Brazil’s indigenous and landless communities?
In March 2022 our campaigns coordinator Jyoti Fernandes spent time with the powerful Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra (MST) in Brazil. Check out this webinar to learn more about her experience, and how we show solidarity from here in the UK.
UK Fibre Industry Unpicked
Could you grow your own clothes? Join Emma Hague, Rosie Bristow and Sofi Thanhauser to discuss our fibre industry and what the future holds.
DIY Peat Free Growing Media
As growers we need to move away from using peat for propagation, but buying in can be expensive and not always as reliable as it should be. An alternative is to make up our own mixes using 'recipes.' But what to include?
Growing the Staples
While many new entrants are being drawn into growing vegetables on a small, market garden scale, it is becoming evident that there is a shortage of field-scale growers. This webinar seeks to debunk the myths of field-scale production and show how it can be done regeneratively and agroecologically without huge investments.
UK flower growers and sustainable floristry
In this webinar we take a deep dive into the practices of these two UK based flower growers, understanding the context of the global flower industry and why change is so desperately needed. We are guided through the personal journey of our growers and hear about their working practices for growing seasonally and sustainably in the UK climate and UK market.
Composting workshop with Nicky Scott
Is your compost just never quite right? Then join the CSA Network for this masterclass with Nicky Scott, aimed at CSAs and small-scale agroecological farms, on all aspects of perfect compost, with everything you want to know about compost all in one place
Cultivating a healthy work culture on your farm
This session, through using Agricola Farm in Canada as a case study, we look at different systems for running a farm with a focus on co-operative structures, explore how do we create and practise empowering participatory dynamics where everyone involved in a farm, market garden or woodland is supported and enabled to flourish in their work, have a healthy farm-life balance and try and avoid burnout. We also look at practices and process for revolving responsibilities, peer-to-peer appraisals and managing conflict when it arises.
Soil: the heart and soul of organic growing
This session explores the reasons why soil is so important to organic production systems, what the threats are to soil-based production, and how we as growers can maximise the vitality of our soils for healthy crops, people and planet.
Making room for seed
Market gardeners and commercial growers hold a vital part in developing our seed sovereignty here in the UK both in terms of variety and quantity of locally-produced seed. However, one of the biggest concerns from commercial growers interested in producing seed - for their own use, to swap in seed circles, or to sell to seed suppliers as another income stream - is how to balance demands of a market garden with the unique challenges producing seed raises.
Four season growing
Four season growing is important for increasing turnover, spreading work throughout the year, retaining customers and increasing food sovereignty. Join Rita Oldenbourg and Adam Beer from Pitney Farm Market Garden, and Ashley Wheeler from Trill Farm Market Garden, and Dom van Marsh from Canalside CSA for an in depth teaching session exploring all the ins and outs of four season growing.
Agroforestry in organic horticulture
Agroforestry presents lots of opportunities for the organic grower: to grow new fruit and nut crops to sell; to produce wood and wood chip to use; to provide shelter and reduce flooding; and to provide habitat for other creatures.
The Seed Process
As market gardeners are busy bringing in their crops this time of year, so too are seed producers hard at work harvesting their seed. These seeds are destined to become next year's crops, but what happens to them between harvest and being deposited in packets to be shipped to growers throughout the UK?
Cultivating a healthy work culture on your farm
This session, through using Agricola Farm in Canada as a case study, we look at different systems for running a farm with a focus on co-operative structures, explore how do we create and practise empowering participatory dynamics where everyone involved in a farm, market garden or woodland is supported and enabled to flourish in their work, have a healthy farm-life balance and try and avoid burnout. We also look at practices and process for revolving responsibilities, peer-to-peer appraisals and managing conflict when it arises.
Making room for seed
Market gardeners and commercial growers hold a vital part in developing our seed sovereignty here in the UK both in terms of variety and quantity of locally-produced seed. However, one of the biggest concerns from commercial growers interested in producing seed - for their own use, to swap in seed circles, or to sell to seed suppliers as another income stream - is how to balance demands of a market garden with the unique challenges producing seed raises.
Direct & short supply chain marketing for growers – South West
An introduction to direct sales & short supply chain marketing options for new entrants and growers switching from centralised supply chains. Featuring Kate Collyns from Grown Green
Direct & short supply chain marketing for growers – South East
An introduction to direct sales & short supply chain marketing options for new entrants and growers switching from centralised supply chains. Featuring Iain Tolhurst from Tolhurst Organics
Direct & short supply chain marketing for growers – East
An introduction to direct sales & short supply chain marketing options for new entrants and growers switching from centralised supply chains. Featuring Helen Holmes from Waterland
Four Season Growing
Four season growing is important for increasing turnover, spreading work throughout the year, retaining customers and increasing food sovereignty. Join Rita Oldenbourg and Adam Beer from Pitney Farm Market Garden, and Ashley Wheeler from Trill Farm Market Garden, and Dom van Marsh from Canalside CSA for an in depth teaching session exploring all the ins and outs of four season growing.
Agroforestry in Organic Horticulture
Agroforestry presents lots of opportunities for the organic grower: to grow new fruit and nut crops to sell; to produce wood and wood chip to use; to provide shelter and reduce flooding; and to provide habitat for other creatures.
La Via Campesina; the history of the movement, how we organise and what we do
The Landworkers’ Alliance hosts Nettie Wiebe from the National Farmers Union of Canada and Paul Nicholson from the Basque farmers union Ehne Bizkia to explore the history, politics and governance of the grassroots international peasant and small scale farmers movement La Via Campesina (LVC).
Paul and Nettie take us back to the early days of the formation of LVC and tell the story of the birth of the movement and how it grew to be the inspiration and force that it is today. This is a history lesson that no farmer or food activist can afford to miss out on!
OUR SEEDS ARE OUR STORIES
Our seeds represent hard work, the growing season to come, and belief that we can build a better future. The journeys seeds take and the challenges they face are reflections of our own journeys and challenges. Join storytellers including Vivienne Sansour of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library and Kimberley Bell, founder of the UK Grain Lab, to learn more about the power and importance of seed in the UK and beyond.
Building an Antiracist Farming Movement with Leah Penniman
Some of our most cherished sustainable farming practices – from organic agriculture to the farm cooperative and the CSA – have roots in African wisdom. The Landworkers’ Alliance (LWA) and Land In Our Names (LION) hosted a webinar with Leah Penniman from Soul Fire Farm to explore how we build an antiracist farming movement in the UK.
Accessing land to start/expand farming
Accessing land for farming is one of the biggest challenges we face to start farming or expand farm businesses to make them more viable. In this webinar we hear about different experiences of gaining access to land for farming business and key lessons.
SEED SAVING IN THE UK; A VIRTUAL TOUR WITH KATE MCEVOY AND BEN GABEL OF REAL SEEDS
Join Kate McEvoy & Ben Gabel, co-founders of Real Seeds, for a virtual tour of their site in Pembrokeshire. Kate will give a guided ’tour’ in pictures of the Real Seeds land and seed crops, and talk about the challenges and joys of growing seed in west Wales, then Ben will take over and talk through the processing, cleaning and packing sides of being a seed company.
A conversation about small scale direct sales of meat
Selling direct to customers can have multiple advantages; you miss out the middleman and make more on the carcass, you get to make more of a connection with your consumers and enjoy the benefits of community spirit. Find out more from some of the leading experts around the country.
Setting up and running cooperative sales and purchasing models
This webinar is to explore setting up and running cooperative sales and purchasing models for farmers and food systems. How can different farms work together to run cooperative sales / purchasing systems? What are the benefits of these systems? How can we make them sustainable? How can we make them successful?
Race and farming in the UK
Dismantling systemic racism is central to the work of creating healthy, just food and farming systems for all. From the days of the colonial empire to the current industrial food system – so much of our food is produced with the sweat and blood of unpaid or vastly undervalued labour. Join us for a discussion about what actions we can take to address the issues.
Time to Change with Vandana Shiva
Join the LWA with world famous environmental activist Vandana Shiva, alongside panelists Jyoti Fernandes from the LWA and Vicki Hird from Sustain. To discuss the need for radical change in our food system. As landworkers, farmers and growers, we will look at what we need to disrupt, and what to build and strengthen to support a real transformation in our food system.
BUYING IN: THE WHYS, WHERES AND HOWS OF BUYING IN PRODUCE IN SCOTLAND
Hear from a panel operating in Scotland about the ins and outs of buying in and keeping supply chains local. Even with growers increasing production, many CSAs and box schemes are asking themselves how they’ll keep up supplying local food to their new customers and where it will come from, this season and beyond.
Extending the season and growing over winter in Scotland
Hear from Scottish growing experts and share tips on how to grow right through the year.
Join the CSA Network in an informal session in partnership with the OGA and LWA to hear about how Scottish growers extend the season and grow through the winter.
A LANDWORKERS GUIDE TO DIGITAL MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA
What precisely is digital marketing and why do you need to do it? Should you put your time into tweeting or get on the gram? Marketing and social media can be a bit of a minefield, but this webinar will take you through communications basics and help you work out where to put your energy
KEEPING FARMS SAFE IN LIGHT OF COVID-19
An open conversation to hear and share tips on what farms are doing and how they are interpreting government advice.
We will cover the various areas of farm work: on farm safety including people, tools and equipment, physical spaces; adapting for social distancing; produce including picking, packing and packaging and interaction with customers including collection, distribution and communication.
SELLING YOUR PRODUCE ONLINE
In these strange COVID-19 times, the importance of having a way to sell your produce online is even more important than before. However, it is a bit of a minefield out there and can greatly depend on whether you consider yourself tech-savvy or a digital luddite.
LWA Political Training
Producers need financial support from government, the Agriculture Bill is coming back to parliament, trade deal negotiations have started, the food system needs an overhaul to solve the multiple crises we face…so many things we need to talk to government about and we can’t do it alone!
Adapting your crop plan for year round growing
Spring is the key time in many farming calendars, especially for horticulture. In the coronavirus pandemic many growers have lost customers in the form of restaurants, cafes and similar outlets but have quickly adapted and gained business through direct sales. It is the perfect time of year to (quickly!) make some tweaks or changes to your crop plan.
So, you’re starting a CSA or box scheme in a pandemic
In the face of Covid-19, many growers and farmers are having to rapidly change their business models. This webinar was organised to offer advice and tips for those setting up a box or CSA scheme. Hosted by the CSA Network and panellists including Debbie Leigh, Nathan Richards, Pete Richardson and Amy Willoughby. More info on topics covered and panelists yma.
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