Planet Positive is our hub of hands-on science and ideas, featuring the Making Waves workshop, Ideas on the Green talks tent and Messum’s ArtHub. Here you can talk to scientists, writers and activists, get stuck in with latest research on climate, sea life and the environment, try your hand at a new artform or witness live sculpture from nationally renowned artist Laurence Edwards.
What’s On
Ideas on the Green Talks Tent
An inter-stellar lineup of talks and conversations with creatives, authors, scientists and researchers.
Saturday 17 June
12:15-13:00 A Tidal Year with Freya Bromley
Freya reflects on her latest book, A Tidal Year, the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection and rewilding.
13:15-14:15 Floodlines: England Under Water with Ken Worpole & James Meek
Exploring the flood threat to the East of England with two of our keenest commentators, socially engaged writers James Meek and Ken Worpole.
14:30-15:30 Bison Rewilding with Piotr Cuber
Discover how these majestic creatures are being introduced in an experiment to increase the forest’s biodiversity and store more carbon in the soil. Presented by Natural History Museum.
15:45-16:45 Culture Declares Emergency: Art and The Ecological Crisis with Ackroyd & Harvey
A wide-ranging presentation by artist-activists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey.
17:00-18:00 The Sea as Whale as Art with Philip Hoare
Philip Hoare will be talking about oceans and art, from Herman Melville to Virginia Woolf, Derek Jarman and the mighty salt-sea mastodon, otherwise known as the whale.
18:15-19:15 Secrets of the Seaside with Dr Beth Williams
An audio-visual presentation taking you across the Norfolk countryside to uncover why the seaside smells the way it does, and what is really behind that smell.
Sunday 18 June
10:00-10:45 The Real Value of Corals and Seagrasses with Dr Michelle Devlin
Learn how these valuable ecosystems adapt to pressures of human activity and what we can do to protect them. Presented by Cefas.
11:15-12:00 From the Ground Up with Veronica Sekules & Kerenza Peacock
How do music and art enable us to respond to our changing environment and what positive actions can we take at grass roots levels?
12:30-13:15 Flood/Fire with Gideon Mendel Internationally renowned photographer Gideon Mendel talks about his Submerged Portraits and Portraits in Ashes sequences of portraits in his Drowning Worlds and Burning Worlds projects.
13:45-14:30 Landmarks: Mediating Sculpture in Public Space with Laurence Edwards
Acclaimed Suffolk sculptor Laurence Edward’s work speaks of a human relationship to the earth and to a sense of community.
15:00-16:00 Wish You Were Here: England on Sea with Travis Elborough
Ranging from Agatha Christie to the Prince Regent via Billy Butlin and Brighton Rock, Travis Elborough explores how a coastline peppered with quasi-Oriental piers makes us quintessentially English.
Planet Positive Tent
The main Planet Positive tent is where you’ll be able to meet the scientists at the forefront of modern research across the weekend. This includes the Natural History Museum, the Cefas Discovery Zone, UEA’s The Future of our Countryside exhibition and the Norwich Astronomical Society.
Making Waves Workshop
Join Norwich University of the Arts for a weekend of creative workshops, including chances to try you hand at Stop Motion Animation and an invitation to create your own sea monster!
Messums East Arthub
Watch acclaimed sculptor Laurence Edwards modelling portraits of people of the town, presented by Messums East Arthub, an exciting new gallery, studio and cafe space opening up in the Old Post Office on London Road North, Lowestoft.
