Happy Spring!
I know we’re posting this a month into the season already but this gorgeous weather has got us remembering some wonderful events and places the Ecostage got to during March. One in particular being the GMAST Spring Equinox event!
One of our co-directors, Kira, popped over to Manchester to visit Hulme Community Garden Centre on the day of the Spring Equinox to join in and help out at a celebration of arts and nature.
Who are GMAST?
The Greater Manchester Arts Sustainability Team (GMAST) are a network of arts and cultural organisations who have come together to understand how they can contribute to the delivery of the city’s Climate Change Strategy. Together, they aim to reduce environmental impact of the cultural and creative community by working collectively to tackle the climate and ecological crisis.
About the day
On March 20th, at exactly 2:46pm the Spring Culture Climate Commons began. It was a day full of thought-provoking conversations, workshopping ideas, and exploring what a future Manchester could look like. Over 100 people turned up to celebrate all that’s being done and find new ways get involved.
Across different stations, there were mapping activites, invitations for the community to get involved, seed planting, poetry, crafts, and music all in a lovely community-led venue. Delicious vegan food was provided by Open Kitchen. Then as the evening settled in, the campfire was lit, wine was passed around and Keke Thompson gave us a beautiful selection of her poetry and song.
It was a wonderful event that shows just how many are truly invested in helping out the planet and their community. There was a lot of openness from the GMAST team as they set themselves up for a new chapter, inviting individuals and groups to be a part of that idea collective. I expect there are many more things to come from the team as the network expands, especially with the ever-growing collection of networks within the North of England. We look forward to seeing what’s next!
