#CitizenClimate: Dr JC Niala & ‘The Waiting List’

The post below is an article by Greenpeace UK. It’s part of Citizen Climate, an on-going series about global citizens taking action, big and small, for the sake of a healthier planet for us all. At the end of the article, Dr JC Niala mentions Green Arts Oxfordshire Network. You can read the article on the Greenpeace website here. You can learn more about ‘The Waiting List’ on the Fig Studio website here.

The citizen: Dr JC Niala is a writer, historian and artist, based in Oxfordshire. She combines her creative and public engagement work with research, and is regularly produced in Kenya, the UK and the US.

The action: Created and worked on ‘The Waiting List’, a creative project with Julia Uteras and Sam Skinner from fig.studio, in collaboration with Greenpeace UK (as part of their Bad Taste project). The initiative was a call to action, bringing to light the urgent need for easier access to allotments, a small piece of land that can be rented to grow fruits and vegetables in the UK, and the importance of these spaces in communities.

Allotments and the ability to grow our own food is the people’s subversive fight against the industrialised food system, and the damage it is wreaking on biodiversity, people and the planet. 

The collective created an immense artwork the size of an allotment plot (about the size of a doubles tennis court) that incorporated sheets of tissue paper sprinkled with brown mustard, white clover, sunflower, red fescue, and rye grass seeds. It also incorporated burnt Amazon rainforest ash Greenpeace had provided, as a symbol of the violence and destruction globally caused by the industrial food system. The seeds and ash spelt out the message “We, 174,183 on the waiting list demand allotments”.

The completed artwork was unfurled in front of the Department of Levelling Up in London before being dug into a Tesco-owned lot in Liverpool to reclaim it from the industrial food system – the seeds now germinate and flourish. 

How did you get your start in art and activism?

It began in 2008 with a transformative collaboration in Nairobi with a group called Youth Reform. We initiated an organic farm project on what had been a dumpsite in Kibera, often mislabelled as Africa’s largest slum. In order to get the site ready for growing on we used sunflowers for phytoremediation to address the soil’s high zinc levels. Witnessing the sunflowers bloom was a pivotal moment for me. It highlighted how beauty and art can be formidable allies in sparking change and engaging communities in environmental activism.

I read that your doctoral research is on allotments, can you tell us briefly what they are in the UK and why they are important?

Allotments in the UK are these wonderfully quaint yet vital plots of land, often rented for a small fee from local authorities, allotment associations or less commonly privately from individuals. They’re about the size of a doubles tennis court, intended to cultivate fruits and vegetables, designed to feed up to four people. Beyond providing sustainable, fresh produce, allotments are important for urban biodiversity, community, and as sanctuaries for the promotion of mental and physical health. They’re educational hubs too, places where people of the city can learn about sustainable gardening and the environment.

What was the significance of the living artwork, in collaboration with Greenpeace UK, that was performed in October this year? What does the artwork hope to highlight?

‘The Waiting List,’ our living artwork with Greenpeace UK, was a stark representation of the challenges in accessing allotments in Britain. It underscored the distressing reality of the lengthy wait times – sometimes up to 15 years – which contradicts the statutory right to an allotment in Britain. This artwork was a call to action, bringing to light the urgent need for easier access to allotments and the importance of these spaces in our communities.

What are some possible solutions to the lack of allotment spaces? What can people do to demand for these spaces?

Addressing the allotment scarcity requires proactive measures from both local councils and the central government. Councils can repurpose unused land or acquire new land to develop more allotments. They need funding from the government to do this. And to enact this change, residents can leverage Section 23 of the 1908 Allotment Act by gathering six individuals from different households to formally request allotment spaces from their local council. We’ve seen successful examples of this during my research. Our artwork at Westminster was a symbolic act of making these demands on behalf of those on the waiting list.

What are some other resources for people living in urban spaces who don’t have allotments but want to grow their own food?

For those in urban settings without access to allotments, websites like Verticalveg.org.uk are excellent resources. Founded by Mark Ridsdill Smith, who himself was once on a long allotment waiting list, it offers creative solutions for container gardening, enabling city dwellers to grow their own food in limited spaces.

What role can art play in bolstering climate advocacy and action? What can artists do to help fight climate change?

Art has a unique power to make the daunting topic of climate change approachable and engaging. It’s about packaging solutions in a way that captivates and inspires, transforming fear and helplessness into positive action. As artists, leading by example in our own practices is vital. Being part of networks like Green Arts Oxfordshire not only fosters a supportive community but also amplifies our collective impact in driving meaningful change.

What change would you most like to see in the world?

My vision is for a world where everyone has access to nutritious, locally-sourced, sustainable, and organic food. Food that nourishes not just our bodies, but also the planet, without exacting a heavy environmental cost. This is about transforming our food systems into ones that are equitable, sustainable, and respectful of our Earth.

About the author

Tan Lee Kuen

Tan Lee Kuen is a Content Editor for Greenpeace International, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Human Story Theatre: Community Driven Touring

Oxfordshire based theatre company Human Story Theatre is improving accessibility to the arts and reducing emissions associated with audience travel at the same time, with their community focused touring strategy.

Instead of asking audiences to travel to their productions, Human Story Theatres goes to them, reaching new audiences by performing in local community centres, libraries and theatres. 

Human Story Theatre harnesses the power of original theatrical performance and writing to raise awareness of health and social care issues affecting communities everywhere. Each performance acts as a catalyst to unite communities, signpost to local resources and partners, strengthen relationships with support networks and engage audiences in partner-led post-show Q&As, discussions and debates.

Behind the scenes, they’ve been embedding sustainable practices into productions, working with a small cast of local talent to minimise the travel emissions of artists etc., and sourcing sets and costumes second hand, borrowed and out of skips! They often use stripped back performance spaces with natural light, as well as recycled sets and furniture. These practices are not only lower carbon, but also lower cost, guided by the principles set out in the award-winning Theatre Green Book.

Carbon Literacy Training

Artistic Director & Co-Founder Amy Enticknap recently completed Carbon Literacy Training with Green Arts Oxfordshire Network. Human Story Theatre already had an Environmental Policy that they share with the artists they work with and the venues they perform at, so Amy pledged to revisit it with the HST team to include some high impact actions as a result of the training:

‘Ask cast and crew to travel by walking, cycling, public transport or car-sharing to rehearsals and performances.’

‘For every performance, do a campaign asking our audience to travel to a show by walking, cycling, public transport or car-sharing.’

[GAON members are invited to use an infographic and link to guidance created by GAON, helping audiences to make more sustainable travel choices. You can find out more here: Travel Tips for a Great Day Out in Oxford.]

‘Ask venues we work with to ask audiences to consider travelling to our productions using lower carbon transport options like walking, cycling, car-sharing, buses or trains, on our listings and through booking confirmation emails.’

‘Ask venues to consider switching to renewable energy suppliers Ecotricity, Good Energy or Green Energy UK if they haven’t done so already.’

‘Composting any food waste to prevent emissions produced by waste going to landfill. On top of our own branded compost bin for rehearsals, we will ask venues to consider supplying compost bins as part of their waste management.’

These policies by Human Story Theatre are an inspiring example of going beyond addressing an organisation’s direct scope 1 emissions, to think about how we might be able to reduce scope 3 emissions from suppliers, staff and audience travel through utilising our sphere of influence. We can all ask ourselves: ‘Is there anything I can do to influence the groups I interact with to take actions?’

Amy has been thinking about how the Human Story Theatre Environmental Policy might influence others, including the venues they perform at and the audiences they reach:

“After every show we have a Q&A with guest experts pertaining to the issue in our play. We could use this platform to also add comment about the environmental actions we’re taking, involving the audience directly. We hope these policies will influence behaviour change, that could result in larger actions like venues implementing renewable energy plans or composting their waste. If those in this wider group are influenced to switch their energy providers at home or begin their own compost, the collective action will have a large impact.”

These Q&As have massive potential to engage with audiences:

• To exchange information.
• To raise awareness.
• To encourage responsibility for own health/social care and for that of the community.
• To signpost people to services.
• To create a safe environment to share feelings and experiences, where appropriate.
• To create an opportunity for reflection and possible change.

Engaging Communities

We asked Amy about the value of working with local talent and communities…

“There is a wealth of talent locally and so I think it is a good idea to use the talent on our doorstep when we can! The talent will have links locally to their own personal communities and networks which can increase our audience reach. Also actors who have families are sometimes not able to accept jobs that are touring far away, purely due to logistics and their children, so it means we can provide work for those actors – in essence supporting family life. Environmentally of course, using local talent means our cast and artistic team can walk / cycle or get public transport to rehearsals and performances. The same goes for our audience members. 

I think working within local communities and partnering with organisations and charities specific to our home city means we can build stronger relationships quicker, which I think is more sustainable for our future. And hopefully we can eventually become the ‘go to’ health and social care theatre company where organisations begin to approach us to write plays on a particular subject. This has already begun to happen, which is great.”

How do you engage audiences?

“The whole process has always worked organically really; depending on the topic explored in each play, we connect with organisations and charities pertaining to that issue. Everyone has always seemed keen to support us, because our post-show Q&As give opportunity for raising awareness of those organisations. After every show we have a Q&A discussion with a panel of guest experts from organisations pertaining to the issue in the play, who bring with them a wealth of information and can signpost to local services. It is also an opportunity for audience members to share direct lived experience in a safe and supported environment. The Q&As are as important to us, if not more so, than the play itself. Partnerships and working with specific communities is an integral way in which Human Story Theatre works. 

Feedback we regularly receive is that a theatrical live performance can be a lot more powerful and engaging that a leaflet handed to someone at a talk. We work in a stripped back, shared space shared light format and there is no ‘fourth wall’ so the audience can feel part of the theatrical action.”

How do you find audiences?

“HST predominantly tours to existing communities, so goes to where the audiences are already, rather than expecting them to come to us. But we also find audiences through our social media channels and mailing list and those of our partner organisations and charities. Often our Q&A speakers bring colleagues or participants of their groups with them to a show, who have never been to the theatre, or rarely. This is a really helpful way of us reaching new audiences.”

Human Story Theatre is a great example of using creative work to encourage behavioural change, through storytelling, sustainable procurement, engaging audiences with Q&As, and communicating clear environmental policies.

Human Story Theatre is interested in exploring the impact of climate change on human health and social issues. What would you like to see explored in a play about climate change?

You can learn more about the work of Human Story Theatre here. 

Get in touch with GAON to enquire about Carbon Literacy Training for your team.

Travel Tips for a Great Day Out in Oxford

Green Arts Oxfordshire Network has pulled together some information that we hope will help you to reduce emissions and frustrations when visiting museums, theatres and arts venues in Oxford city centre, perhaps even make your journey part of the fun! Take a look at our at-a-glance guide at the bottom of this page, with more detailed information below. This information was correct as of June 2023, but will likely change as time passes, so we advise you to double check the details before embarking on your journey. Please let us know if you spot anything that should be updated.

Oxford can get very busy, so please allow plenty of time for your journey if you have a fixed start time.

Walk

The best way to enjoy Oxford’s beautiful architecture is to explore the city centre on foot. Most cultural attractions are within 15 minutes’ walk of each other and of the rail and bus stations.

Oxford City Council’s Go Active site provides useful links to walking routes, maps and apps.

Cycle and Scoot

Oxford has many cyclists and there is cycle parking at most venues and across the city. 

CycleStreets has an interactive journey planner for confident and less confident cyclists in Oxford. The cycling pages of Oxford City Council’s website list cycle routes, cycle hire companies and the locations of free bicycle pumps and cycle racks. Cyclox, a local cycling advocacy group, provides  information about safe and secure cycling. The city has many bicycle repair workshops, some of which offer cycle repair training. The city is hosting an e-scooter trial with Voi. Anyone over 18 with a valid driving licence can hire and return zero-emission e-scooters from several sites across the city. These cost £1 to unlock and 20p per minute for the ride.

Bus

Oxford’s award-winning bus companies offer a range of services and tickets.  

Oxford Bus Company operates in the city and through its sister company Thames Travel, across the county. It currently offers Go-Anywhere day tickets (£6 per child, £9 per adult and £17 for a group), and £1 Get Around city fares for Under 18s. 

Stagecoach is the UK’s biggest bus operator and offers SmartZone, dayrider and megarider tickets. 

Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach provide online journey planners and are replacing their Oxford fleets with electric buses. 

• Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel
• Stagecoach Oxford

City Sightseeing Buses offer open-top bus tours around the city with commentaries in 14 languages. Passengers can hop on and off at 20 stops along the one-hour route to explore at their leisure.

Accessibility

Oxford City Council provides accessibility information, including the AccessAble accessibility guide to Oxford.

Shopmobility at Westgate Oxford hires self-propelled and battery-operated wheelchairs and scooters for free, for use in the Westgate. These can be booked by phone. 

Blue Badge holders can park free of charge:

• in disabled bays for an unlimited time. Bays are marked on this map. 
• on single/double yellow lines (providing a loading/unloading ban is not in force) for up to three hours. Please ensure your clock is displayed.
• in time-restricted bays/permit bays for an unlimited time.
• in on-street Pay & Display bays for an unlimited time without payment.
• in residents’ parking bays for as long as you like.

Coach

The city’s main Bus Station at Gloucester Green, a 6-minute walk from the centre, hosts long-distance coach services. Direct coach services run to and from London Victoria 24 hours a day (taking from 1 hour 36 mins) as well as to Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted airports, Cambridge and other cities. 

• Oxford Tube Adult tickets to London start from £12 with concessions including children and under 26s. It is cheaper to buy tickets online than onboard.
• National Express Adult tickets to London start from £16.50 with savings for buying tickets three or more days in advance, choosing flexible journey times or using Coachcards.

Private Coach or Minibus

Redbridge Park & Ride has designated coach and minibus parking. School groups and other passengers can be dropped and collected at one of Oxfordshire County Council’s on-street drop-off and pick-up points:

• St Aldate’s South (southbound) – just south of the Combined Court OX11TL
• Beaumont Street (westbound) – outside Oxford Playhouse OX1 2LW
• St Giles’ (northbound) – in the lay-by beside the Taylorian Library OX1 3NA

Train

Oxford Station (12-minute walk, 0.6 mile to the centre) operates regular direct services to London Paddington (1 hour), Birmingham New Street (1 hour 20 mins), Reading and others, with less frequent direct services also available to Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton.

Oxford Parkway Station (21-minute bus ride, 3.7 miles to the centre) operates twice-hourly services to London Marylebone (55 minutes), High Wycombe, Bicester Village (10 mins) and other stations. The station is next to the Water Eaton Park & Ride where the 500 bus operates the same hours as the trains and takes 12 minutes to the city centre. 

• National Rail
• Trainline
• Virgin Trains
• First Great Western

National Rail will alert passengers to changes or disruptions in service via its Train Tracker app and text service 84950 (charges apply).

Taxi

There are taxi ranks at Oxford Railway Station, Gloucester Green Bus Station and St Giles in the city centre. Taxi firms are listed on Oxford City Council’s website.

(001 Taxis operates an Uber-like service in partnership with Uber.)

Car

Oxford is a small city with many traffic restrictions, particularly between 7.30am and 6.30pm, so visitors are encouraged not to drive into the centre. 

Try using these route planners: 

• AA Route Planner
• Multimap
• Google Maps
• Citymapper

The City Council provides maps of Electric Vehicle charging points and public car parks. Just Park is a car parking app that allows drivers to book private parking spaces and EV charging points.

Oxford hosts car sharing clubs which offer hybrid and electric vehicles at locations across the city.

• Co Wheels 
• Enterprise Car Club
• Zip Car
• ShareOurCars

Park & Ride

We recommend using one of the Park & Rides on the outskirts of Oxford. These are clearly signposted as you enter the city. See the Park & Ride website for more information. You can find a pdf map of the Park & Rides here, or an online map here.

Regular buses run between the Park & Rides and city centre taking 25 minutes and operating until around 11pm. (For Water Eaton the City2 replaces the Park & Ride bus after 7pm.) 

You will need to pay for parking and a bus ticket or buy a combined ticket.

The standard Park & Ride parking charge (as of June 2023) is £2 per vehicle (up to 11 hours) and £4 per vehicle (up to 24 hours). You can pay by cash or card at designated parking ticket machines. Or you can avoid lengthy queues by buying a ticket in advance using RingGo for Redbridge, Pear Tree, Thornhill and Oxford Parkway Park & Rides. We strongly advise this for Thornhill and Parkway.

Parking Charge Links:

• Oxford Parkway (North)
• Pear Tree (North)
• Redbridge (South)
• Seacourt (West)
• Thornhill (East)

You also need to buy a return bus ticket to and from Oxford city centre. You can pay by cash or  contactless: ‘tap on’ at the start of your journey and ‘tap off’ at the end. A peak adult day return costs £3 for one adult or £5 for two adults travelling together. Under 16s travel free. 

You can buy a combined parking and bus ticket at combined ticket machines at each Park & Ride. This costs £6.80 and covers two adults and three Under 16s. 

Putting the joy back in the journey

Lower carbon forms of transport like walking, cycling, buses or trains can be less stressful and more fun than driving.  

Joyful walking, cycling or scooting…

Choosing an active form of transport is a great way to sneak some healthy activities into your day. Walking, cycling or scooting is enjoyable as well as practical:

• Take a self-guided walking tour, using apps like Go-Jauntly, which has plenty of routes accompanied by imagery and info, often created by locals.
• Hunt down some treasure along the way! Hide or seek containers hidden right under your nose with the Geocaching app.
• Grow your confidence by getting cycling training with Broken Spoke Bike Coop, or attend one of Cyclox’s free informative events.
• Try out a recommended cycling route via Cycling UK, BikeMap, CycleStreets or Citymapper, which has an option to choose quieter cycling-friendly journeys.
• Organise a group walk or bike ride to your destination.
• Take a detour through some green space if there is any available along your route, to benefit from the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku: ‘forest bathing’.

Joyful bus and train journeys…

With your eyes free from the road, use your journey to reclaim some spare time:

• Read a book or a bit about what you’re going to visit.
• Listen to music or a podcast while enjoying the scenery out the window.
• Message a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while.
• Take the opportunity to connect with a stranger. You could try asking ‘I’m off to see [event] at [venue], have you been there before?’ as an ice-breaker. If yes, ‘what did you think about it?’, if not ‘what’s your favourite place to visit in Oxford?’ Be inspired by ‘Where Are You Going?’, a podcast full of surprising stories from perfect strangers.
• Play some games with the people you’re travelling with, like word association or bingo with passing bus numbers.
• Look up from the road to take in the local scenery and architecture.

At-a-glance Guide

Disclaimer

The information on this page and infographic guide serves as indicative guidance and should be double checked before beginning your journey to ensure that the information remains correct.

Terms of Use

Green Arts Charter Signatories are invited to add this infographic to their websites and bookings emails to make choosing lower carbon transport options easier and more attractive to visitors. You can sign the Charter here.

Infographic copyright is held by Green Arts Oxfordshire Network. This pdf is free to use, but do not add logos, images or alter in any way.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge that the development of this infographic was supported by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). It was compiled by Kim Pickin with artwork by Jeremy Morgan of Fizog Design, with contributions from Becca Vallins and Ellie Monk and the help of Oxford Brookes University Placement Student Oelda Cekaj. The infographic was brainstormed by several cultural organisations, artists and transport experts at the ‘Culture Shift! A Vision for Greener Audience Travel’ Marmalade event in April 2023, produced by Green Arts Oxfordshire Network and the Old Fire Station at The Story Museum. GAON would like to thank everyone that contributed to the development of this infographic.

How to share in Oxfordshire

Here’s the scene: you’re planning an event or project, and you require some things to bring it to life. Your finger is on the ‘add to cart’ button but… WAIT! There’s another way. Arts production was possible before Amazon existed…

We can share! As a society, we need to stop hoarding resources, and a simple way to do that is to share what we already have. Reusable plastic cups that are gathering dust in an arts centre’s cupboard are more sustainable than new, nicely branded compostable cups – you get the idea. It’s tempting to order biodegradable, compostable or ‘eco-friendly’ materials and equipment, but at the end of the day, these items still required energy to produce and transport, and therefore almost every new product is responsible for new carbon emissions. When we understand the environmental cost of buying new, we can see the true value of sharing what we already have with others. Sharing is good for everyone, because it’s good for our planet.

If you’re reading this, the chances are that you already have an idea of why it’s important to avoid buying new wherever possible. Simply put, our planets resources are limited, we’re experiencing climate and ecological breakdown resulting from our consumption, and we don’t have long to change our ways before the damage is irreversible.

But there’s good news. When Sharebee surveyed 2000 people, they found that 60% of people want to share more! So lets do it.

Here are 6 ways that you can share in Oxfordshire…

Check SHARE Oxford Library of Things

Oxford is one of the pioneering places to have its own Library of Things! SHARE Oxford Library of Things aims to help make Oxford a sharing community for the future, tackling the climate emergency and cost of living crisis and forging community bonds with their library of things, repair cafés and online community.

They are a community action group, operating out of Makespace, a space that rapidly filled up and looks like a cave of wonders.

You can hire anything from a gazebo to an electric cargo bike, power tools, bunting or even a pedal powered smoothie maker, for an affordable price that goes towards ensuring that the library is financially sustainable.

You can take a look at their inventory here, and learn a bit more about their story below…

List an item on Sharebee

Sharebee is a new app building a sharing community that’s useful for people and good for the planet. They’ve got a growing presence in London, and it would be great to  establish a sharing network in Oxford, but we need your help to do it. 

Sharebee makes sharing easy – safely connecting people who want to lend with people who want to borrow. Protecting stuff that is lent, tracking whose got your stuff, saving time, space and money. And every time you lend or borrow you’ll be saving some C02. Lets stop defaulting to buying things we only use once or twice and start sharing instead.

Here’s a little film about how it works…

Sharebee’s founder Samuel Carter joined Ben Tuppen of SHARE Oxford Library of Things at an action group we hosted back in April. We discussed how we, as a network of artists and cultural organisations, might be able to share using these two resources. Hopefully sometime soon we can establish a protected ‘hive’ of GAON members who would like to share with each other. Get in touch if you’d be interested!

Come to a Swap Shop or host your own

The most eco-friendly materials are the ones that you already own! Lots of different community groups in Oxfordshire and further afield host clothing and plant swaps from time to time, and back in April we worked with Oxford Brookes University Fine Art student Ash Goller to hold one for art materials. 

The premise of ‘The Artisan Swap Shop’ is simple: gather up the materials you don’t use anymore (half used paints, fabric scraps, mediums that you didn’t get on with etc.), come along to a Swap Shop hosted by Ash, and swap for something that inspires you!

The first Swap Shop we held at Fusion Arts 95 Gloucester Green drew 30 visitors, who swapped canvases, oil pastels, sketchbooks, spray paints and more. Anything left over (and there was quite a bit) was donated to Orinoco, a scrapstore in Cowley and Banbury. It went so well that we exhibited a drop-in, un-manned Swap Shop stall as part of the recent Adapt Transform exhibition at Modern Art Oxford and the Oxford Brookes University’s Glass Tank gallery. Visitors could pop by at any time to adopt some unloved materials alongside other exhibits that explored urban design and creativity.

You could easily host a similar event yourself, by organising a time and place for people to bring items to, and letting lots of community groups know. It helps to have a reserve of a few items at the start for people to begin swapping with, or for those that discover the event by accident. Ash was able to source lots of unwanted materials from uni friends and the skip outside the art building. Let us know if you plan to host a similar event and we’ll do our best to spread the word.

ShareOurCar

Speaking of community power, you can even share cars!

ShareOurCar wants to make it easier for communities to share cars. Sharing cars saves people money, makes nicer streets, and helps mitigate climate change. 
They created the UK’s first neighbourhood closed loop trusted group in East Oxford, partnering with Hiyacar (Airbnb for cars) who verify the drivers, provide the insurance, and manage the booking system.

Find out more about how they manage their local group here.

Ask them directly!

If none of the above have helped you, informal sharing is quick and easy for small groups. If you are a trusted organisation, and you can think of another group that might have something that you would like to borrow, why not ask? There’s a chance that you could work something out between yourselves and begin to develop a mutually beneficial relationship. 

Sharing isn’t always possible for high value equipment like PA systems and power tools due to insurance policies, but depending on the circumstances, you might be able to insure things affordably for a day or so under your name. 

For cheaper items like costumes, bean bags, tables or glasses, lots of organisations are willing to share in the interest of helping the creative sector in Oxford to become more sustainable.

So there you have it – sharing in Oxfordshire is that easy. Your events and art projects can be built by the community around you, saving you money and carbon emissions. Let me know how you get on!