Bethnal Green Nature Reserve

A cultural institute focused on ecological and community health in the heart of East London.

'It Feels Like Going Back Home': by Jessica Ashman

Project
The Bethnal Green Nature Reserve is excited to announce our latest 2026 billboard commission, It Feels Like Going Back Home by Jessica Ashman.The artwork explores growing food and flowers as...

Phytology Medicinal Garden

Project
Phytology is an urban physic garden established in 2014. The 30+ species of plants that we grow here are known for their historical and ongoing use in phytotherapy*, as...

Climate & Adaptation Course: Experimental School of Urban Ecologies

Project
A hands-on course exploring nature-led, community-based responses to the climate crisis, blending deep ecology, culture, science and local knowledge. By 2050, London’s climate is likely to be similar to that...

Sam Wallman

Project
So Below is a graphic essay by cartoonist and journalist Sam Wallman. Exploring the idea of land ownership, Wallman melds the political with the poetic, connecting both historical and contemporary...

Foraging and Land Stewardship Course: Experimental School of Urban Ecology

Project
Bethnal Green Nature Reserve is excited to launch its first course from the Experimental School of Urban Ecology: Foraging and Land Stewardship. This six-module course offers a holistic and integrated...

Bethnal Green Ecology Garden

Project
The Bethnal Green Ecology Garden (formerly James Middleton House Food Hub) is a new green space rooted in collaboration, urban food growing, and ecology. Located at the corner of Middleton...

'How To Build A Clay Pond': by Edward Simpson

Project
Why Build A Clay Pond? In 2024 Bethnal Green Nature Reserve and the Hollybush & Teesdale Tenants and Residence Association started a food growing space called Bethnal Green Ecology Garden...

Of Lost & Found

Project
This project is a collection of stuff found within the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve, East London, while Ellie Doney was artist in residence throughout 2017. Doney's interest in the project...

The Squirrel’s Heartbeat by Fiona Banner

Project
The Squirrel’s Heartbeat ‘The Squirrel’s Heartbeat’ is a series of conversations ruminating on the environment, art and activism, part of Fiona Banners' (aka The Vanity Press) 2020/21 research residency at...

Community Ecologies - 'Chinese Edimental Plants: Sharing Diasporic Plant Stories' by Yuyu (online)

Event
Mon 31 August 2026 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Join Yuyu for a free online talk exploring Chinese edimental plants — edible, ornamental and medicinal plants that can be grown in the UK climate — and the cultural stories...

Forest Fridays

Event
4.00pm Fri 4 September 2026 — 5.30pm Fri 6 November 2026
Forest Friday is a free, weekly forest school inviting local children and families to explore the wonders of nature right on your doorstep. School-aged children (and their families) can learn...

Outdoor Screening - 'This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection' (2019)

Event
Sat 5 September 2026 7.00pm – 10.00pm
Writer & Directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese. Set in Lesotho, This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection follows an 80-year-old widow as she prepares for her own funeral while...

Community Ecologies - 'Thinking Like a Mountain in the City' by Joanna Pocock

Event
Sat 26 September 2026 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Join Joanna Pocock for a creative writing and nature observation session exploring how we can enter the beingness of plant and animal kin and find language for how the natural...

Mobile Apothecary Street Service - September 2026

Event
Sun 27 September 2026 7.00pm – 8.00pm
The Mobile Apothecary will be serving on the Corner of Cambridge Heath Rd + Roman Rd, opposite Bethnal Green Tube Station: Sunday 27th September @ 7pm – 8pmWe will be...

Community Ecologies - 'The Case of the Quiet Pond' by Bonnie Wang

Event
Sat 10 October 2026 2.00pm – 3.30pm
Join Bonnie Wang for a playful murder-mystery roleplay and interspecies assembly set in Bethnal Green Nature Reserve.Take on a more-than-human role - bee, bat, newt, fungus, nettle and more -...

©2026 Bethnal Green Nature Reserve Trust

Dormancy, billboard by Yaya (海) 2026