Vegan Organic Network
Events
Winners Announced: 2026 Veganic for the Planet Short Video Competition
Roll out the red carpet! Join us as we celebrate the finalists and announce the winners of this year’s Veganic for the Planet Short Video Competition.
You are invited to join our special online awards show and meet the winners!
Jasmin Singer will be hosting the evening and we will be hearing the thoughts from the judges, Juliet Gellatley, Cleve West and Saroja Coelho.
VON Video Awards
Wednesday 25th November 2026
7pm (UK time)
[Click here to watch the show]
A truly international competition!
Over 70 videos were entered from across the world, including India, Uganda, New Zealand, Canada and many other countries.
Many thanks to the five VON members who selected their top twenty videos, 15 of which were sent to our celebrity judges Juliet Gellatley, Cleve West, Jasmin Singer and Saroja Coelho who picked the winners.
It’s been fantastic to see so many people sharing their ideas, experiences and enthusiasm for the planet and veganic growing.
The competition category’s included:
1. Why Transform the Food System
2. Why I Grow Veganically
3. Why I’m on the Vegan Organic World Map
4. Tours of Veganic Gardens or Farms
5. Veganic Growing Techniques
Join us on Wednesday 25th November to celebrate the winners and discover inspiring stories from the growing global veganic movement!
Click here to watch the show on YouTube
Monthly Vegan Pot Luck
Potluck Sunday 8th November 1-3pm
Hulme Garden Centre,
Address: 28 Old Birley St, Hulme, Manchester M15 5RG UK
For more information email: events@veganorganic.net
R Garden – Growing Together in Hulme, Manchester, UK
R Garden – Growing Together in Hulme
We’d love to hear your feedback!
We’d really love to hear what you think! Your ideas, comments and suggestions are very welcome, and every response will help us shape the project together. Please take a moment to share your thoughts with us.
Click here to complete our feedback form
Please email us with any comments, thoughts or suggestions. If you’d prefer, just ask us for a feedback form — we’d really appreciate hearing your views.
Keep in touch
If you’d like to hear about future activities, events and updates, please let us know and we’ll be happy to include you in our future correspondence.
Email: events@veganorganic.net
Growing food, creating green spaces and bringing our community together.
R Garden is the beginning of an exciting new growing project in Hulme. We want to create more green spaces where local people can grow food, learn new skills and come together for community activities and events.
Funding for the project is being facilitated by the Vegan Organic Network (VON), an educational charity dedicated to raising awareness of how the way we grow our food and what we eat impacts people, animals and the planet.
Growing a greener future
We promote planet-friendly, vegan organic (veganic) growing techniques. VON farms, projects and gardens avoid chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, as well as animal-derived inputs such as fishmeal, bonemeal and manure. Instead, we encourage healthy soils, plant-based composts, mulches and biodiversity.
Through R Garden, we want to empower people to grow their own food, even if they don’t have a garden, and learn how to prepare healthy, nutritious and affordable meals.
A community-led project
R Garden is being led by local people and organisations, including:
- Manchester City Council Central Neighbourhood Team
- Hulme Community Forum
- Zion Centre
- Ascension Church
- Z-arts
- Co-operation Manchester
- Vegan Organic Network
- Hulme Community Garden Centre
We welcome other groups and individuals who would like to get involved and help shape the future of R Garden.
Where is R Garden?
R Garden is next to the path between Rolls Crescent and the Hippodrome, behind Rolls Crescent School. See the picture on the poster for its location.
R Garden Public Consultation
📅 Saturday 31st October
🕐 1pm–3pm
Join us to share your ideas for the future of R Garden!
🎃 Pumpkin making
🍲 Hot food
Everyone welcome – come along, get involved and help shape this new community growing space in Hulme.
Upcoming events and activities
R Garden public consultation
Saturday 31 October 2026 | 1–3pm
Come along, share your ideas and help shape the project. Hot food and activities will be available.
Grow microgreens and sprout your own food
Learn how to grow nutritious microgreens on your windowsill and sprout beans, peas and lentils.
- Thursday 12 November 2026 | 2–3pm — Hulme Community Garden Centre – Free event – click here to book.
- Tuesday 17 November 2026 | 1–2.30pm — Ascension Church
Monthly Vegan Pot Luck
Bring some vegan food to share and enjoy a friendly get-together with talks, discussion and activities. Events take place at different locations around Hulme.
Next gathering: Sunday 8 November 2026 | 1–3pm — Hulme Community Garden Centre.
Eco Fest 2027
- Saturday 22 May 2027 — Hulme Park
- Saturday 16 October 2027 — Hulme Community Garden Centre
Further activities will be scheduled throughout the year.
Get involved!
Whether you’re an experienced grower, a beginner, part of a local group or simply interested in healthier food and greener neighbourhoods, we’d love to hear from you.
To make enquiries or join our mailing list, email:
Together, we can grow a greener, healthier and more connected Hulme!
Sanctuary Campfest 28th-31st August 2026
Join us at Sanctuary Campfest for an outdoor vegan festival at The Retreat Animal Rescue sanctuary, headlined by Mobius Loop and an amazing lineup of performers, inspiring activities, and vegan food vendors.
It’s happening from 28-31 August in Kent UK and you can click here to get all the details.
Eco Fest Oct 11th 2026
Eco Fest – Abundance at Hulme Community Garden Centre in the Heart of Manchester.
Watch video of last year’s event
Join us for an inspiring day packed with live music, hands-on workshops, thought-provoking talks, and delicious vegan food – all focused on living sustainably and joyfully with nature!
FOOD & CAKE STALLS
Indulge in the tastiest vegan treats while supporting local ethical producers.
Line up
Main Marquee
12.00 DJ Kane
12.30 DJ Frisson Reys
12.45 DJ Kane
13.00 The Tenmours
13.45pm Veganic Gardener’s Question Time
14.30 Atomic Bicycle Theory
15.10 Dee-Colo
15.40 Project Abundance Manchester
16.00 Raffle draw chance to win great prizes
16.15 DJ’s
Band stand
12.30pm -13.30 Gwafu Fermentation Workshop
12.30-3.30pm Sprouting workshop with Growing Together Levenshulme
16.15 Tai chi
16.30 Juggling lesson
Classroom talks End of the Polytunnel, near the toilets
1pm-1.30pm
R Garden – Reclaiming Urban Land for Community Growing
Come hear about a current community initiative here in Hulme, working to turn a patch of forgotten paving into an orchard garden
2.30–3.30pm
THE HEALTHY VEGAN
Protect Your Energy, Gut Health & Nutrients on a Plant-Based Diet
Practical tips for staying healthy, energised and well-nourished on a plant-based diet.
4.15pm
FLAX AND THE CITY
Why flax?
Why now?
Why here in the city?
Discover how we can grow flax locally and build an Urban Flax Collective.
Activities
Sprouting Workshop: Discover the power of sprouting! Sprouts are packed with nutrients and can be easily grown at home using just a jar and a windowsill. Visit our stand to learn all about sprouting and sample a variety of delicious sprouts, including lentil, mung bean, chickpea, and broccoli sprouts. In our hands-on workshop, you fill a plant pot with soil, plant pre-sprouted marrowfat peas, and give them a good water. You take your pot home, place it on a sunny windowsill, and watch the sprouts grow—ready to harvest in just eight days!
Hands-on juicing – using locally picked apples
Willow weaving
Cyanotype workshop
Whistle making
Gaskell Garden Project – Zines, potato printing,
Want to get involved and join in the fun?
Abundance Manchester is a volunteer led group that picks fruit and gives it to community groups. We also organise pay as you feel meals, vegan pot luck, workshops, activities and Eco Fest 2027 in Hulme Park.
Learn more & sign up: https://veganorganic.net/abundance-manchester/
For more information email: events@veganorganic.net
Tree of Life Veganics Event – 3-5 July 2026
Join us at Veganic Skills Share for a weekend of learning, sharing, and connecting!
Tree of Life Veganics Farm and the Vegan Organic Network are pleased to present the first annual Veganic Skills Share.
Veganic Skills Share is taking place at Tree of Life Veganics, an off-grid veganic forest farm near Faversham in Kent on the weekend of 3rd-5th July.
This intimate mini-festival is an opportunity to explore veganic growing, food forests, and sustainable living in a friendly hands-on environment, while also building community together and relaxing on a beautiful veganic farm.
Enjoy live music with Vegan Queen V, morning yoga, reiki in the food forest, forest bathing, farm tours, foraging, animal rights talks, meditation, circus arts, sharing food together, singing around the campfire and so much more!
Only 50 spots are available, with weekend and day ticket options!
Click here to get full event details and book your spot!
Community Spirit and Compassion Shine at Manchester’s Carnival COOK-Up
On 2 June 2026, Vegan Organic Network’s event organiser Dan Graham was delighted to attend this year’s Carnival COOK-Up in Manchester — an inspiring celebration of community, sustainability, and compassion in action.
Hosted at the vibrant Freight Island venue, Carnival COOK-Up brought together around 90 enthusiastic volunteers from socially minded organisations across Greater Manchester for a unique challenge: preparing more than 1,500 nutritious vegan meals in a single day for people experiencing homelessness.
The atmosphere was nothing short of electric. With music, laughter, teamwork, and a festival-like buzz filling the venue, volunteers worked side by side against the clock, chopping, stirring, cooking, and packaging delicious plant-based meals destined for frontline homelessness organisations across all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester.
Organised by the fantastic community interest company Cracking Good Food, the event demonstrated the extraordinary impact that can be achieved when people come together with a shared purpose. The 100% vegan meals prepared during the day were distributed through 13 frontline organisations supporting vulnerable individuals and families throughout the region.
What made the event even more remarkable was its commitment to tackling food waste. Every meal was created using surplus ingredients supplied through an inspiring partnership with FareShare Greater Manchester. In total, the event rescued approximately half a tonne of perfectly good food that would otherwise have gone to landfill.
This powerful combination of social action and environmental responsibility reflects many of the values championed by Vegan Organic Network. Not only did the event provide healthy, nutritious vegan meals to those in need, but it also highlighted the urgent issue of edible food waste in the UK and demonstrated practical solutions that benefit both people and the planet.
The Carnival COOK-Up showcased how food can play a central role in creating positive social change. Participants from diverse backgrounds worked together in an inclusive environment where everyone could contribute, regardless of their cooking experience. The result was a day filled with purpose, connection, and tangible impact.
As the final meals were packed and prepared for distribution, the sense of achievement throughout Freight Island was unmistakable. More than 1,500 vegan meals had been created, food waste had been prevented, and hundreds of people facing hardship would benefit from the efforts of volunteers who gave their time and energy to help others.
Carnival COOK-Up truly delivered social value at its tastiest — proving that when communities come together around good vegan food, extraordinary things can happen.
Veganic Gardeners Question Time – 28th May 2026
Ever wanted to know how to grow organically using only plant-based fertilisers?
Our monthly show is here to help!
Send your questions to: events@veganorganic.net
Thursday 28th May 2026 – 7pm (UK)
Click here to watch for free on YouTube
Panel:
Giles Bryant: Giles is the founder of World Healing Project who have promoted wellbeing initiatives around the world for 20 years this September. Giles has helped plant many veganic gardens, orchards, forest gardens and medicinal herb gardens. He has been presenting Veganic Gardeners Time for several years and loves gardening, yoga and nature. Giles is an author, music producer and songwriter who has written and recorded many albums of healing music. www.worldhealingproject.com
Keith Robertson: Founder of the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine at Drimlabarra Herb Farm on the Isle of Arran. Established in 2000, the farm is run on Veganic principles and organic philosophy. It is a Vegan sanctuary and retreat centre, dedicated to researching planetary health via herbal treatments, diet, cooking and raw food and practical hands-on green living. The focus is on community building and cooperation. People can participate through workshops, individual consultations, apprenticeships and open day visits. For more visit www.veganherbal.com
Jo Kidd: Founder of Tree of Life Veganics in Kent which is a vegan organic, biodiverse, climate resilient, no-till forest farm. Jo leads educational tours for schools and groups showing how people can live and grow in harmony with the earth, whilst simultaneously farming to produce food, fibre, shelter and medicinal plants. https://www.instagram.com/treeoflifeveganics/
Juliette Bryant: Trustee of Vegan Organic Network, founder of Juliette’s Kitchen superfood products, author, speaker and leader of Growing Nature clubs in schools. Juliette has a deep passion for plants, health and wellbeing which she shares in her videos, retreats and at events around the world. www.juliettebryant.com
Veganic Gardeners’ Question Time hopes to inspire and bring new ideas to foragers, growers and gardeners alike.
Now more than ever it is vital that we engage with how our food is grown.
A Vegan Organic Network production
Kindling Farm Visit 20th May 2026
Tour of Kindling Vegan Organic Farm
Wednesday 20th May 2026
11.00 -12.30: Tour of the farm
12.30: Refreshments provided
About the Tour
A maximum forty visitors permitted to this event. Please register in advance. The car park can only accommodate 14 cars, we will be sharing lifts in cars and possibly a minibus.
The site is accessible via public transport.
Please note that booking is essential! We kindly ask that you don’t just turn up as parking onsite is very limited. To register your place, please click here.
This activity is open to everyone with an interest in food and farming. All ages are very welcome to join us! However, please be mindful that our farm is not accessible for prams or pushchairs and the tour will involve 2 hours of walking.
In line with our policies, we ask that you don’t bring your dogs with you.
Kindling do not have a cafe on site but refreshments will be provided, you are welcome to bring an offering towards the vegan picnic after the walk.
Over the next few years, the farm will undergo refurbishment. Unfortunately it is not wheelchair accessible at the moment and we have limited facilities with one indoor toilet which is up a set of stairs.
Please be aware that this activity includes quite a lot of walking; while there is no walking uphill, the ground is uneven which can be difficult for anyone with limited mobility. We suggest wearing flat, sturdy footwear which is waterproof.
If you have any questions regarding accessibility, please contact farm@kindling.org.uk or call 07926 975 391.
Website: https://kindling.org.uk/
The tour of Kindling farm on 20th May is being organised by the Vegan Organic Network.
Book on to the event here and send any enquiries about the day to events@veganorgsanic.net
About the Farm
Kindling use vegan organic methods to grow their produce.
The Vegan Organic Network has supported the farm financially and some of our members take part in their volunteer days.
Kindling Farm is a Community Benefit Society owned by our 800 members with the aim of creating a fairer and more sustainable food and farming system for all.
In April 2023, Kindling purchased a 78 acre farm between Manchester & Liverpool where we are now establishing a pioneering, agroforestry farm for the Northwest. Here we will research, explore, practise and demonstrate the best ways to farm for wildlife, climate change, soil and communities.
The Kindling farm is a traditional Victorian farm layout with beautiful redbrick buildings set around a cobbled courtyard. We have exciting plans and ideas to transform our neglected buildings into a thriving hub of activity. Over the past year, we’ve been working with communities to co-design our buildings and facilities which will be realised by Passivhaus Architects, Progress in Practice.
Kindling Agroforestry
As part of a project funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund and run by our sister organisation the Kindling Trust, over 9,000 fruit trees were grafted in 2021 – 2,000 of these are destined for Kindling Farm’s agroforestry system and orchard – including 40 heritage UK varieties.
Over the past few years we have been working with an amazing team of volunteers to plant these trees onsite. Until recently our agroforestry system largely comprised of apple trees but new this year, we have planted pears, plums and quince.
Approximately 80% of the farm will (eventually) be dedicated to field-scale production of vegetables, fruits, cereals and pulses utilising agroforestry methods. This will include approximately 2,000 top fruit, nut and bio-fuel trees, as a permanent feature within a 6 year crop rotation. Approximately 2 hectares of land will be dedicated to soft fruit production and to protected cropping of higher value crops.
While the farm team has overall responsibility for the trees, we hold a number of tree focused volunteer days throughout the year from Spring maintenance, to weeding in the first few years of growth and eventual harvesting of the fruit.
Alongside our volunteer days, we deliver a community engagement programme (currently supported by the The National Heritage Lottery Fund) which includes holding workshops to teach people about the different heritage varieties and gain new skills such as fruit tree pruning and apple tree grafting (in which you can take your own fruit tree home with you!).
Find out more about Kindling volunteer days here.
Book Farm Visit Here
🎬 Veganic for the Planet – 2027 Video Competition 🌱
🎬 Veganic for the Planet – 2027 Video Competition 🌱
The Vegan Organic Network is launching the 2027 Veganic for the Planet Video Competition — and we want to hear from you!
Entries welcome from March 2027!
Email: media@veganorganic.net for more information
We’re inviting short videos from around the world that celebrate veganic growing and the people behind it. Show us thriving veganic gardens, allotments, farms, forest gardens, or growing spaces of any size. You can also take part by sharing why you’re on the Vegan Organic World Map and how veganic farming and growing can help transform our food system.
🌍 This competition is your chance to:
- Share your passion for the planet
- Inspire others with your ideas and experiences
- Help spread the message about veganic growing
- Be a voice for animals, rivers, ecosystems, and the natural world
Every entry matters. If your video inspires even one person — a friend, family member, or someone watching across the world — that’s a powerful step toward change.
🌿 Why Veganic?
Veganic growing combines the principles of vegan and organic agriculture. It ensures food is grown organically using only plant-based fertilisers, while encouraging natural biodiversity so that pesticides aren’t needed.
This approach supports:
🐝 thriving wildlife
💧 clean rivers and oceans
🌱 healthy soil
🥕 nutritious food for all
Veganic farming and gardening offer real solutions to the environmental crisis and help build a more compassionate and sustainable food system.
📹 Who Can Take Part?
Everyone! Whether you are:
- A gardener or allotment holder
- A farmer or grower
- A teacher, student, or school
- A community group
- An animal or earth advocate
—or simply someone who cares about the planet.
🎥 It only takes a minute to make a video, and your voice could help inspire change.
A personal, authentic video filmed on a phone can often be more compelling than a highly produced one.
Let’s share our visions, our solutions, and our hope for the future. Together, we can be the change we want to see in the world. 🌎💚
It’s time to get filming! 🎬🌱
🎬 Veganic for the Planet – Competition Categories & Rules 🌱
Hosted by the Vegan Organic Network
🎥 Competition Categories
You can enter one or more of the following five categories:
- Why Transform the Food System
Share your thoughts on why transforming the global food system is important and how veganic growing can help.
⏱ Maximum length: 1 minute - Why I Grow Veganically
Tell us why you choose veganic growing and what it means to you.
⏱ Maximum length: 1 minute - Why I’m on the Vegan Organic World Map
Explain why you’ve joined the Vegan Organic World Map and what it represents.
⏱ Maximum length: 1 minute - Mini Tours of Veganic Gardens or Farms
Give viewers a short tour of your veganic garden, allotment, farm, or growing space.
⏱ Maximum length: 1 minute - How-to Veganic Techniques
Share practical tips or demonstrations of veganic growing methods.
⏱ Maximum length: 5 minutes
📋 Competition Rules & Guidelines
1️⃣ Multiple entries are welcome. You may submit more than one video.
2️⃣ Individuals or groups can enter. Entries are welcome from individuals, schools, community groups, allotment societies, farms, and other organisations.
4️⃣ Permission to share. By submitting your video, you agree that the Vegan Organic Network may share it on our social media channels and online platforms, and also at events and conferences.
5️⃣ Filming format. Videos may be filmed vertically or horizontally (portrait or landscape).
6️⃣ File format. Please submit your video as an MP4 file.
7️⃣ Enquiries. For questions or assistance, please contact: media@veganorganic.net
📅 Deadline to be announced
🏆 Judging & Video Release
A panel of judges will review all entries and select the winners.
📢 Winners announced: November 2027
The winning videos will be officially announced and released on the Vegan Organic Network’s YouTube channel and social media platforms in November 2027.
Videos from other participants will be shared gradually on YouTube and social media throughout December 2027 and during 20278
🎁 Participation gift:
Everyone who submits a video will receive two digital copies of the magazine Growing Green International as a thank-you for taking part.
💰 Prizes for Best Video
🥇 1st Prize: £500
🥈 2nd Prize: £150
🥉 3rd Prize: £100
🏅 4th Prize: £75
🏅 Four runner up prizes of £50
🎥 Ready to take part?
Share your ideas, your garden, and your vision for a veganic future.
🌍 Enter and help inspire change! 🌱
Entries welcome from March 2027!
Email: media@veganorganic.net for more information
Stay in touch
For any enquiries relating to membership (or changes of address if you’re a member) please contact the membership secretary at membership@veganorganic.net – see also our Join Us page for more info.
Otherwise please get in touch with the Vegan Organic Network for any queries you have about vegan organic growing, or for more info about how to get involved.