#Community
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#Possibility
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#Solidarity
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#WeAreASea
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#Community · #Possibility · #Solidarity · #WeAreASea ·
ABOUT WE ARE A SEA
WE ARE A SEA is a new headline for Hastings, one which reflects the growing ocean of solidarity, hope, and possibility here within our local community.
By the people, for the people, WE ARE A SEA launches with a curated weekend of fun activities celebrating the local heroes who help keep our seas and shoreline clean, safe, and welcoming. It takes place in action hubs located along the seafront and the entire, decentralised festival is free for all to enjoy.
WE ARE A SEA. Together we make waves.
28– 29th September 2024
#WEAREASEA
#community #possibility #solidarity
With thanks to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Programme: Saturday 28th Sept
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Time: 9-10am
Venue: Rock-a-Nore beach, Hastings
Address: We swim at Rock-a-Nore beach which is the farthest beach on Rock-a-Nore road. It's also the beach directly opposite the farthest car park you can drive to. It's a fairly small beach so you won't miss us.
Description:
A free community swim / dip / splash (whatever you fancy) with the Hastings Rock-a-Nore Bluetits who take a plunge here every week, all year round. Getting into the water is an incredible way to unwind, connect with our natural world, and it also has brought many of us great friendships and a special community.
This is an open invitation to anyone and everyone to join us. Whether you get in the sea regularly already or not at all, this swim is for you and we will be there to encourage you if that's what you need.
Everyone swims at their own risk. Please be aware that the volunteers' role is to welcome new members - they are not responsible for safety, risk assessments, swim coaching or lifeguarding. Please read the safety information and disclaimer on the Bluetits website: www.thebluetits.co/disclaimer
What to bring:
⦁ swimwear
⦁ towel
⦁ sea shoes (not essential but recommended for the stony beach - you can get a pair at ESK, Shoe Shuffle, etc)
⦁ appropriate clothing for post-swim (depending on weather but you're likely to be colder so warm layers are handy)
⦁ a hot drink
⦁ a snack -
Time: 9:30am-10:30am (Please note: this activity is weather dependent)
Venue: The beach!
Address: Beach platform (temporary beach huts) opposite Royal Victoria Hotel or in front of beach huts near Azur, depending on weather.
Book a place for up to date info.
Description: A yoga class for all levels of experience and an opportunity to connect to the vast and beautiful ocean we are so lucky enough to enjoy.
This class is FREE but donations to Clean Water Action Group are welcome. CWAG test our seas all year round to make sure they are clean enough for swimming! Donate dIrectly HERE.
Practicing yoga by the sea is a perfect way to come back to our grounded selves, out of our heads and into our bodies, to experience the synergy we feel with the ocean when breath and movement align with the ebb and flow of the waves, bringing a sense of peace and connection with the elements that make up our being.
Book your place and see full schedule here:
https://yogabythesea-booking.as.me/schedule/791452e5
Insta: @yogionsea
FB: Yoga By The Sea
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Time: 10am - 1pm
Venue: Hastings Canoe Club
Address: West of Haven (behind the beach huts beyond the end of Cinque Ports Way)
Description: Come along for a cuppa and a chat about kayaking, canoeing and paddleboarding, and if the weather is suitable, have a go.
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Time: SATURDAY 10 - 4
Venue: HASTINGS BIKE PROJECT
Address: WARRIOR SQUARE, LOWER PROMENADE
Description: The Hastings Bike Project - ten years plus of helping Hastings to reuse, repair and ride - will be running extended hours for small fixes and bike help. Showing off new facilities that we hope will help us achieve some financial sustainability.
Hungry? Come by for a cuppa and a free speciality cookie from our new Kuma coffee shop. Try the veggie delights from our new kitchen and Indian street food aficionados, Aloo Baby. Call it a curry and coffee tax that buys the grease and cables to keep people rolling.
Small bike sprint time trial happening throughout the day - prizes to be won!
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Time: 10am-5pm
Venue: Little Mashers
Address: 25 Kings Rd, St Leonard’s on sea, Tn376du
Description: Drop in workshop where all are invited to print a WE ARE A SEA T-shirt ( please bring your own) or flag and embellish using eco-inks, stencils, patches and foils.
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Time: 11:00am - 2:30pm
Venue: Bottle Alley, starting at Goat Ledge end by Oscars.
Address: Lower Promenade Warrior Square Lower Promenade, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings TN37 6FA
Description: Join Hastings Young Writers for a sea-themed story scavenger hunt. Drop-in, suitable for children aged 5-14, under 8s to be accompanied by a guardian. Look for the lady in the blue hat…
https://www.facebook.com/p/Hastings-Young-Writers-100063366000298/ -
Time: 1-4pm
Venue: Hastings and St Leonard's Sailing Club
Address: Marina, Saint Leonards-on-sea TN38 0BU
Description: Come and watch boats on the water, find out more about the club, or register your interest for their 2025 course.
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Time: RESCHEDULED TO TOMORROW OWING TO WEATHER
Location: West of Goats Ledge
Description: Zeroh will hang an artwork from a kite above St Leonard's beach.
Zeroh are celebrating the king of Hastings, Sidney Little, with a tribute artwork that will float in the sky at around 60 meters above the shoreline that Sidney Designed when he was the Borough engineer.
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Time: Painting: 3-5pm; Picnic: 3 until sundown! (Please note: this activity is weather dependent)
Venue: On the beach by the steps between Oscar’s and Goat Ledge
Address: Lower Promenade, Warrior Square, Saint Leonards
Description: The Refugee Buddy Project will be running a Painting and Picnic action hub - to work with local artists to collaboratively re-paint the beautiful message of “One Hastings Many Voices” on the sea-front steps. You are warmly invited to join them.
Please bring your own picnic and/or support our fellow action hubs, Goat Ledge and Oscars.
RBP's aim is to bring their communities out of their homes, reclaim public space and bring people together after the recent race riots.
@therefugeebuddyproject
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Time: 3-8pm, Yacht Rock (Oh Oh Seven - bring your 7 inch yacht rock records to DJ), 9-midnight Zeroh
Venue: Supernature
Address: 28 Norman Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, TN38 0EJ
Description: Afternoon and evening of pure Yacht Rock... Oh Oh Seven will host the decks, bring your 7 inch yacht rock records to play your DJ slot. 9pm-midnight Zeroh. Hastings fish & seafood dishes on the menu to celebrate our local fishing industry.About: Supernature is an independent wood-fired kitchen & bar, a road back from the beach. We cook seasonally & locally and source our fish from Hastings and surrounding shorelines - all cooked in our wood oven. You'll find local samphire, wild garlic and other foraged treats when in season. Our lamb is from Romney Marsh, benefiting from the salt marsh terrain just back from the beach. We love adding to the culture of our unique and crazy seaside town, with a love for music accompanying our food...
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Time: 6-8pm
Venue: meet at Hastings Pier
Address: The Pier
Description: It's back!!! The Illuminated Bike Ride!!!
FOR ALL THOSE WHO RESIST THE MACHINE. HOWEVER YOU DO IT. COME RIDE. FIND JOY, BRING LIGHTS AND BIKES, PLACARDS, BANNERS, RAGGED TROUSERS, KEFFIYEHS AND RAINBOWS. COME AS YOU ARE. JUST COME.
Fancy dress theme: REBEL & RESIST
Kids encouraged!
Flashy light give away!!
Prize for best placard!!!
Sono-Electro projections at Goat Ledge!!!!
Finale feast at Bike Project with Aloo Baby!!!!!
JOY IN RESISTANCE!!!!!!!!!
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Time/date: 24/7 - 28th Sept-31st Oct
Location: St Leonards Promenade
Address: St Leonards, East Sussex
Description: Picnic Outing is a new event that showcases the talents of 12 young creative photographers. Curated by a team of photographers and students at Picnic, this public exhibition provides emerging talent with a unique opportunity to present their work in a public space. Our final selection has resulted in a thought-provoking collection of photo essays that explore the shifting sands of our contemporary lives and the theme of sea change.
@picnic_on_sea
Programme: Sunday 29th Sept
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Time: 7am-8am
Venue: meet at Old Bathing Pool for 7am start
Address: Old Bathing Pool, West St Leonards (https://what3words.com/herb.fresh.hedge)
Description: beach race and competitive litter picking..!
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Time: 9-10am
Venue: Goat Ledge
Address: Lower Promenade Warrior Square Lower Promenade, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings TN37 6FA
Description: Join the Bluetits for a sea swim and find out more about their global community of chill swimmers!
Getting into the water is an incredible way to unwind, connect with our natural world, and it also has brought many of us great friendships and a special community.
This is an open invitation to anyone and everyone to join us. Whether you get in the sea regularly already or not at all, this swim is for you and we will be there to encourage you if that's what you need.
Everyone swims at their own risk. Please be aware that the volunteers' role is to welcome new members - they are not responsible for safety, risk assessments, swim coaching or lifeguarding. Please read the safety information and disclaimer on the Bluetits website: www.thebluetits.co/disclaimer
What to bring:
⦁ swimwear
⦁ towel
⦁ sea shoes (not essential but recommended for the stony beach - you can get a pair at ESK, Shoe Shuffle, etc)
⦁ appropriate clothing for post-swim (depending on weather but you're likely to be colder so warm layers are handy)
⦁ a hot drink
⦁ a snack -
Meet at the Rock-a-Nore car park for a beach clean 9 – 10 am
Please register for the pick through the MCS website.We will lead a sort, identify & record at Oscar’s On The Square 10.30 – 12.30 pm. Come and join in to see how we add value to beach cleans and lobby for change.
Creative workshop with a local artist working with salvaged plastics from the beach at Oscar’s On The Square 12.30 – 4.30 pm.
No registration is needed for these two events.
Email: info@strandliners.org
Website: https://strandliners.org/
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Time: 10am-12pm (please note: this artwork is weather-dependent so timings may vary)
Location: West of Goats Ledge
Description: Zeroh will hang an artwork from a kite above St Leonard's beach.
Zeroh are celebrating the king of Hastings, Sidney Little, with a tribute artwork that will float in the sky at around 60 meters above the shoreline that Sidney Designed when he was the Borough engineer.
-
Time: 1-4pm
Venue: Hastings and St Leonard's Sailing Club
Address: Marina, Saint Leonards-on-sea TN38 0BU
Description: Come and watch boats on the water and find out more about the club.
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Time: 11:30am start with beers from 12:30pm. Start and finish at Goat Ledge.
Venue: Goat Ledge
Address: Lower Promenade Warrior Square Lower Promenade, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings TN37 6FA
Description: Join the Hastings Project for a free beach clean and buy a locally brewed beer at Goat Ledge with them afterwards, raising money for local charitable and Community projects.
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Time: 1:30-2:30pm
Venue: Starsky & Hatch
Address: Starsky And Hatch Bottle Alley, St Leonards, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings TN37 6FD England
Description: Join Climate Nan and Clean Water Action group as they demonstrate how they monitor the safety of our water. Stay for cuppa and a chat with everyone's favourite Nan!
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Time: 2-4:15pm
Venue: Afri-Co-Lab
Address: 3 Marine Court, St Leonards-On-Sea, Hastings, TN38 0DX
Description: Join us for a beverage and some slowed-down craft-making at the Lab.
The Afri-Co-Lab Teamiees invite you to drop by the lab for fab chit-chats, good tunes, and some paper craft making. We will show you how to fold your own sea origami sea creatures and turn them into beautiful greeting cards.
This is a free drop-in workshop, suitable for all ages, young people aged 14 and under will need help from their adult.
@africolab
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Time: 2:30-3:30pm (NEW, EARLIER TIME SLOT DUE TO WEATHER)
Venue: Goat Ledge
Address: Lower Promenade Warrior Square Lower Promenade, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings TN37 6FA
Description: Join Completely Scuppered for a variety of sea shanties and fishing songs. Audience participation and guest singers encouraged!
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Time: TO BE RESCHEDULED OWING TO WEATHER
Venue: Goat Ledge
Address: Lower Promenade Warrior Square Lower Promenade, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings TN37 6FA
Description: Hastings Community of Sanctuary have curated a selection of short films and talks for Goat ledge's on-the-beach cinema experience.
For all refugees who arrive here Hastings Community of Sanctuary are committed to making Hastings a place where they may thrive and build relationships with the local community.
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Time/date: 24/7 - 28th Sept-31st Oct
Location: St Leonards Promenade
Address: St Leonards, East Sussex
Description: Picnic Outing is a new event that showcases the talents of 12 young creative photographers. Curated by a team of photographers and students at Picnic, this public exhibition provides emerging talent with a unique opportunity to present their work in a public space. Our final selection has resulted in a thought-provoking collection of photo essays that explore the shifting sands of our contemporary lives and the theme of sea change.
@picnic_on_sea
Opening Events!
Friday 27th Sept
If you’re a Hastings hero or seafront hub, whether you’re involved in WE ARE A SEA or not, please join us for a drink on Friday 27th September, 6-8pm, at Stella Dore on Norman Road to help form new relationships, build deeper community connections and generate mutual support.
Picnic Outing - 8pm-late: later on we’ll join Picnic’s opening night party at the Hastings & St Leonards Sailing Club’s yacht rockin’ bar to celebrate the talents of 12 young, creative photographers exhibiting work along the Promenade.
Featured Hastings heroes and action hubs
Find out more below about some of the Hastings heroes and action hubs involved in WE ARE A SEA. Acknowledgment and gratitude to the many others out there who also work hard to make our sea and shoreline a safer, cleaner, more welcoming place.
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Transition Town Hastings
Transition Town is about communities stepping up to address the global challenges we face by starting local. In the spirit of WE ARE A SEA Transition Town seeks to nurture a caring culture, one focused on supporting each other, both as groups or as wider communities.
Transition Town are proud to be assisting WE ARE A SEA - look for our friendly marshals and check out our Green Pages!
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Refugee Buddy Project
Creating a culture of welcome.
Opened in 2017 as a community group welcoming people seeking refuge who had recently arrived in Hastings. Now, we are a refugee & migrant-led charity supporting families and individuals from refugee backgrounds with our buddy programme, advocacy, and financial & emotional support.
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Hastings Bike Project
Hastings bike project is a community bike workshop below sea level. We support people to reuse, repair and ride bikes. We are doing what we can with what we have and having fun whilst we do it. Bikes didn’t get us into this mess but they can help get us out of it.
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Yoga by the Sea
Karen Simnett is a yoga instructor and yoga therapist and her main interest is supporting people to counter the symptoms of modern life (stress and overwhelm) and our disconnection from nature.
https://yogabythesea-booking.as.me/schedule/791452e5
Insta: @yogionsea
FB: Yoga By The Sea
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Supernature
Supernature is an independent wood-fired kitchen & bar, a road back from the beach. We cook seasonally & locally and source our fish from Hastings and surrounding shorelines - all cooked in our wood oven. You'll find local samphire, wild garlic and other foraged treats when in season.
We love adding to the culture of our unique and crazy seaside town, with a love for music accompanying our food...
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Hastings Community of Sanctuary
Welcome, care and sanctuary for all who live in our town.
Hastings Community of Sanctuary (HCoS) is a local volunteer-run charity committed to building a culture of welcome for people seeking sanctuary in our town. We work to raise awareness of the issues facing refugees and people seeking asylum, run collections for essential items and raise funds to support local projects.
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Hastings and St Leonards Sailing Club
Hastings and St Leonards Sailing Club offers a range of sailing activities and are a Royal Yachting Association approved training centre. You'll often see boats out on Wednesday evenings or Saturday afternoons for free sailing or on Sunday mornings for club racing.
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Clean Water Action Group
Campaigning to #endsewagepollution in Hastings & St Leonards since 2021! Help us hold the polluters accountable!
Currently crowdfunding for our citizen science water testing - please donate via website link and share, thank you 🙏
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Strandliners
Strandliners is a non-profit organisation, raising awareness of the environment through citizen science and community engagement.
Our aim is to leave a lasting legacy, up-skilling and motivating communities to become guardians of their local water environments.
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Goat Ledge
Goat Ledge was founded in 2018 with a shared vision: to create a bright, fun-filled meeting place at the seafront heart of St Leonards, serving reasonably priced, simply cooked, Hastings fish to the people of the town. Now, a few years on, even though the town has changed, and the business has grown, the ethos remains the same: good quality, uncomplicated food & drink, locally sourced ingredients and minimal environmental impact.
@goatledge | www.goatledge.com -
Climate Nan
Climate Nan is in your town!
Nan’s fed up with politicians. She’s touring the length and breadth of Britain so she can hear your climate solutions, your good ideas, and your opinions, hopes and fears. Because no one knows your local area like you do.
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Hastings Canoe Club
Hastings Canoe Club is a small friendly club that provides training and on-the-water opportunities for our members in a range of paddlesport disciplines, such as kayaking, canoeing and SUP. You can come along to beginner's sessions as a visitor, to try paddling on the sea or in an indoor pool.
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The Bluetits
We're lucky enough to have two local swim spots for Bluetits - the Hastings Rock-a-Nore Bluetits and the St Leonards Bluetits each have a Facebook page where you can find swim times. These groups are hosted by volunteers, and we form part of a global movement called the Bluetits Chill Swimmers Social Swim Community. Every Bluetit gets a badge on their first swim.
Rock-a-Nore https://www.facebook.com/groups/645888320873099
St Leonards https://www.facebook.com/groups/167254748268958
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Afri-Co-Lab
Afri-Co-Lab is your local community dreaming hub. We empower people to dream creatively and make creative things happen for themselves and the community. Workshops, classes, trips and gatherings, we offer a whole host of creative activities.
We are a Queer friendly, Black-led organisation, giving voice and a home to Black and Global Majority people in the East Sussex area whilst working to support cultural cohesion and a welcoming space for our white allies.
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The Hastings Project
The Hastings Project is a Community Interest Company which brews beer to raise money for local charitable and community projects. We are currently raising money for the refugee buddy project, little gate farm, Hastings voluntary action, Roots of return and wras. but the plan is to go much further... find out more here:
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Plastic Free Hastings
We’re a community tackling single-use plastic from beaches & green spaces all the way back to the brands and businesses who create it. We’re on a journey to unite Hastings in the fight against plastic pollution. It starts here and it starts with us. And if you’re still reading this, that means you too…
EMMA RIDOUT, BEACH CLEAN VOLUNTEER, @PICKINGUPPLASTICHASTINGS
“I’m not much of a sunbather, I can’t swim, and despite moving to St Leonards 16 years ago, I rarely used to visit the beach. Then a tragic event happened, 8 years ago, which brought me on to the beach. Sadly, my friend Sally, who suffered from severe depression, walked into the sea during the early hours of May 16th, 2016, and she drowned.
I found myself visiting the beach more frequently and noticed how filthy our beaches were. Vast amounts of litter and marine related detritus strewn everywhere. I have been voluntarily cleaning our beaches, and campaigning for cleaner beaches, ever since.
My main focus is picking up plastic pollution to help minimise the impact of microplastics on our marine environment, and to help protect our marine wildlife. You can follow me on instagram.
Sometimes it’s easy to assume that our shoreline is naturally clean and safe, but this is mostly thanks to the unsung heroes who are out there all year round, come rain or shine.
Our beach needs us—every single day. But it’s not just up to a handful of volunteers; it’s a shared responsibility. We need more support from the council, more hands on deck, and more people who care. So pick up that piece of litter, join a clean-up, spread the word, campaign. Every effort counts. This is our beach, our home, and together, we can keep it clean and safe for everyone.”
Read Emma’s full story HERE to find out more about the folk who help keep our beach clean and safe, and how you can support them.
A DEEPER DIVE INTO WE ARE A SEA…
Here in the historic town of Hastings the sea is deeply embedded into our daily emotions, cultural heritage and tied intrinsically to our wellbeing. And yet, our little patch of ocean suffers from geopolitical bigotry, plastic pollution, degradation of biodiversity, coastal erosion – and yes, sewage.
We may not be receiving much help from the government or the water companies, but at grassroots level there are hundreds of heroes already working hard to help keep our sea and shoreline clean, healthy, safe and welcoming…
WE ARE A SEA brings diverse groups and individuals together under a new headline for Hastings; one which unites our community, is more inclusive and relevant than anything 1066-related, and one which reflects the huge amounts of hope bubbling away within our town. Instead of looking back 1,000 years, WE ARE A SEA invites us to look forward. Like the sea, we are more than the sum of our parts: a powerful force of hope and possibility.
WE ARE A SEA celebrates these local heroes through a curated weekend of joyful, community happenings, from swimming, storytelling, workshops and beach cleans, to screenings, printmaking, bike rides, boating and more.
By the people, for the people, WE ARE A SEA is a decentralised festival, taking place in ‘action hubs’ located along the seafront. Programmed in partnership with the community, WE ARE A SEA creates critical connections between the varied folk working to better our oceans and beaches, whilst bridging social and cultural divides. Through sharing our relationships with the ocean, WE ARE A SEA is a symbol of solidarity, cooperation & resistance. Sometimes the ripples may feel small - but together we make waves.
Designed to be inclusive, the entire programme will be free for all, with complimentary shuttle buses and lunches for communities in Hollington and Ore who might have access issues (please get in touch to book a space).
WE ARE A SEA is an idea which belongs to us all. After the event the brand assets will be open-sourced, released into the wild, a gift to the people of this town and all our other Hastings heroes!
With thanks to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
28th – 29th September 2024
#WEAREASEA #community #possibility #solidarity
QUOTE FROM WE ARE A SEA CREATOR, BECCY MCCRAY
“What is ‘the natural world’, when over half of our own body is H2O? How can we be separate from nature if we are nature? Every second breath we take, anywhere in the world, is oxygen that comes from phytoplankton – tiny microscopic plants drifting in the ocean. 50-85% of the oxygen we breathe is created by these tiny creatures.
As the Maori people say, ‘I am the river, the river is me’. We are an ecosystem within a much, much larger system where ‘me’ really means ‘we’. We are a sea.
WE ARE A SEA reflects a growing ocean of change, a movement we are part of in Hastings which breaks down the harmful narrative of separation from each other and the natural world, and instead brings to life stories of interdependence, community, and possibility.
WE ARE A SEA makes visible the positive futures that are growing all around us - through ordinary people doing things that change our world for the better. But this isn’t the story we usually hear. Hope is in the shadows while doom is in the mainstream. We know we must not shy away from or whitewash the horrors of the present or the past, but we must interweave other stories to seed new narratives of possibility.
This is also a moment in which we must call upon new leaders to be radical and courageous in doing their part to help build the futures we long for. We're doing it anyway - but they can, and must help too.”
Beccy Mccray, WE ARE A SEA Creator
Based in Hollington or Ore?
Please get in touch to find out more about WE ARE A SEA’S complimentary shuttle buses and lunches.
GET IN TOUCH TO FIND OUT MORE