R-urban is an eco-civic hub based in a once disused car park, now a thriving community garden, kitchen, workshop and making space in Tower Hamlets, East London.

As part of R-urban's Climate Companions programme in 2022, we ran a series of multi-sensory workshops for community members and MA students. The first workshop introduced participants to the art of community composting, through practical, theoretical, playful and speculative lenses. We learned together about the multitude of organisms that are part of the soil, including humans, who have a role to play in collaborating to transform our waste materials, attend to soil health, and imagine better systems for living, caring and being on this planet.

The second workshop was based around a steaming pile of woodchip, which had reached about 70 degrees centigrade in mid November, as a result of its microbial activity. We measured the temperature in different places, learned about the biological and chemical processes that produce thermophillic (hot) composting, and how different kinds of woodchip can be used in the garden. We experimented with using the pile to heat water and slow cook a stew which we ate together at the end!

In the next workshop, we focussed on listening to the soil and each other, through experimenting with different microphones and listening devices. We gathered up our learnings (sounds, tastes, temperatures, smells, microscope videos etc.) from previous the workshops and contemplated the questions we were left with. Participants wrote and shared letters to the soil, which we edited together in a short film.

Photo by R-urban