PEER UK: Early Warning Signs bulletin and Hackney seasonal zine
- Borough: Hackney
- Organisations: PEER, The Hoxton Trust
- Topics: environment, children and young people, art
Who we are
Throughout 2020–21, Hoxton-based arts charity PEER produced a series of free bulletins and zines about climate change. These grew from an ongoing project called ‘Early Warning Signs’ by artist Ellie Harrison and were made available for local residents both online and in print.
They contained fun and engaging content on sustainability and at home activities including recipes, crafts, horticulture, local nature, poetry, creative writing and signposting to local green spaces, organisations, and events.
Early Warning Signs bulletin
Extract from the August 2020 issue of the PEER Early Warning Signs bulletin.
Each issue of the Early Warning Signs Bulletin includes DIY art activities, a plant of the month that could be seen in Khadija’s Garden (a green space in Hackney next to PEER), recipes provided by PEER Ambassadors (local young people who work at PEER alongside participating in a programme of creative activities), eco-facts and signposting to local organisations, events, or services in the area. Each issue also invites contributions for the next bulletin.
Hackney in Season zine
Extract from the Autumn 2020 issue of the Hackney in Season zine.
As the pandemic wore on and PEER still couldn’t fully re-open to the public, we began to work with our PEER Ambassadors to develop the bulletin into a seasonal zine.
PEER Ambassadors is a two-part programme for local young people aged 17 – 25 that offers paid work experience at PEER, alongside a free, collaborative, and creative programme working closely with an artist on a new public art commission.
During the pandemic, the Ambassadors couldn’t do their usual paid work of welcoming people to PEER, so these shifts were instead used to produce the Hackney in Season zine, mostly remotely. They produced artwork, creative writing, poems, facts, and activities working together with the PEER team to create vibrant and inspiring zines that explored nature, art, environmentalism and more.
A positive space for collaboration
During a period when we were living with restrictions, uncertainty and isolation, these publications provided a positive space for creativity, consideration, and collaboration.
They encouraged exploration of local green spaces and learning about local environments and species. They drew attention in a positive way to key issues around environmentalism and the climate crisis and provided engaging activities for people who may have been separated from their usual social groups, providing entertainment and inspiration.
The publications also provided a platform for local people, and particularly the PEER Ambassadors, to come together and create something collaboratively.
The changes we would like to see
We would like to see more opportunities for local people to get involved in conversations about the development of their local area, particularly in relation to environmental impact.
There are lots of conversations to be had around community decarbonisation and how this can be implemented in a way that has a positive impact on the neighbourhood, while reducing the cost of living and improving wellbeing. Additionally, it would be good to see further conversations about how more green space can be provided, particularly ones that encourage biodiversity and re-wilding.
Get in touch
If you have any questions you can get in touch with STEAMLabs at [email protected] or 020 7739 8080.
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