NewBridge Gallery is now closed until Friday 16 October.
You can join us on 5 September and 3 October for Saturday Social. You can still shop NewBridge Books throughout the weekdays!
Plants have a culture, a history and a language, but are we attuned to listening to their stories? What do the plants of Bernicia’s garden have to say?
Join Claire Turner and Than Gunabalasingham to take gentle steps through urban streets, green spaces and post-industrial valleys, visiting our local plant neighbours in Shieldfield and Ouseburn.
This is a free ticketed event—please book a ticket at the bottom of the page.
Plants have rich histories and radical lives, from the ways they collaborate with animal-kin, migrate across the globe, to how they come to hold symbolic meanings in human culture. Learn more about our local plant life, and explore ways to listen to what they communicate on this walk.
Observe, connect with, and hear stories from local plants using all your senses. Listen closely to autumn’s rhythms and see how plants change with the season. Explore some of the radical social histories of these plants and how we can work with them in our gardens and green spaces, whether for food, medicine, or ecological resilience. We’ll also explore ways to relate to and communicate with plants in a deeper way, and not just through a scientific lens.
Than Gunabalasingham is a freelance horticultural educator. His work focuses on providing training in organic food growing, orcharding and forest gardening that is rooted in food system change and community resilience. He runs Nourish the Wild CIC, facilitating walks, workshops and courses that reconnect people with the land. He loves nothing more than to celebrate the stories of plants and to help people deepen their understanding and connection with the plants in our everyday landscapes.
Claire Turner is a herbalist and veganic gardener with a background in community food growing. Claire created Ahimsa Apothecary Herbals to support people with their health and wellbeing through medicinal plants. Claire believes in the power of communicating with plants in healing ourselves and our connection to the land. She and has a passion for growing and wild harvesting as many of these plants as possible.
To join the walk with Claire, Than and The NewBridge Project on Saturday 25 October please book a ticket below.
Any queries about the walk please contact admin@thenewbridgeproject.com
Please wear clothes and footwear appropriate for the weather on the day.
No prior plant knowledge is needed. Only curiosity required!
We have small access bursaries available to support people to take part in the public walks. This is a no questions asked process and we can support requests of up to £50 per person.
The fund can cover costs towards circumstances that might otherwise make it difficult for you to attend. For example: travel costs within Tyneside and the surrounding area to get you to and from the event, child-care costs, percentage toward loss of income for the time period of the event. You don’t need to share any evidence with us, just let us know that you need support to attend the walk. To claim the bursary you will then need to provide an invoice.
A Revolt in Bernicia’s Garden is taking place outside, specific details about what to expect, access, and practicalities are shared on each event page. Please get in touch with us on admin@thenewbridgeproject.com to make a request for support or if you have any questions.
NewBridge has a Safer, Braver Spaces policy. Everyone here treats each other with respect and consideration. Transphobia, misogyny, racism or harassment of any kind is not welcome.
Plant Voices: A guided walk exploring listening and learning from the radical lives of our plant neighbours is part of A Revolt in Bernicia’s Garden at The NewBridge Project, a programme exploring our relationship with plant life and the land. Developed by artist Holly Argent with The NewBridge Project’s Programme Committee.
Saturday 25 October 2025
10.30–12.30
Free (booking required)
Shieldfield and Ouseburn (Meet at The NewBridge Project)
The NewBridge Project is a charity, registered charity no. 1173849.
We are grateful to our funders, including Arts Council England, Newcastle City Council, Garfield Weston Foundation, Jerwood Foundation, Community Foundation North East, Newcastle University and the The North East Mayoral Strategic Authority.
We are proud to be a Gallery of Sanctuary.
