THE PROGRAMME


Welcome to The Garden of Tomorrow 

An introduction to The Garden of Tomorrow from House of Hackney co-founder Frieda Gormley. Frieda will be sharing her personal journey in business, the ambition of the programme and her hopes for the future. 

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We Are Nature

In conversation with cosmologist, futurist, planetary healer, author, member of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle and one of the most senior international business women in the UK, Dr Jude Currivan. Having travelled to over 80 countries, Jude has worked with wisdom keepers from many traditions and is a life-long researcher into the nature of reality. 

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Nature's Rights; Putting Nature on the Board

The attribution of a voice and legal rights to Nature has the potential to solve so much in the world. Join the co-creators of Faith in Nature and pioneers of putting Nature on the board, Simeon Rose & Anne Hopkins and Lawyers for Nature co-founder and creative Earth law expert Brontie Ansell, in a fireside discussion about their work and journey towards putting Nature first. 

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Giving Nature A Voice

Lawyers for Nature’s Brontie will be hosting a short workshop post discussion about giving Nature and future generations a place on a board of directors - ensuring businesses can give the voiceless a true voice in all decision making.

THE PROGRAMME


Welcome to The Garden of Tomorrow 

An introduction to The Garden of Tomorrow from House of Hackney co-founder Frieda Gormley. Frieda will be sharing her personal journey in business, the ambition of the programme and her hopes for the future. 

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Reboot the Future

With the mission to foster a new world where we treat others and the planet with respect in order to transform our world into a more compassionate and sustainable one, Reboot the Future is a non-profit bringing together a global community of businesses, organisations and stakeholders to make the changes we need. In this event, co-founders Kim Polman and Anthony Bennett present a very special screening of their film, made with Earthrise’s Jack Harries, ‘We Are Antarctica’, in which they explore what Nature would say if she had a voice. Following the film will be an open conversation with the audience, discussing what and how we can be the change.

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We Are Nature

In conversation on nature and business with cosmologist, futurist, planetary healer, author, member of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle and one of the most senior international business women in the UK, Dr Jude Currivan and author, advisor, entrepreneur and leading authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development, John Elkington. 

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Nature's Rights; Putting Nature on the Board

The attribution of a voice and legal rights to Nature has the potential to solve so much in the world. Join the co-creators of Faith in Nature and pioneers of putting Nature on the board, Simeon Rose & Anne Hopkins and Lawyers for Nature co-founder and creative Earth law expert Brontie Ansell, in a fireside discussion about their work and journey towards putting Nature first. 

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Giving Nature A Voice

Lawyers for Nature’s Brontie will be hosting a short workshop post discussion about giving Nature and future generations a place on a board of directors - ensuring businesses can give the voiceless a true voice in all decision making.

DR JUDE CURRIVAN

Dr Jude Currivan has a Master’s degree in physics from Oxford University specialising in quantum physics and cosmology and a Ph.D. in archaeology researching ancient cosmologies. She is the author of 7 books, latterly and both award-winning and best-selling The Cosmic Hologram (2017) and The Story of Gaia (2022). In 2017 she co-founded WholeWorld-View.

ANNE HOPKINS & SIMEON ROSE
Faith in Nature

Anne Hopkins and Simeon Rose are a Creative Director team with twenty years’ experience working in many of Sydney and London’s best creative agencies. In 2017, they became joint Creative Directors of Faith In Nature and have spent the time since reimagining the business and what it means to be a green company in today’s world. In 2021, Anne asked “What if Nature really was the boss?” In August 2022, Faith In Nature became the first company in the world to make Nature a director — giving the natural world a voice and a vote in all of its decision making. They live in West Wales with their dog, Sonic — as close as they can be to the natural world and a daily reminder of why they continue to do what they do.

BRONTIE ANSELL
Lawyers for Nature

Brontie Ansell is one of the founding directors of Lawyers for Nature, a not for profit dedicated to protecting the natural world. She is also a senior lecturer at the University of Essex and manages the Climate Casework Unit at Essex. She practises creative Earth law and was recently responsible for the conceptual and legal work of appointing Nature to the board of directors of Faith in Nature. 

FRIEDA GORMLEY
House of Hackney

Frieda Gormley founded House of Hackney in 2011 with her husband and co-collaborator, Javvy M Royle. Powered by a fearless imagination, innovative thinking, and a love for Mother Nature, the brand blazed a trail through the magnolia-walled interiors of the 21st century. Frieda’s career started in fashion buying, and disheartened by the throwaway culture and lack of sustainable innovation at the time but armed with a passion for interiors and Nature, the couple saw an opportunity to create a new model of business; one that valued people and planet above profit, was led by values, championed slow, sustainable growth and used less invasive production methods.

ANTHONY BENNETT
CEO, Reboot the Future

Anthony Bennett is CEO of Reboot the Future, following a career across the cultural, environmental, and philanthropic sectors. Reboot's mission is to foster a kinder world in harmony with the Sustainable Development Goals, using their own version of the Golden Rule, "treat others and the planet as you would wish to be treated", across the arts, education and values. Anthony is co-author of ‘Value for a Life Economy’, and a Fellow of the RSA.

KIM POLMAN
Co-Founder, Reboot the Future

Kim Polman is Co-Founder & Chair of Reboot the Future, and author of ‘Imaginal Cells, Visions of Transformation’ and ‘Values for a Life Economy’. She is also Co-Founder and Board Member of the Kilimanjaro Blind Trust based in Kenya, dedicated to improving literacy for blind and visually impaired students in East Africa. She is an Advisory Board Member of The Oxford Character Project as well as The Taylor Institute, Switzerland and a fellow at Aspen Institute UK. In 2022 Kim received The William Howard Taft Medal for notable achievement from the University of Cincinnati.

JOHN ELKINGTON
Founder and Chief Pollinator

John is one of the founders of the global sustainability movement, who has worked as a strategic advisor to businesses across the globe for more than 40 years, serving on over 80 boards and advisory boards. He currently chairs an Advisory Council on Sustainability and New Markets for Neste and an Impact Valuation Advisory Council for Novartis. John is a highly regarded speaker and author and is a faculty member of the World Economic Forum from 2002-2008. He is the author or co-author of 20 books, the most recent of which – Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism – was published in April 2020 by Fast Company Press. In September 2021, John won the globally renowned World Sustainability Award.

THE PROGRAMME

Founder Panel Discussion

Join our esteemed panel of founders pioneering the regenerative movement in business as they discuss their incredible journeys, the challenges their companies face in today’s world, inspiring stories of hope and their ambitions for the future. Including Tom Kay, founder of environment first outdoor brand, Finisterre; Geetie Singh-Watson MBE, regenerative hospitality pioneer, ethical entrepreneur and founder of the UK’s first organic pub and The Bull Inn; Guy Singh-Watson, founder of employee-owned Riverford; Kresse Wesling CBE, award-winning environmental entrepreneur, circular economy hero and co-founder of Elvis & Kresse, designer, film director and winner of the coveted 2020 LVMH Prize, Priya Ahluwalia and Frieda Gormley & Javvy M Royle, founders of B Corp brand House of Hackney, one of the first companies globally to pioneer the four-day week. A Q&A will take place at the end so come prepared with questions. 

More speakers to be announced soon.

THE PROGRAMME

08.30am- 10am: Putting Nature On Your Board  

Lawyers for Nature Workshop

Why would you put Nature on your board of directors and is it even possible? Lawyer’s for Nature founder Brontie Ansell leads this intimate morning workshop exploring the how and why. Learn about her work with brands and leave with expert advice. There will be a chance to have one-on-one time with Brontie so come prepared with questions!

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07.30pm- 08.30pm: Founder Panel Discussion hosted by Aja Barber

 After a special address and short film from Patagonia’s Beth Thoren, detailing their incredible journey to giving Earth business ownership, join our esteemed panel of founders pioneering the regenerative movement in business as they discuss their journeys, the challenges their companies face in today’s world, inspiring stories of hope and their ambitions for the future. Including Tom Kay, founder of environment first outdoor brand, Finisterre; Geetie Singh-Watson MBE, regenerative hospitality pioneer, ethical entrepreneur and founder of the UK’s first organic pub and The Bull Inn; Guy Singh-Watson, founder of employee-owned Riverford; Kresse Wesling CBE, award-winning environmental entrepreneur, circular economy hero and co-founder of Elvis & Kresse, designer, film director and winner of the coveted 2020 LVMH Prize, Priya Ahluwalia and Frieda Gormley & Javvy M Royle, founders of B Corp brand House of Hackney, one of the first companies globally to pioneer the four-day week. A Q&A will take place at the end so come prepared with questions.

08.30pm- 09.00pm: Meet the Panel

The aim of The Garden of Tomorrow is to share knowledge and tools to work in better harmony with Nature. Our guests are pioneers of using business for good, and we want you to be able to leave with all you need to begin your journey. There will be an opportunity for you to have 1-2-1 time with the panel after the discussion. You will be able to spend 5-10 minutes with each of the speakers and ask them questions, share thoughts or just say hi!

TOM KAY
Founder, Finisterre

Tom Kay is the founder of Finisterre, an outdoor apparel brand inspired by the needs of hardy British surfers and the life they lead. Founded in 2003 when sustainable business agendas were scarce, their products are designed with performance, style and circularity in mind. They are proudly the UK’s first B Corp certified outdoor apparel brand, which was awarded in 2018. Finisterre introduced the ‘Sea Tuesdays’ initiative, where their staff have the opportunity to spend the first hour of the day in the sea, every Tuesday, to connect with Nature, and the brand ethos. They are based out of Wheal Kitty - an old tin mine in St Agnes, Cornwall, and has 10 stores across the UK.

GEETIE SINGH-WATSON
Founder, The Bull inn

Geetie Singh-Watson is an ethical entrepreneur. In 1998 she opened the pioneering organic pub, The Duke of Cambridge in north London. In 2009 she was awarded an MBE for services to the organic pub trade. Last year, she opened The Bull – an award-winning, organic inn that occupies a sunny corner of Rotherfold Square in Totnes. Geetie also founded The Baddaford Farm Collective with her husband, Guy. 

GUY SINGH-WATSON
Founder, Riverford

Guy Singh-Watson has over the last 30 years taken Riverford from one man and a wheelbarrow delivering homegrown organic veg to friends, to a national veg box scheme delivering to around 80,000 customers a week. Tired of meetings, brands and the assumption that greed is our predominant motivation, Guy converted the business to employee ownership in 2018, using the proceeds to buy a small farm and return to growing organic vegetables. In common with many of Riverford’s co-owners, Guy is an advocate of using business to shape a part of the world, however small, to be kinder, more considerate and sustainable; more like the world most of us want to live in.  His weekly newsletters connect people to the farm with refreshingly honest accounts of the trials and tribulations of producing organic food, and the occasional rant about farming, ethical and business issues he feels strongly about.

KRESSE WESLING
Founder, Elvis & Kresse

Kresse Wesling, CBE, is a multi-award winning environmental entrepreneur. After first meeting the London Fire Brigade in 2005, Kresse launched Elvis & Kresse, which rescues and transforms decommissioned fire hoses into innovative lifestyle products and returns 50% of profits to the Fire Fighters Charity. In 2021 Elvis & Kresse also took on a farm in order to establish a regenerative agriculture project, generate their own renewables and implement a host of environmental initiatives.

PRIYA AHLUWALIA
Founder, Ahluwalia

Priya Ahluwalia is a London-based Designer and Film Director of Nigerian and Indian heritage who established the label ‘Ahluwalia’ in 2018. The brand is informed by the designer’s dual heritage and London roots and explores the potential of vintage and surplus materials by giving them new life. Ahluwalia has been awarded the H&M Design award, was a joint winner of the coveted 2020 LVMH Prize, the 2021 Queen Elizabeth II award for British Design, the 2021 GQ Menswear Fund and was in the final of the 2022 International Woolmark Prize. In all of her work, Ahluwalia endeavours to create, innovate and design whilst driving social and environmental change.

JAVVY M ROYLE
Co-Founder, House of Hackney

After graduating with a degree in fashion, Javvy dabbled in both learning and teaching across different design fields – from graphics and illustration to product development and website creation. Co-founding House of Hackney with wife Frieda Gormley in 2011, Javvy helps captain the journey of each design, harnessing his technological savvy to innovate at every turn. Like House of Hackney itself, Javvy is ardent about promoting the need to understand and protect our planet – citing his ultimate motivation as finding ways to unlock the forces of Nature and welcome the natural world into our lives through art and interiors.

BETH THOREN
Environmental Action & Initiatives Director, EMEA
Patagonia

Beth is a respected environmental leader and has been instrumental in working with a coalition of NGOs to save the last wild rivers of Europe. Last year,  the Albanian government took the historic step of signing a commitment to create the Vjosa Wild River National Park, after working in close partnership with Patagonia and civil society. She joined Patagonia from her position as Deputy Chief Executive at Client Earth, an environmental NGO with a unique approach – using the power of the law to create systemic change. A passionate defender of Nature, Harvard educated Beth came to the NGO sector following time spent as a crew member of the Sea Shepherd campaign ship, confronting trawlers and whale fisheries in Antarctica.

AJA BARBER
Writer, Stylist, Consultant

Aja Barber is a writer, stylist and consultant focusing on the intersections of sustainability, fashion, and the textile industry. Her work explores the traditions of privilege, wealth inequality, racism, feminism, colonialism, and how these systems of power affect our buying habits.

Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism is her debut book, a treatise on the state of fashion, climate change, and social justice. The book reveals the endemic injustices in our consumer industries, the uncomfortable history of the textile industry, and how these oppressive systems help create a lack of diversity and equality in the fashion industry.

Aja has written for The Guardian, CNN, Selfridges, Eco-Age, and is a Contributing Editor for Elle UK. Follow @ajabarber

Elvis & Kresse Farm Tour

Join founder of Elvis & Kresse, Kresse Wesling, CBE and House of Hackney’s Frieda Gormley for a tour of Kresse’s farm in Kent. Spend the morning exploring the regenerative agriculture project, including the workshop where Elvis & Kresse’s innovative creations are made, the wetlands and vineyard before enjoying a light lunch with Frieda and Kresse. This is a wonderful opportunity to discover the farm and learn about regenerative agriculture philosophies, supporting biodiversity and addressing climate change.

Please note guests must organise their own travel.

The Diary

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The Garden Of Tomorrow

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The Resource Library

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