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Lush Spring Prize

Zicä Pires Silva - founder of AAQ Agentes Agroflorestais Quilombolas, Brazil
Zicä Pires Silva - founder of 2018 winners AAQ Agentes Agroflorestais Quilombolas, Brazil.

The Lush Spring Prize comprises of a £200,000 prize fund and other support activities, to build capacity for those repairing the earth’s damaged systems.

It is for organisations that are working to revive damaged social and natural environments, and who want to share what they are doing to inspire and inform others.

The 2021 LUSH Spring Prize received over 400 applications, which were shortlisted to a group of 54 in June and July. The prize saw a 61% increase in reach, with applications being submitted by inspiring projects spanning 81 different countries and every continent except Antarctica.

In October 2021, 20 prizes were awarded during a week long programme of online events, celebrating the work of regenerative practitioners all over the world.

You can watch the opening awards ceremony on YouTube on the Ethical Consumer channel.

The 2021 Awards

The 2021 prizes were awarded across six categories:

It total more than £220,000 was invested in recognising regenerative work.

The 20 prize recipients of the 2021 LUSH Spring Prize can be found on the Spring Prize website.

Projects were driven by a range of stakeholders, including grassroots campaigners, small scale agro-ecological producers, regenerative businesses, Indigenous-led groups, academics, global solidarity networks and think tanks.

Their work addresses multiple issues needed to support life, including ecosystem restoration, regenerative food production, building communities, creating resilient housing and circular economies, whilst also supporting displaced people, protecting Indigenous rights and access to land.

Prize recipients are working around the world in a diverse range of fields including landscape restoration, food and farming, climate change mitigation and adaptation, Indigenous rights, and empowering women and other marginalised groups.

While projects may have different focuses, they all take holistic and regenerative approaches to solving the challenges they face, with many being led by members of the communities they are working in.

All projects designed and ran peer learning workshops as part of the week long online final event. You can watch sessions again in six different languages here.

Four people in garden
Education for Climate Action for Peace (E4CAP), winner of the Young Project

The 2021 event

As government officials began to gather in Glasgow for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, the Spring Prize community gathered online to celebrate and highlight the important role that holistic, regenerative approaches must play when facing the complex challenges posed by the climate crisis.

To creatively respond to the travel restrictions and health risks of the pandemic, the Spring Prize 2021 event took place online for the first time, with local events being hosted in 16 countries by prize recipients.

The event was designed with the aim of providing awarded projects’ members with the opportunity to share their stories, expertise and ideas in an inclusive and collaborative environment.

You can watch the spring prize 2021 peer learning workshops again in six different languages here.

Open letter from Spring Prize community to COP26 and the world

Throughout the event participants shared messages and crafted an open letter from the Spring Prize community addressed to all those considering our future, at COP26 and beyond.

“We are writing to you from five different continents as those working to repair the earth’s damaged systems.

We ask you - as world leaders, as policy makers, as those concerned for our climate - to take heed of the work of regenerators from so many different movements: Indigenous land defenders, agrocologists, permaculture practitioners, natural builders, food sovereignty activists, and more”.

You can read the full open letter online, with personal quotes and messages.

Regeneration

People all over the world are developing ways to live in harmony with nature and each other. They are resisting further damage, restoring ecosystems, generating renewable resources, nurturing solidarity and building health, wholeness and resilience.

Regeneration can mean a lot of different things to different people. By regeneration we mean systems and practices that take a ‘holistic’ approach to solving environmental, social and economic problems; aiming to restore health, wholeness and resilience.

We are looking for projects that are actively contributing to the health of all the systems they are part of.

As well as helping to restore the natural systems in the place the project is based, projects should be nurturing the wellbeing of all their workers, the capacity of the community around them, and the networks they are connected to.

We are seeking projects that are aware of the challenges they face, and building the capacity of their own organisation to improve and evolve.

Finally, projects should be sharing their experience so that others can be inspired by their work, adapt the knowledge to their own situations and develop the regenerative movement.

What is the LUSH Spring Prize?

Launched in 2017, the Lush Spring Prize is now in its fourth year of celebrating and awarding prizes to groups working toward eco-social regeneration. It is a joint venture between LUSH Cosmetics and Ethical Consumer, and has distributed more than £820,000 to date.

It was set up to support ‘regenerative’ projects – those that go beyond sustainability by taking holistic approaches to building the health of ecology, economy and social systems.

By supporting regenerative projects, the Spring Prize hopes to raise the profile of the movement as a whole to inspire more individuals, groups, communities, funders and businesses to start engaging with regenerative processes.

People all over the world are developing and remembering ways to live in cooperation with nature and each other. They are resisting further damage, restoring ecosystems, generating renewable resources, nurturing solidarity and building health, wholeness and resilience.

The Lush Spring Prize supports and celebrates their work through:

  • A biennial £200,000+ prize fund. This is open to communities, organisations and businesses from the Intentional stage, through to Young and Established organisations, and Influencers.     
  • Events that bring people together to share their skills and experience.
  • Publicity to raise awareness of regeneration and its potential to heal damaged systems.

Previous Spring Prize winners are listed on the Spring Prize website alongside shortlisted projects. They demonstrate the variety of approaches that can be taken to create a more regenerative society, from restoring degraded landscapes to creating platforms that give a voice to marginalised communities.

Image of two women with the words Untelevised The Podcast

Podcasts by Untelevised

A partnership between Lush Spring Prize and Untelevised has led to a podcast series of interviews with Spring Prize judges, projects, shortlisted projects etc.

These podcasts are being broadcast from 17th November 2021 - find out more from their website and also the podcast link.

Week 1 - Introduction to the 'Climate &' series

"The last couple of weeks have been a noisy time, with everyone sharing their perspectives on what's been happening inside the (rather exclusionary) walls of the COP26 summit, on the streets surrounding it and globally.

"For Untelevised, social change is about uncovering the root causes of injustice and discovering alternatives. So, rather than focusing on the event of COP itself, we see this as an opportunity to explore the wider themes around climate justice. And we've found voices at the grassroots that we can learn, discuss and share radical alternatives with. The 'Climate &' series is the result of these conversations."

Guests: Snippets from conversations with Asad Rehman (War on Want), PermaQueer, Anne Rammi (Be the Earth Foundation) and Ola Tom Lakere.

Click on any of the links above to access the podcast.

Week 2 - Climate & capitalism (Wed 24th Nov)

"Capitalism relies on the exploitation of the planet's resources and people for continuous financial growth. A changing climate is, arguably, an inevitable result of this relentless pursuit. Therefore, although we might consider climate change an environmental issue, the fight for climate justice must be a sociopolitical one that interrogates all of the structures of our society.

"So, in this episode, we’re doing just that! By exploring whether we can achieve climate justice without completely changing the way that we live, consume and trade.

"To do this, we’re speaking with two people who are fighting for change from opposite sides of the fence - both inside and outside of our corporate world."

Guests: Ruth Andrade (LUSH) and Asad Rehman (War on Want)

Week 3: Climate & philanthropy (January 12th)

Access the podcast via the Untelevised website or choose a way to listen via the link on their Anchor site.

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