Environment & Sustainability
Most of us appreciate or enjoy being outdoors and are conscious of this. In the lockdowns, many of us learned that access to the outdoors, nature in particular, is a privilege and that having access can be a significant factor in our health and wellbeing.
Some enjoy the spaces for quiet reflection or to watch and listen to wildlife. Others paint, photograph or record what they see or enjoy others’ depictions. Yet, we cannot take being outdoors in nature for granted. We need to do more to create access, sustainable change and meaningful experiences.
At City Lit, we offer a range of courses on nature, climate change and sustainability that will build your knowledge and skills, expand your horizons and give you new ideas on how to engage in everyday sustainable practices and understand the global aspects of the climate crisis and how humanity is currently addressing it.
Please explore our courses below.
- Nature and landscape photography: London location
Course start date: Sun 15 Jun 2025 (and 2 other dates)Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Rachel WeghWidllife in the city is an exciting opportunity to work off-site and enjoy various surroundings focusing on flora and fauna. Travel to some of some of London’s finest open spaces whilst learning the photography skills required in focusing on details, landscape and capturing natures beauty. Ideal for beginners, those who want to broaden their photography skills and those wishing to continue building their photography portfolio.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £79.00 - Start planting design for your garden Course start date: Tue 17 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alison WorsterExplore the principles of planting design using form, line and texture to create dynamic planting schemes. In weekly workshops, improve the breadth of your plant knowledge whilst developing the skills and techniques of garden designers. - Art and critical theory: rethinking 'nature' Course start date: Wed 25 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore the role of critical theory within the field of art history, and learn new ways of thinking about art by focusing on how recent authors have been rethinking our understanding of nature.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00 - Creative nature and landscape photography Course start date: Thu 3 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Kean Street Photography Studio
Tutors: Rachel WeghExplore nature, landscape and environmental photography in the classroom and in the field. You will learn to create images with impact, whilst developing your own visual style and a personal project.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Garden History: Italian Renaissance Gardens Course start date: Sat 5 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Explore the historical factors and the conditions which led to the creation of the Italian Renaissance Gardens in the 15th and 16th Centuries. Examine the technical developments and design approach as well as the wider socio economic context. The session will conclude with an assessment of the lasting impact of Italian Renaissance Gardens and our relationship with the natural environment.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - Archaeology of London gardens Course start date: Sat 5 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jill HummerstoneIn this course we explore the archaeological evidence used to uncover some of the hidden secrets of significant designed gardens in London and its outskirts, which has led to the attractive restoration of some of the parks and gardens enjoyed today.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - Poetry and nature workshop at Keats House, Hampstead Course start date: Sat 2 Aug 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Eleanor PennyA two-day writing workshop on poetry and nature, set in the former residence of the Romantic poet, John Keats, as well as nearby Hampstead Heath. - Design your own garden intensive Course start date: Mon 4 Aug 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alison WorsterTransform your garden and explore design and plant selection techniques tailored to your space. Discover how to improve your garden with professional, practical garden design solutions and tips to maximise the potential of your site. - Creative nature writing Course start date: Sun 10 Aug 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jennifer WongDo you enjoy being in nature and want to capture that on the page? Learn how to write about the natural world in this fun course, which encourages you to step outside into the urban 'wild' to seek inspiration for your poetry or prose. - Global issues Course start date: Thu 18 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sebastien ArdouinThrough the study of some of the key actors and main issues that affect people across continents, you will gain the skills and knowledge to analyse today’s world and the challenges we all face. - Design your own garden Course start date: Fri 3 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alison WorsterDesign your own garden and turn your valuable outside space into a private sanctuary. On this online course you will discover how to create a secluded garden using considered layout, landscaping and planting to create an extension of your home. - Humanity and agriculture - the Neolithic revolution Course start date: Thu 1 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover how, from the depths of prehistory, our species turned from nomadic hunter gatherers to stable, town-dwelling farmers across the Mediterranean and Europe.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - Women writing and walking: Virginia Woolf, Nan Shepherd, Rebecca Solnit, Elizabeth-Jane BurnettCourse start date: Thu 8 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamThis in-person Literature course considers the relationship between walking and writing in four innovative works of literary non-fiction: Virginia Woolf’s essay ‘Street Haunting’ (1927), Nan Shepherd’s ‘The Living Mountain’ (written c. 1945, first pub. 1977), Rebecca Solnit’s ‘A Field Guide to Getting Lost’ (2006), and Elizabeth-Jane Burnett’s ‘The Grassling’ (2019).Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00
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