Planning meetings continue for Nottingham Green Festival, a sustainable-themed festival, organised by a volunteer cooperative planning group.
The Green Festival will be held at Nottingham Arboretum on Sunday 13th September 2026 and your support is most welcome.
Join us at the Sumac Centre, or get in touch for details to join the online via zoom.
Note that times may change between Winter & Summer meetings – see future meeting dates … (Also event listing on Veggies Diary)
Nottingham Animal Coalition is a new animal advocacy group aiming to bring together the various animal rights groups in Nottingham.
Look out for the meeting link.
You may be able to join the online conference at the Sumac Centre Screenroom. An opportunity to get active for animals, discover existing campaigns, or start your own!
If you have an unfulfilled interest in animal rights you are welcome to attend the meeting, even if not (yet) associated with a specific group.
The format is subject to change but each rep may give a short presentation about their group and the type of activism they do, with time for some questions. After this, there will be an open discussion about different activism tactics and what types of activism people feel is missing.
See also events on the Animal Rights Calendar.
Nottingham Women’s Collective are organising the “Hope and Safety Donation Drive”, a community donation campaign supporting women and children in refuges managed by Central Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid.
The campaign aims to provide essential items and comfort products for individuals and families rebuilding safety and stability after domestic abuse.
We are reaching out to local businesses, organisations and faith groups to ask whether you would be willing to support the drive in one of the following ways:
- Hosting a donation box
- Sharing the campaign on social media
- Donating essential items or vouchers
- Encouraging members to contribute
We are currently collecting:
- Toiletries and hygiene products (unopened, new and unused)
- New underwear and basic clothing, of all sizes.
- Children’s clothing and toys
- Comfort items such as blankets, journals and pamper products
The donation drive will take place on 06.06 from 12PM–3PM.
Any support, large or small, would make a meaningful difference to women and children accessing refuge accommodation in our local community.
If you would like any additional information, please contact Nottingham Women’s Collective
NOTE event is POSTPONED due to the unprecedented scale and depth of the work in processing Sumac’s Rainbow archives.
Sumac Centre Library covers a range of topics from anarchism, animal rights, political and social theory, race, gender and class, environment and ecology, activism, to journalism and history and more.
Sparrows Nest Banner
The Sparrows Nest have adopted our huge wealth of pre-digital campaign resources from the 1980s & 90s. They will be storing our archives safely. Once catalogued many items will publically available and all will be maintained in perpetuity.
We need to raise £400 for the next part of our archiving work.
Join us at this fundraising event at Sumac Centre when it is rescheduled, probably in September.
If you can, please DONATE via https://sumac.org.uk/get-involved/donate/
For the Public Catalogue search for “Rainbow Centre” and Rainbow archives detailed listing.
Rainbow Listings 1986 (Sparrows Nest Archive)
For the Public Catalogue search for “Rainbow Centre” and Rainbow archives detailed listing.
More information on the Sumac Library, including it’s Rainbow Centre pre-history, may be seen at https://sumac.org.uk/get-involved/library-bookshop/
The Sumac Centre has its own small library, which people are free to browse when the Centre is open.
The library covers a range of topics from anarchism, animal rights, political and social theory, race, gender and class, environment and ecology, activism, to journalism and history and more.
We also welcome offers of help in helping to keep the Library (& book stall) organised.
Sumac also hosts the Veggies Book Stall, available whenever the Centre is open. Their are books and journals for reference and for sale covering green, human rights, animal issues, anti-war, co-operation and social justice. Some are available via Veggies online store.
We have started a catalogue of books in the library and another of journals and other archives.
We are working with the Sparrows Nest Library. They are adopting our huge wealth of pre-digital campaign resources from the 1980s & 90s. They hope to make our archives publically available, or at least catalogued.
For the Public Catalogue search for “Rainbow Centre” and Rainbow archives detailed listing.
See also “Raiubow Centre” at the Internet Archive
We need to raise £400 for the next part of our archiving work. If you can help with a small donation please DONATE via https://sumac.org.uk/get-involved/donate/
More information on the Sumac Library, including it’s Rainbow Centre pre-history, may be seen at https://sumac.org.uk/get-involved/library-bookshop/
HacktionLab will have their next gathering at the Sumac Centre on Friday 2nd October to Sunday 4th October, with arrivals from 5pm Thursday 1st.
HacktionLab is UK tech-activist run project that aims to create regular convergence spaces where activists interested and/or working in the areas of alternative media, renewable energy, on-line video distribution, free software or any other form of activism that utilises technology can get together and plan how to better harness the technology (or not) to support grass roots social movements.
Activities, facilities, meals, costs etc will be similar to the Autumn 2025 Hacktionlab at the same venue, including Friday’s Sumac Open Mic a jam-style performance space.
Are you interested in coming and getting involved? Get in touch with HacktionLab by joining and e-mailing them at hl2026@hacktionlab.org or joining their mailing list.
(See also entry on Veggies Diary)
Nottingham Animal Coalition is a new animal advocacy group aiming to bring together the various animal rights groups in Nottingham.
The next NAC meeting is on Monday 20th April . 7pm – 9PM at the Sumac Centre
An opportunity to get active for animals, discover existing campaigns, or start your own!
If you have an unfulfilled interest in animal rights you are welcome to attend the meeting, even if not (yet) associated with a specific group.
Each rep. will give a short speech about their group and the type of activism they do, with time for some questions. After this, there will be an open discussion about different activism tactics and what types of activism people feel is missing. Finally, there will be an opportunity for activists from different groups to socialise with each other.
RSVP at the Facebook event so we can get an idea of numbers. 🙇
Looking forward to seeing you all there. 🫂
See also events on Veggies Animal Rights Calendar.
The Sumac Centre has its own small library, which people are free to browse when the Centre is open.
The library covers a range of topics from anarchism, animal rights, political and social theory, race, gender and class, environment and ecology, activism, to journalism and history and more.
We also welcome offers of help in helping to keep the Library (& book stall) organised.
Sumac also hosts the Veggies Book Stall, available whenever the Centre is open. Their are books and journals for reference and for sale covering green, human rights, animal issues, anti-war, co-operation and social justice. Some are available via Veggies online store.
We have started a catalogue of books in the library and another of journals and other archives.
We are working with the Sparrows Nest Library. They are adopting our huge wealth of pre-digital campaign resources from the 1980s & 90s. They hope to make our archives publically available, or at least catalogued.
For the Public Catalogue search for “Rainbow Centre” and Rainbow archives detailed listing.
See also “Raiubow Centre” at the Internet Archive
We need to raise £400 for the next part of our archiving work. If you can help with a small donation please DONATE via https://sumac.org.uk/get-involved/donate/
More information on the Sumac Library, including it’s Rainbow Centre pre-history, may be seen at https://sumac.org.uk/get-involved/library-bookshop/
Sumac Centre is 25 this year.
We relocated the Rainbow Centre, established in 1984, to the Sumac Centre in June 2001.
Friday 25th probably a *LGBTQ+ Night +Bar
Saturday 26th probably a whole day of activities including the Big Gig in the evening
Sunday 27th probably an Acoustic Community Garden Party with Sunday Brunch, campaign stalls,. many local acts film screenings, Veggies Burger Bar, Forest Fields Social Club.
From Ned Ludd’s News, published from the Rainbow Centre in 2002, archived at Sparrows Nest Library (pdf)
Work on the new independent community, resource and centre at 245 Gladstone Street nears completion. Formerly the
Rainbow Centre, the name ‘The Sumac Centre’ has now been adopted after a shrub in the gardens.
The former Sitch Ukranian Social Club was purchased by the Rainbow Centre collective in June 2001. Major reconstruction work was undertaken by NECTA (Nottingham Environmental Construction Training for All) and other local trades people. Since then volunteers from the local community have worked on, replacing floors, walls, ceilings, doors, windows, stairs, toilets, electrics and plumbing!
Finally the end is in sight. The newly plastered walls and refurbished toilets are being‘ painted, the community cafe is being built and the furniture fireproofed. Sufficient facilities are now completed for the centre to have hosted or booked meetings for local residents groups, animal rights conferences, training days, environmental/roads gatherings and more.
With a final push it is hoped that the new centre will be ready to open during June, after which work will continue for the planned Social Club.
With completion of this first phase so close supporters are urged to get involved, both with the final works, which continue on a daily basis, and with planning the activities and running the centre once opened.
As there has been so much more work to be done than expected, the opening date, and therefore opportunity to earn income, has been deferred several times. However the mortgage and other bills wait for no one, so the gap in funding continues to grow. We have been very encouraged by
the practical support, grants and donations received, but for long‘ term security we are very keen to invite investment by way of loans, with interest offered from 0% to 5%, repayable over I, 5 or I0 years.If all goes to plan the official opening date is the 22″“ June.
Reserve this weekend for a series of events loosely based on the template of the Rainbow Centre 40th Anniversary Festival in 2024.
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