Join us at venn on Sunday, October 12th, 2025, for a transformative hands-on workshop with Landra; an artistic duo blending art and ecology to regenerate forgotten urban spaces.
Help us break concrete and plant a garden at venn's patio. The day includes soil testing, compost tea brewing, planting resilient first-wave species, a shared meal, and a film screening.
What to Expect
Join us for a full-day, hands-on workshop as we begin transforming venn’s patio into a small-scale agroforestry garden; part of a broader plan to unseal, rewild, and regenerate urban soil.
Led by Landra (Sara Rodrigues and Rodrigo Camacho), the session blends practical techniques and ecological knowledge. With mallets and pickaxes in hand, we’ll crack through the concrete surface so the earth below can breathe again. We’ll touch, smell, and examine the newly exposed soil, making quick observations and discussing the type of material we encounter.
From there, the process of reactivation begins. We’ll add layers of decomposed (and decomposing) organic matter and sow a selection of pioneer species that will set regeneration in motion before winter arrives.
Soil health starts at the microbial level. Together, we’ll initiate a liquid compost system, aiming to restore microbial networks -bacteria, fungi, and trophic layers; that allow resilient ecosystems to form. We’ll also explore these microscopic communities under a microscope to help us adjust compost recipes and nutrient inputs using kitchen waste from Venn, algae, seashells, and ocean water.
Midway through the day, we’ll pause for lunch and a short screening of “A Fundo na Paisagem”, a film by Landra that documents a similar patio transformation just a few blocks away at CCOP (Círculo Católico de Operários do Porto). Our hope is that this event inspires others to begin liberating more urban land across the city.
What to Bring
Expect to get your hands (and maybe your clothes) dirty! We’ll be working outdoors on a sunny day (~27°C), so dress comfortably and practically!
Clothes you don’t mind getting soiled (literally!)
Closed-toe shoes or boots (ideally waterproof or sturdy)
Sun protection (hat, sunscreen)
Reusable water bottle
Optional: Gardening gloves (we’ll have a few on hand)
The Bigger Picture
This workshop is part of the PATIO Project; a long-term intervention turning venn’s sealed backyard into a replicable public-facing agro-ecological system and digital storytelling platform.
What begins with the breaking of concrete and soil reactivation will evolve into a layered space for observation, participation, and biodiversity. The PATIO Project is rooted in citizen science and grounded ecological knowledge, co-developed with partners like Landra, Genomic Gastronomy, Cunicode, Irena Uebler, and a network of regenerative farmers, technologists, and artists.
We’re prototyping what small urban spaces can become: food-producing, water-retaining, shade-giving, story-rich patches of green. At its core, PATIO is about reimagining the city from the ground up; transforming overlooked backyards into sensory, social, and ecological infrastructure.
About Landra
Landra is the name given by Sara Rodrigues and Rodrigo Camacho to the land they live on, and the artistic and ecological practice they’ve developed since 2020. Inspired by the landras (oak tree fruits), their name is a tribute to cultures of autonomy, abundance, and sharing.
Beyond an evolving agroforestry space, Landra is a site for experimenting with local production methods and forms of art-life. Working together since their time at Goldsmiths, University of London, Sara and Rodrigo move across video, sound composition, performance, installation, and public space interventions. They are also trained in permaculture and soil microbiology, and apply this knowledge in artistic and ecological projects focused on soil regeneration and ecosystem repair.
Accessibility & Attendance
This event is free to attend to keep it accessible and open to community participation. To ensure fairness, we recommend a self-imposed limit of 2 tickets per registration.
If for any reason you’re unable to join us on Sunday, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your spot to someone on the waitlist.
“When citizens are involved in urban greening, they become stewards of their environment—not just passive inhabitants of a city.”
