Creative approaches to climate action in the Somerset House Community

What would you do for nature with £1 million? What have you done for nature today?

These two questions underpinned the opening discussion at our recent Earth Day event with the Somerset House Community. A room of residents, collaborators and guests were asked to think about climate action at two very different scales: the ambitious, imaginative, system-shifting kind, and the small, immediate choices that shape daily life.

The answers reflected something already visible across the Somerset House community: there is no single route into environmental work. Some organisations are rethinking how land is owned and protected. Some are using law to give nature a voice. Others are developing new materials, regenerating wetlands, transforming fashion supply chains, or using design and storytelling to help us imagine different futures.

Held as part of Earth Day Weekender 2026, the event brought together residents working across land rights, environmental justice, cultural leadership, material innovation and climate storytelling. Together, they offered a snapshot of the varied climate-focused work taking place within our community, and a reminder that there is no single answer to the climate crisis. One collaborative hands-on activity produced speculative agencies and communication strategies for environmental work while another session opened discussion on how arts and design practice can better support and mobilise direct climate action. Across the day, our speakers and audience shared tools and generated ideas that will inform and inspire future work.

Common Nature works with local communities across the UK to help them buy and manage land for nature recovery, protecting it for current and future generations. Their model combines community ownership with land management expertise, helping people reconnect with local wild places while supporting long-term ecological restoration.

Hubbub makes sustainability feel practical, creative and part of everyday life. The organisation brings inventive ideas to environmental and social challenges, tests what works on the ground, then shares the evidence with businesses and government to encourage bolder choices. From food waste to e-waste, litter, community fridges and household action, Hubbub’s work shows how behaviour change can begin with accessible, engaging campaigns that meet people where they are.

Superflux is a design studio working with futures, imagination and uncertainty, helping people translate possible futures into present-day choices. Their climate-related work often uses speculative design, immersive installations and storytelling to make abstract environmental questions feel tangible.

Lawyers for Nature is a collective of lawyers, researchers and campaigners working on behalf of nature. Their work spans legal imagination, Rights of Nature, on-the-ground activism, and helping organisations bring the voice of nature into decision-making. By combining legal expertise with creativity and advocacy, they challenge the idea that law is separate from ecological care, showing how legal systems might be reimagined in service of the living world.

Materra is working to scale regenerative cotton for the fashion industry, combining nature-based solutions with traceability and digital tools. Their mission is to regenerate half a million hectares of land by 2030, supporting brands to source fully traceable regenerative cotton while giving farmers and supply chain partners better visibility from seed to bale. Their work sits at the intersection of farming, fashion, data and climate impact. At our Earth Day event, Materra were joined by Ponda and Fibe.

At Somerset House, we’ve spent 25 years making a home for London's largest creative community, a powerful network that helps both professionals and emerging talent to connect, collaborate, and thrive. Our residents include artists, makers, freelancers, and businesses from across the creative industries and social innovation. Sound like you? Find out more about our creative workspaces.