Celebrating the cultural
heritage of the
Great North Wood
in Southeast London
Saturdays, April 27 - November 31
Guardians Treemoot Camp
Sydenham Hill, London
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A Parliament of Trees
A unique outdoor experience held in Southeast London, Treemoot Festival is an international gathering of storytellers, environmentalists, land defenders and traditional keepers of tree lore. Our aim is to celebrate the culture and diversity of the Great North Wood in Southeast London. We will champion the rights of trees and forest defenders, share stories of the woods and facilitate special workshops for participants of all ages.
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How to join
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All events in this festival are FREE. Our events are for all ages. The events are held in a wooded field or in the woods, with toilets within the premises, which are wheelchair accessible. If you have specific questions regarding accessibility please contact info@guardiansworldwide.org . Food and drinks are available at the festival camp for the opening and closing days, and camping is available in case you want to stay overnight.
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You must register in advance if you wish to attend as there is limited availability
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Saturday April 27th, 11:00-16:00
The Parliament of Trees, opening by Nic Salazar Sutil
Gog, Magog and the Guardians of London, by Janet Dowling
Me, The Tree by Dermot Daly
+ Woodland foraging and oak ceremony with Chris and Nadean Foster
+ Live music by Laonikos and Juniper Fuse / Kitsune no Yomeiri procession led by local children
Treemoot Festival calendar
Saturday May 18th, 14:00-16:30
Stories of the Atlantic Forest and the Kariri Xoco people (Brazil)
with Tawana Kariri-Xoco
+ Body painting workshop and ritual dance with Tawana
Saturday June 15th, 14:00-16:30
Tree Stories from Palestine and Lebanon
with Alia Alzougbi and Elias Matar facilitated by Nesreen Hussein
+ Peace prayer by Old Cedar of Lebanon and singing by
Rama Alcoutlabi
Saturday July 27th, 14:00-16:30
Nomad Stories of the Woods
with Richard O’Neill and Damian Le Bas
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Saturday September 28th, 14:00-17:00
World Trees and Travellers
with Laura Angela Collins
Saturday October 26th, 14:00-16:30
In partnership with Southwark Council Black History Month
African Tree Tales
with Leonard Mindore (Kenya) and Kamilu Hassan Hamza (Nigeria)
Saturday November 30th, 14:00-16:30
Bonfire
The Forest of Peace with Audu Bulama Bukarti and Nic Salazar Sutil
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Storytellers from different corners of the world will be gathering in Sydenham Hill Wood to share stories of trees and traditional ecological knowledge.
All sessions will include walks along Sydenham Hill Wood, and voluntary workshops where you can learn about tree planting, foraging, woodland management and climate action, to better understand threats affecting trees.
All storytelling sessions will be held at Treemoot Camp, located in The Fort, Grange Lane. The site is fully equipped with toilets, showers, camping plots and picnic areas.
Treemoot Camp is within the historical Great North Wood, the nearest ancestral woodland to any capital city centre in Europe.
Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree
Emily Bronte
Every leaf a Hallelujah
Ben Okri
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Sydenham Hill train station
Treemoot Camp, The Fort
How to get here
Treemoot Festival camp
The Fort
Grange Lane
SE21 7LH
Public transport
Nearest station is Sydenham Hill (Southern Trains), 13 minutes from Victoria
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Parking is available at The Fort
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All storytelling sessions will be held at the Treemoot Camp, and afternoon workshops will be held at the Tree Rescue Hub, across the road
About the Storytellers and Facilitators
Alia Alzougbi
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Alia is a storyteller from Lebanon living and working in the UK. Her work lies at the intersection of art and social and environmental justice. She is the CEO of Shubbak Festival.
Emma Beard
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Emma is a storyteller from East Sussex also Green Party Councillor for Horsham District and steward of Old Beard's Wood
Laura Angela Collins​
Laura, mother of three, is an award winning human rights activist; author of 'The Tinker Menace: Diary of an Irish Traveller,' group leader of the 'Justice4All Women and Children' campaign and Partnerships Coordinator at the Traveller Movement.
Dermot Daly
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Dermot is a British theatre director, film-maker and storyteller based in Leeds, Creative Associate of the Geraldine Connor Foundation and former Artistic Director of Freedom Studios.
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Janet Dowling
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Janet is a storyteller, psychiatric social worker and family therapist, as well as Morris dance practitioner, based in Devon.
Chris and Nadean Foster
Sustainable living campaigners based in Kent, with profound knowledge of foraging, food and water activism, and yoga.
Kamilu Hassan Hamza
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Kamilu is an historian and keeper of stories of the Maguzawa or Hausa animists, also founder and director of Al Fitra school in Kano, Nigeria
Nesreen Hussein
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Nesreen is an Egyptian and British performance artist, author and researcher, working as Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Theatre at Middlesex University.
Tawana Kariri Xoco
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Tawana is the spiritual and cultural
leader of the Kariri-Xoco Fulkaxo people of the Opara River in Northeastern Brazil, leader of Reserva Ecologica Fulkaxo.
Damian Le Bas
Damian is a writer from West Sussex. His book The Stopping Places, which described a year spent travelling around traditional Romany camping grounds, won the Somerset Maugham and Jerwood awards.
Elias Matar
Elias is a Palestinian storyteller, director, playwright and performer who grew up in Galilee where he founded Ibillin Theatre and El Bayet Centre for Performing Arts.
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Leonard Mindore
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Leonard is a land defender and community leader of the Ogiek people of Mau Forest, director of Program for the Heritage of Ogiek and Mother Earth (Pro-Home)
Richard O'Neill
Richard is a master storyteller from Northeast England, brought up in the nomadic storytelling tradition, also a woodcarver and engraver
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Nicolas Salazar Sutil
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Nic is a Chilean and British human rights advocate and author, storyteller and community builder based in South East London.
Lisa Schneidau
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Lisa is a storyteller and author, botanical folk expert from Buckinghamshire, based in Devon.
Lee Walther
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Lee is a woodland ranger, forester and storyteller based in East Sussex.