Derby selected for major European food and nature project

Derby has been chosen for a major European research and innovation project exploring how cities can build healthier, fairer and more climate friendly food systems.

Down to Earth Derby’s Electric Daisy venue, in Bold Lane – an award-winning urban nature garden in the heart of the city centre – has been selected as the only UK ‘Living Lab’ involved in the €6 million UrbanFood project.

Coordinated by the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas and funded through Horizon Europe, UrbanFood brings together 18 partners from eight countries over 42 months.

Each Living Lab is a real-world space where communities, researchers and organisations come together to design, test and improve new solutions.

Derby’s findings will be shared with partner cities across Europe, and the best ideas from those cities will be brought back to Derby.

Jamie Quince-Starkey, founder of Down to Earth Derby, said: “Being chosen as the only UK Living Lab in a €6 million European project is a huge moment for Derby.

“What started as an overlooked corner of the city centre at Electric Daisy is now a model cities across Europe want to learn from.

“This selection places Derby alongside cities across Europe as a testing ground for new ideas in urban food, nature and community and is international recognition of the nature-based regeneration model Down to Earth has built in the city.”

The UrbanFood project was initially launched at the Agricultural University of Athens in September, where partners set out plans for practical food growing, training and knowledge sharing, citizen participation, social innovation and digital tools that connect people with local food initiatives.

Working alongside the University of Derby, Down to Earth’s Living Lab will be rooted at Electric Daisy and reach right across the city through satellite hubs with community partners.

It will focus on knowledge exchange and social innovation: helping people gain the skills, confidence and connections to grow, cook and share food, and testing new community led approaches built to last long beyond the project.

The Living Lab will work with people in or close to food poverty, young people through education partnerships, university students and the wider public.

Since opening in June 2023, Electric Daisy has welcomed more than 40,000 visitors a year, hosted more than 300 events and was recently Highly Commended for Regeneration Project of the Year at the East Midlands Property Awards 2026.

Down to Earth already reaches close to 1,500 people through hands on, community led programmes, working with partners including Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Derby County Community Trust and YMCA Derbyshire.

Jamie added: “We brought the University of Derby into the project with us, pairing our community led work with their research expertise to show the real difference nature based regeneration makes.

“The Living Lab will support, strengthen and give a platform to all the great work the Derby community is already doing.

“This is a big step on Derby’s nature based regeneration journey and towards our ambition, through Electric Daisy Phase II, to make Electric Daisy its permanent home. Life is good when we grow it together.”

Anyone wanting to get involved in the project should e-mail team@dtederby.org.