THE GREAT Big Green Week returned to Stratford and it was bigger than ever.
The nationwide campaign ran from Monday June 10 to Sunday June 18 to highlight the need for urgent action on climate and nature.
And in Stratford, a range of organisations, groups, charities, individuals and change-makers organised over 30 events, talks, walks and more.
On Saturday (June 17) the RSC celebrated nature with a mini festival on the banks of the River Avon.
In the theatre’s Avonbank Garden there was live music from the Vilk Collective Trio and the chance to take a ride on the forest animals of the Bewonderment Machine – a pedal powered woodland carousel from A Bird in the Hand Theatre.
Visitors were able to sip fresh tea made from the RSC’s community herb garden and create puppet birds to take home.
Representatives from five Stratford-based community groups who worked on the At The Forest’s Edge project came together for an upbeat collective performance featuring movement and dance, poetry, spoken word, and live music.
There was also the chance to follow a trail to discover six unique willow sculptures dotted around town.
Other events include a bug hunt at Alveston Church, a sustainable Shakespeare family fun day with Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, a vegan cooking demo and meal with Net Zero and the Plantarium Cafe chef, macro photography with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, and a visit to a solar farm near Stratford.
Nationally, The Great Big Green Week was organised by The Climate Coalition, the UK’s largest group of people dedicated to action against climate change, whose members include the National Trust, WWF, Women’s Institute, Oxfam, and RSPB.
