Great Big Green Week is back bigger and better

HENLEY’S third annual Great Big Green Week will take place later this month.

Businesses, community groups and environmental campaigners will be coming together to show how the town can tackle climate change and protect nature.

The event, from June 10 to 18, is part of a national initiative, which is organised by the Climate Coalition charity and aims to raise awareness of climate change and its impact.

Organiser Diana Barnett said: “Last year’s event was a tremendous success but this time around we have got more people involved with a wider range of events.

“Niki Schäfer, who had hoped to stage her now cancelled House and Gardens Show on the last weekend really set the ball rolling as it opened up the programme to other businesses about what they should be doing to help tackle climate change.

“This year we have a gardeners’ question time but instead of being organised by Greener Henley, it has been taken on by Victoria Newton, of Chelsea Fringe, and has some amazing people on the panel.

“We have also been able to introduce tours at Greencroft allotments.

“On the Friday we have a fashion show at the new Green Room with another group of people who haven’t been involved before and that will be showing vintage and upcycled clothing.

“We have included more groups than ever before, covering every aspect of the environment.”

On Saturday, June 10 there will be a fair in the town hall with a host of green stalls and activities where you can chat about biodiversity, from bats and toads to trees and bees, and the town’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions.

There will be a gallery showing artwork by schoolchildren plus poems from the greener poetry competition and the Environmental Science Challenge awards will be presented in the afternoon.

Children can enjoy felt-making and crafting insects throughout the day. Jo Eddon, of Honeys of Henley, will be giving a talk on bees and Pavilion Foods in Henley will run a Plant vs Beef taste test.

On Sunday, June 11 churches will be dedicating services to the environment and Badgemore Primary School’s gardening club will open up the grounds for a family-friendly scavenger hunt.

During the week Greener Henley’s wildlife group will hold two daytime events, including a guided wildflower walk through Marsh and Mill Meadows and a working party in the same place.

The Greener Henley Business Group will be gathering on the evening of June 14 for a “Green Tactics” seminar at the d:two centre in Market Place with businesses encouraged to come along and hear first-hand insights into the highs and lows of working towards sustainability and net zero from other local businesses.

On Sunday, June 18 there will be river clean-up on paddleboards with Warriors on Waste.

Throughout the week Henley library and the River & Rowing Museum will display artworks by primary school children who participated in the Environmental Science Challenge and the green-themed Henley Youth Festival held in March.

Shop windows will have green displays and will take part in a family scavenger hunt called Spot the Bees in’23, where children have to find 15 bees in shop windows.

Mrs Barnett said: “More and more people are realising just how important climate change is and how we live and what we do has an effect on the environment.

“But I see attitudes are changing. Take No Mow May — a lot more people know about it and understand how it is important for pollinators and how mowing lawns is not good for the environment if you do it all the time. People understand that we have got to be more resilient and as a town we can work together.

“The town council has been quite progressive in its response to climate issues and the environment and we just need to take the rest of the residents along with us so people understand that it is for everyone’s benefit.”

For more information, visit https://greenerhenley.org.uk