Events

Eco Future Fest 2023

On Saturday 15 April 2023, we held Eco-Future Fest, our first free one-day community festival which celebrated our natural world, shared information about sustainable living, and aimed to create a positive, hopeful vision of a greener future.

There were plenty of fun, free activities and giveaways including seed bomb making and beeswax candle rolling; 50 native British tree whips found new homes; there was raffle from the Centre for Sustainable Energy; Wiltshire Police helped cyclists by offering security stamps to keep bikes safe; plenty of high-vis rucksack covers, armbands, bells and cycle maps were given out by Cycle Chippenham, the Wessex Water stand provided advice, water saving devices and refillable water bottles; and there was a fantastic environmental tombola from Good Energy.

For those that love swapping, there was a clothes swap from Refashion My Town and a seed swap from Rooted as well as the Chippenham School Uniform Exchange.

The free workshops were extremely popular, with plenty of people gathering for sessions which included wildlife fun for families; an eco-poster and placard workshop for under 18s; learning how to repair clothes; and facing up to the climate crisis in a play based, creative learning session for adults with climate LEGO from Climate Play.

The Neeld was full of stalls from local crafters and makers using sustainable and upcycled materials, plus money-saving advice on energy and water, which grants are available as well as practical information and help on renewable energy and recycling, as well as information from local community groups and organisations.

Upstairs in the Town Hall, the Art for the Environment exhibition showcased created striking works from local artists on the ‘Climate Crisis’ and ‘Green Future in Chippenham’. The under-18 artworks were on display in the Neeld.

Congratulations to Sue O’Sullivan with “Heat” and Molly Rogers with “Flowers for the Future” for winning the open categories, and to Lily-May, Thomas and Matilda for winning the u18 categories. The winning entries from Sue and Molly were on display at Chippenham Museum for the following month, you can read more about the competitions and entries by following the following link – Art for the Environment Competitions 2023.

Also in the Town Hall were the series of ‘The Future is…’ talks, where listeners learned about the connections between fast fashion, sustainability and well-being; the magic of wildflowers; retrofitting your house; how adding a rain soakaway to your garden can help the environment and save water; plus the future of sustainable business by way of chocolate and doughnuts. There certainly was something for everyone there.

We enjoyed performances of live music from Luke Gittens, traditional folk music from Catharsis, ukulele music from Strung Out and a special performance from young musicians Bailey Upton and Meg from Hardenhuish school. In between sets, entertainment came via musings on the environment from poets Gail Foster, Brian Reid and the award-winning Des Mannay.

There was also plenty for lunch with the range of delicious vegan food stalls in the market, including bao buns, smoky tacos, cakes, wraps, Buddha bowls and plant-based burgers and kebabs.