Groups across Wilmslow are planning a Festival of Nature this autumn to celebrate the beautiful natural world on our doorstep, and to encourage local residents to take better care of it.
The Festival, a Town Event grant of £6,425 along with a Community grant of £2,815 from Wilmslow Town Council, has been planned to coincide with the start of this year's COP-26 meeting (the UN's climate change summit, hosted by the UK Government in Glasgow) and aims to give everyone the opportunity to learn what they can do to combat and mitigate climate change – whilst celebrating what is around them.
The festival is being organised by several local voluntary and community groups, including Transition Wilmslow, Wilmslow Civic Trust, Wilmslow WI, Wilmslow High School, Wilmslow Primary schools, Chapel Lane - Love the Lane, Wilmslow in Bloom, Oakenclough Children's Centre, and Cycle Wilmslow.
Wilmslow Town Council Chairman, Martin Watkins, said of the grant approval, "We are excited to be able to support a festival that will be fun, free, varied and accessible to the whole community, whilst also encouraging people to take care of our natural environment. Seeing so many local groups involved in the organisation of the festival is heartening, and we hope all Wilmslow residents will be able to enjoy one - or several - of the brilliant events scheduled."
A competition to design the logo for the festival, which attracted many entries, was won by William from Lacey Green School.
Lisa Johnson from Climate Conscious Wilmslow, one of the organisers of the event said "We loved going through each of the entries and had a difficult time selecting the final design. We're very pleased with William's logo and hope you will enjoy seeing it around town as we announce the events that will make up the festival."
Primary school aged children have also been invited to submit entries for an art competition on the theme of "What would I like my town to look like in 2030?"
The competition has been organised through local primary schools but if you would like to encourage your children to get designing over the summer holidays you can submit entries to [email protected]. The winning entries will then appear on posters around the town during the event.
The festival will run from September until early November with a particular focus on events during the Autumn half term to encourage families to get involved. Everything from live music, food and fashion to walks, talks, cycle rides and films will be on offer and events will be free to attend.
Visit www.festivalofnature.co.uk for further details on the events organised.
Photo: Wilmslow Town Council Chairman, Martin Watkins, with Transition Wilmslow's Andrew Backhouse at the Oakenclough Community Market Garden). William with his winning logo.
