Organisations combine efforts to put nature-based wellbeing higher up on life’s agenda and to help us all recognise our role in protecting Somerset’s beautiful landscapes and wildlife .
23rd April 2018 saw the launch of the Somerset Festival of Nature – a new annual event which aims to focus on celebrating Somerset’s natural environment; its enduring and stunning landscapes and seascapes, its vibrant green spaces and inspiring natural places, and all the rich and diverse wildlife that lives in this wonderful county.
Modelled on kindred Festivals across the UK, the Somerset Festival of Nature has the same shared ambition – to find as many ways as possible to put people of all ages back in touch with nature and, most importantly, in doing so, help us all recognize and appreciate its value in our lives as well and the role we must all play in securing our environment for the future.
The aim for the festival in 2018 is to firmly plant the seed for one key event in the year where we all give ourselves the perfect excuse to get outdoors and, as a county, celebrate our wildlife and natural places in Somerset. This year, this date is Saturday 5th May and will take place at Fyne Court in Broomfield . For the entire day all the participating organizations will come together to offer the public the chance to get involved in lots of brilliant nature-based activities from pond-dipping and den-building to guided walks.
Whilst there is one key event on this date, the Festival will also provide information about a whole host of other events that are taking place around that date all over the county – so even if you cannot come along to the Festival day itself, you can join a celebration or activity nearby on a date that might suit you better.
The Festival of Nature is driven by Somerset Wildlife Trust, with the help of a collaboration of organisations that are already involved in safeguarding Somerset’s natural assets for generations to come. Whilst these organisations have different core purposes, there is one thing that unites them all – a passion for helping more people explore, enjoy and look after the natural world in Somerset. (Festival partners are Somerset Wildlife Trust, National Trust, RSPB, WWT, Exmoor National Park Authority, AONBs (Mendip Hills, Blackdown Hills, Quantock Hills), Somerset Rural Life Museum and Bridgwater & Taunton College)
Speaking on behalf of the Festival partnership, Simon Nash, Chief Executive, Somerset Wildlife Trust explains,
“We all know that being closer to nature is good for people and good for wildlife. As a partnership we believe that by coming together on this, we stand the greatest chance of giving nature a permanent place in people’s daily consciousness, and inspiring people to value it and take action to defend it. In celebrating all that we have here in Somerset with the festival, and getting more people outdoors and enjoying all things nature-based, more of us will start to understand that there is a role for us all to play in protecting it now and in the future. There is a danger that we take our natural environment for granted. We need that to change. We are just at the start of something special for Somerset this year and we hope to grow the Festival in years to come.”
Pick an event for you: A full list of the events on offer can be found by visiting: www.somersetwildlife.org/
Help spread the word: Please get behind the Somerset Festival of Nature through talking it about on Social Media using the hashtag #FoN