Great Big Green Week 2026
Great Big Green Week is back in Henley
from 6 – 14 June!
Join us for our 6th annual Henley’s Great Big Green Week – a vibrant, community-wide celebration of climate and nature action. This is a moment to come together for good – making our neighbourhood a better place to live, protecting the natural world we love and showing decision makers that people want positive change.
Our theme this year is Pledge for the Planet. Keep your eyes peeled for all the pledges and actions that people and organisations in our local community have already taken – prepare to be inspired! Kicking off the week is our family-friendly, fun-filled Big Green Festival in Market Place, focused on exploring how we can collectively tackle climate change and boost nature and wildlife in the local area – and beyond!
Find out more about what’s on throughout the week below.
Saturday 6th June
Greener Henley’s Big Green Festival
Market Place – 10am-4pm
Buzzing with lots of different stalls and activities for all, our free Festival celebrates all the local action happening on climate and nature. Chat with local nature groups, including Henley’s much loved Toad Patrol. We’ll have advice on saving money and energy, plus plenty of Greener Henley stalls, including our Nature Squared hub, giving away plants to help you help local pollinators, along with lots of top tips on helping nature thrive. Our popular Pledge Cafe returns – make a Pledge for the Planet and get a free cuppa and cookie! We’ll have children’s science activities, and Brigida the Brilliant face painter is back, plus we’re being visited by the Floodmobile – come and find out what it’s all about! Lots to do and see for all the family.
Monday 8th June
Henley Prepared: Community Resilience Briefing – film with workshop
Henley Town Hall – 5:30pm–7:30pm
A curated evening for Henley’s sector leaders. Guests will watch ‘The People’s Emergency Briefing’ – a compelling film documenting the National Emergency Briefing held at Westminster Hall in November 2025 – before hearing from national security expert, Lieutenant General Richard Nugee, on what escalating climate and geopolitical risks mean for towns like ours and why building community resilience has never been more important. Small group workshops after the film will explore what practical preparedness looks like for Henley.
This is an invitation-only event for around 100 leaders from business, education, health, faith, sport, culture, media and beyond. This event is organised and hosted by Greener Henley, in partnership with Henley Town Council.
Wednesday 10th June
Prize-giving and poetry readings from the Stop. Look. Listen. The Earth Is Speaking Poetry Competition
Henley Library – 6.00-7.30pm
If words and creativity are your thing, come along and hear readings of some of the best entries from our Stop. Look. Listen. The Earth Is Speaking Poetry Competition, and see the prize-giving. If you’re reading this before 31 May 2026, why not put pen to paper and enter the competition yourself?! We’d love to hear your words.
Green Screen: A Life On Our Planet – film with panel + Q&A
Regal Picturehouse – 7pm start
2026 sees the 100th year in the incredible life of national treasure Sir David Attenborough. Honest, revealing and urgent, A Life On Our Planet is Sir David’s witness statement and his vision for the future. Despite devastating changes wrought by humanity on the natural world, his film carries a message of hope for future generations.
After the film, audiences will have the unique chance to watch a very special, exclusive conversation between Sir David Attenborough and Sir Michael Palin. This will only be available in cinemas.
A life On Our Planet has much to say about how our actions have been detrimental, but its lessons are also about the myriad of solutions we should now pursue. In the words of Sir David, “we need to learn how to work with nature rather than against it”. It is these solutions – and the choices we can collectively take now to secure a better future – that we will focus on during the panel discussion with audience Q&A after the film.
Find out more here and book tickets
Click here to find out more about taking a Pledge for the Planet - and why so many people and organisations in Henley are taking part.
Take a pledge today for a better tomorrow
Pre-Great Big Green Week – don’t miss our Poetry Competition!
Poetry Competition: Stop. Look. Listen. The Earth Is Speaking
Submit entries by 31 May
Calling all poets! Submit a poem on the theme Stop. Look. Listen. The Earth Is Speaking for this year’s Greener Henley Poetry Competition. Enter by 31 May and a Poetry Reading session at Henley Library on Wednesday 10 June will showcase some of the best entries. 3 age categories, with prizes.
Children’s entries received by 30th April will be displayed at the Greener Henley Environmental Science Challenge ‘Stop! Look! Listen!! Noticing Nature’ Exhibition at the Old Fire Station Gallery, 13th – 19th May 2026.