Great Big Green Week: 8th-16th June 2024
Great Big Green Week is back for 2024!
SAVE THE DATE: 8TH – 16TH JUNE. For the fourth year running we are taking part in the national initiative ‘Great Big Green Week‘, the UK’s biggest ever celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature.
We have a full week of events coming up for Henley’s Great Big Green Week this year, celebrating what we are doing for climate and nature in and around Henley. We’ll have walks, talks, film, art sessions, poetry, gallery exhibitions, a sustainability workshop for local businesses, and our special Nature Discovery Day down by the River, with lots of activities for all ages, plus conservation groups and local experts on hand to explore and discuss all things nature. Join us and find out how together we can bring nature and wildlife back to its full glory!
SATURDAY 8TH
Our Great Big Green Week kicks off on Saturday 8th June with a day of activities for anyone and everyone. Join us in exploring Nature on our doorstep at Mill Meadows at our Nature Discovery Day!
Nature Discovery Day 10am – 2pm
Mill Meadows, Henley-on-Thames
We’ll have events programmed throughout the day for all ages, and you can take part in our family-friendly Guided Wildflower Walk, Tree Trail, Butterfly & Moth Safaris, Bug Hunt, Pond Dipping and more. Greener Henley will have a stall with plenty of info, including about our Nature Squared campaign, plus conservation groups will be there – do some pond dipping with Chiltern Chalk Streams, or learn why Dark Skies are so important for wildlife with CPRE. Bat, toad, moth & butterfly, bird, bug, tree & wildflower experts will be on hand to chat and we’ll have a guided wildlife photography session too. If you want to be amongst the first few members of Henley Bat Group, come on by!
Popping through the hedge to the River & Rowing Museum (RRM) is a MUST – not only to see the work of our local students in our Schools’ Environmental Science Challenge Exhibition, the theme of which is ‘Pollution’, but also to immerse yourself in the accompanying exhibition, The Beautiful Blue. Curated by artist Vickie Amiralis, this expansive riverside arts and ecology project starts in Hambleden and winds its way along the Thames, bringing together artists and community groups whose creative works collectively weave a story of water and our relationship with it. Both exhibitions run from 23rd May to 17th June and are in the RRM’s Kirkham Gallery.
Gardening Drawing Club 2 – 4pm
Henley Library
Let your creativity and love of nature entwine at this family friendly art & gardening session hosted by Henley Library. The Gardening Drawing Club has been developed by Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck, an artist whose gardening life nurtures her creative practice and whose life as an artist informs her horticulture journey. She seeks to share the joy and benefits of integrating both activities into one another at this workshop and will take you through the basics of growing organic vegetables and herbs, before you move on to paint and draw impressions from these encounters. No art or gardening experience is necessary – this event is suitable for beginners and the most experienced alike. All organic seeds, veganic soil, pots, art supplies and plant-based painting materials will be provided!
Book your tickets here
SUNDAY 9TH
Paddleboard River Clean 10am
Launch location tbc
Join Lynne Lambourne of Warriors on Waste and Go with the Flo paddleboarding for a morning session cleaning up our stretch of the Thames – more details coming soon..
Green Screen: Elephant Mother 2pm
Henley’s Regal Picturehouse Cinema
A session of our ever popular Green Screen, in collaboration with Regal Picturehouse. After the film there will be an open discussion with a panel of local experts, plus a special guest from the film will be joining us in person!
Faith, Climate & Migration 6pm
Council Chambers, Henley Town Hall
A talk with the Bishop of Reading and Dr Krish Kandiah – more details coming soon..
MONDAY 10TH
In Our Hands: Our Climate Future 7 – 9pm
Council Chambers, Henley Town Hall
Come along to what promises to be a great evening talk by Professor Chris Merchant, an excellent speaker and Professor of Ocean and Earth Observation at the University of Reading. Get some expert feedback on your queries at the Q&A session afterwards.
With the “climate crisis” repeatedly in the news over the past year, how serious is global warming? What happened to Earth’s climate recently, and what is to come? Why is Net Zero promoted as a solution to global warming? Is Net Zero possible, or even desirable? What can I do about all this?
Professor Merchant will address these questions in his talk, followed by ample time for audience questions and answers. Presenting the key science that makes climate change a formidable challenge, he will discuss how ingenuity and determination can meet the Net-Zero challenge. Highlighting optimistic examples of progress towards a sustainable climate, Prof. Merchant will explain the urgency of faster action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the important roles we each have in responding to climate change.
Book your tickets here
TUESDAY 11TH
Tread Gently on the Earth: poetry readings 6 – 7.30pm
Henley Library
A poetry reading session to showcase some of the work entered in this year’s Green Poetry Competition. Spaces will be reserved mainly for those who have entered and possibly won prizes, and their families.
The Poetry Competition invites people to write a poem on the theme ‘Tread Gently on the Earth’ – you might consider our carbon footprint, or how we should care about the earth; or perhaps think on what does the earth give us? Your poem can be any format, with a maximum of 19 lines. The competition opens 1st May, closing 31st May and has 3 age categories: Children 6-11 years; Teens 12-19 years; Adults 20 years+. Prizes will be book tokens. Submit your entry by post to: Sue Turner & David Williams at Candela, 19 Reading Road, Henley-on-Thames RG9 1AB, or by email: [email protected]
WEDNESDAY 12TH
Wilding – a special preview screening: time tbc
Henley’s Regal Picturehouse Cinema
Greener Henley, in collaboration with Regal Picturehouse, presents a special preview screening of the film Wilding, based on the best- selling book by Isabella Tree, plus a panel discussion with local experts afterwards. You do not want to miss this uplifting film! Booking info coming soon..
THURSDAY 13TH
Greening Your Business 5.30 – 7.30pm
Thames Room, River & Rowing Museum
Are fear of costs and of accusations of ‘greenwashing’ preventing sustainability changes at your business? Join other local businesses for an interactive workshop to learn how the green agenda will help your business cut costs, reduce waste, lower your carbon footprint, and inspire customer loyalty. Amongst the businesses people offering short presentations is Clare Myers, Head of Corporate and Social Responsibility at Invesco, who will illustrate some of the valuable progress being made to bring about change. Whether you are a sole trader, retailer or a small business, this workshop will give you the opportunity to learn about practical and impactful activities to “green your business” and to build connections within the local business community.
Book your tickets here
ALL WEEK
Wander through the wonderful River & Rowing Museum to see the Exhibition of our Schools’ Environmental Science Challenge, the theme of which is Pollution. Come along and see the work of our local students on this important topic, sitting alongside The Beautiful Blue exhibition which showcases creative work from a diverse group of artists, dedicated to themes of ecology and sociology. It’s exploration of water and our human relationship with it invites a shift in the role of the viewer from passive spectator to active thinker, doer and art-maker.
“I hope the project will inspire you to encourage wildlife and natural ecosystems to flourish and for you to seek solutions to environmental issues related to our waters. Let us strive for permanent, positive change for Earth’s wild environments through art, culture and action.”
– Vickie Amiralis, Curator of The Beautiful Blue
If creative writing is your thing why not take part in this year’s Poetry Competition – write a poem on the theme ‘Tread Gently on the Earth’. Your poem can be any format, with a maximum of 19 lines. The competition opens 1st May, closing 31st May and has 3 age categories: Children 6-11 years; Teens 12-19 years; Adults 20 years+. Prizes will be book tokens. Submit your entry by post to: Sue Turner & David Williams at Candela, 19 Reading Road, Henley-on-Thames RG9 1AB, or by email: [email protected].
For the whole of June you can join in Henley’s Big Green Read – 8 fab books we’re suggesting that are interesting, recommended reads on nature. Why not take one to your book club? Read a book, share it, start the conversation! Links to the books are coming soon..
Things in the pipeline..
Henley Allotment Association will be holding a plant swap (time & location tbc) and fingers crossed, there will be another chance to visit the green spaces at Badgemore School’s open garden event too.
With the exception of the film screenings and the Paddleboard River Clean, all events are FREE! Join us in celebrating Great Big Green Week, and find out how we can tackle climate change and bring nature and wildlife back to its full glory!
Don’t forget to check back here soon to find out what else has been added!
With thanks to Henley Town Council for their support, also the River & Rowing Museum, Henley Library, Henley Distillery, KJ Smith Solicitors, and HoTWI, as well as all the volunteers who are contributing their time. Thank you!