The Ecologist green festival roundup 2012: Part one

Resurgence Summer Camp
Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th July 2012

The annual Resurgence Summer Camp offers both readers of the magazine and curious campers the opportunity to get up close and personal with Resurgence contributors, supporters, the editorial staff and eco ‘visionaries’ for a long weekend of activities in a friendly, easygoing atmosphere. Held at Green & Away - Europe’s only tented conference centre (at a secret location in Worcestershire) - the camp will feature engaging talks from a range of activist, illuminating workshops, eco poetry and international music from a variety of musicians and artists.

Guest speakers include the international activist lawyer Polly Higgins, who founded campaigning group ‘Eradicating Ecocide’, Satish Kumar, editor-in-chief of Resurgence magazine for over 40 years and Martin Powell, whose poetry was chosen by CNN to open the 2009 Copenhagen Conference on climate change. Workshops on storytelling, Tai Chi and wild plant identification are also on offer.

Green & Away is pitched on a farm, sitting snugly in the Worcestershire countryside, (the location is revealed to participants in good time to plan their journeys). And as well as tents, yurts and cosy campfires, the site also boasts a kitchen serving fantastic local food from sustainable sources, showers fuelled by wood burning stoves and of course the Rising Sunflower, an evolving (as in changes every year) bar that serves organic wine, local ales and ciders.

Resurgence Summer Camp tickets cost £185.00 for adults, £140.00 for children aged 12-16 and £100 for children aged 2-11. All tickets include meals and accommodation, and are available for purchase here.

Trill Summer Festival
Thursday 2nd – Sunday 5th August 2012

 


Trill Summer Festival is one of a new breed of unashamedly small and non-commercial events – its heart rooted firmly in the simple pleasures to be found in its immediate surroundings. Each day of the Festival offers a host of activities ranging from inspiring speakers and creative workshops to outdoor adventures and engaging music. 
 


It’s a great little family festival, with activities such as woodland arts, bushcraft, badger and bat watching, story-telling, outdoor yoga, campfire-sing-alongs, foraging for fresh food and flowers, a silent disco (you’ll have to come to see what that’s all about!), wild water swimming, raft building and much more. And as you would hope from an organic farm with its own chef-in-residence, the food is delicious and nutritious and either wild-harvested, from the farm or locally sourced. 
 


Trill Farm nestles in amongst the rolling hills and woodlands of the Devon/Dorset border and is the home of Romy Fraser, founder of Neal’s Yard Remedies. Romy bought the farm in 2007 and re-established it as an organic enterprise dedicated to promoting, demonstrating and sharing the benefits of sustainable food production. 


Weekend tickets cost £110 for adults and £55 for children, and are available from the Trill Summer Festival website.

Green Gathering
Thursday 2nd – Sunday 5th August 2012

Green Gathering is back for a second year, mixing entertainment with education, alternative technologies with sustainable living and holistic therapies with solar-powered internet cafes. This year (2012), however, marks the beginning of a new partnership with Transition Towns, aiming to spread the word on how to build resilient, low-carbon communities, how to face up to the inevitability of climate change and how to campaign for an end to our reliance on cheap oil.

Not losing any momentum from last year’s debut, Green Gathering’s 2012 line-up again features music from the upbeat African guitars of TwoManTing, workshops on solar panels, stonecutting lessons from Stoneycraft, Danny Chivers on the undercover policing of the green movement and, not forgetting the kids, the Majical Youth Theatre! And as the London 2012 Olympics will be running concurrently with the festival, the on site ‘Green Olympics’ will give festival going Olympians a chance to show off their skills in such gruelling disciplines as the egg and spoon race, and of course, the sack race.

Situated in the grounds of the now ruined Piercefield Country House in Monmouthshire, Wales, Green Gathering sits amongst standing stones, exotic trees and local legends, all just a stone’s throw from the River Wye.

Tipi, yurt and bell tent hire is also available if required.

Four-day adult tickets for Green Gathering cost £100, with youth tickets (children aged 10-16) costing £50. Children under 10 get in free!

For more information, please visit greengathering2012.co.uk.