In recent years there has been an exponential growth of green events – everything from festivals to film screenings have been proposed, funded and managed by a wealth of different people and organisations. These events are a wonderful means by which to increase awareness of green issues and engage with members of the population who are not predisposed to reading or learning about climate change.

Green festivals promote the awareness of ecological concerns whilst engaging with entertainment Festivals such as Chorlton’s Big Green Festival (27th March), the Real Food Festival (7th-10th May), The Green Festival (22nd May) and Fiddler’s Green International Festival (18th-25th July) promote positive change whilst providing fun, interesting and thought provoking days out for the whole family. The Big Tent (23rd-24th July) is Scotland’s biggest eco festival and has been a phenomenal success in the past providing a format that everyone can benefit from. The Croissant Neuf Party (13th-15th August) won the Greenest Festival of the Year award in 2009 and combines exceptionally great music with renowned street theatre, workshops, open mic sessions and sports activities. Perhaps one of the best known green events comes in the shape of the Big Green Gathering (dates tbc) which is a wonderful five day camping event in Somerset. Grown out of the Green Gatherings and Glastonbury Music Festival events it is definitely not one to be missed.

Another fantastic way of promoting the green agenda is by getting involved with an action day. Fairtrade Fortnight is currently underway and Walk to School Week will commence on the 17th of May – a great way to get the kids involved! World Environment Day takes place on the 5th June, recycle week begins on the 21st of June, World Water Week on the 5th of September and Buy Nothing Day takes place on the 27th of November. The most famous action day comes in the form of Earth Day which celebrates its 40th anniversary on the 22nd of April. These days provide an opportunity to show your support for a great cause and teach your family about the impact of their actions on the environment at large.

Or how about the EcoBuild exhibit (2nd-4th of March) where sustainable designers, innovators and constructors come together to provide more than 100 free conference and seminar sessions? Or One Life Live (18th-21st March) which provides inspiration and advice to those who feel they want to make more of their lives? These fantastic events combine volunteering opportunities, seminars, career advice and business acumen to help you make a difference. If you’re still not convinced then check out UK Aware (16th-17th April) which brings together 200 exhibitors, 15,000 visitors, 100 low carbon vehicles and over 50 world guest speakers or Sustainabilitylive! (20th-22nd May) which is the UK’s largest forum for excellence and innovation in environment, water, energy and land and is guaranteed to have something for everyone.

>>> For more details on all the green events listed above, check out our Green Events page.

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New research from environmental advice and campaign group A Greener Festival shows that music festivals have kept up their environmental efforts, despite slower tickets sales at some events and the economic recession.

The research, compiled by Rob Faull at Buckinghamshire New University, analysed the environmental assessments made at 37 festivals in 2009 compared with 32 festivals in 2008 as part of the ‘Greener Festival’ awards scheme,

The results shows that an additional 7% of festivals now have environmental policies meaning that 97% of festivals implement green good practice. The research also showed that 94% of festivals now promote lift sharing and 97% promote public transport in a move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  In addition 7% more festivals (71% in total) now used at least some sustainable power (usually wind, solar or sustainable bio-fuels). But there was mixed news on recycling, and whilst 94% of festivals have plans to place to prioritise recycling, there was a marked drop (24%) in recycling plastics and glass, something the Award organisers put down to a drop on the global demand for recycled metal and plastic caused by the recession which meant some festivals struggled to offload waste metal and plastic.

There was also a big jump in the number of festivals who now promote environmental awareness on site or on their websites, jumping 17% to 94% in total. Ben Challis, one of A Greener Festival co-founders said “overall we are delighted with our Awards scheme in 2009: we had 5 more festivals applying (37, up from 32 in 2008) and we judged 13 festivals to be ‘outstanding (up from 6 in 2008). We were really encouraged by the number of festivals who are engaging with music fans and promoting sustainable lifestyles and implementing environmental good practice. The biggest area of concern remains audience travel and we are delighted that almost all of the participating festivals now promote lift share and public transport as a matter of course, with many working with new partners to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from audience travel. The other good news is that we are extending the Awards. The scheme currently covers The UK, Europe, Australia and the USA and we now plan to roll out the Awards scheme into India and South East Asia”.

Photo by Nick Cordes at the Glastonbury Festival

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