The UK’s largest free nature festival is back this June

The UK’s largest free nature festival is back this June

Posted on: 24 Apr 2024

The Natural History Consortium’s Festival of Nature is returning to Bristol & Bath this summer, 1-9 June – with a massive programme for this year’s festivities.

 

The Natural History Consortium is a charitable collaboration of 14 organisations working together on a shared mission: engaging people with the natural world through collaborative action. Those organisations include the Avon Wildlife Trust, the BBC (whose local branch is concerned with the natural world), the National Trust and other similarly influential organisations.

 

In just a few months, the NHC will be triumphantly returning their biggest event of the year – the Festival of Nature, “the UK’s largest free celebration of the natural world”. Taking place from Saturday 1 June to Sunday 9 June, the event will be spread between Bristol and Bath, with a staggering count of over 70 events over the course of the festival.

 

 

The Festival of Nature will kick off on Saturday 1 June and Sunday 2 June with the Wild Weekend at Bristol’s Millennium Square. From free family-friendly activities, to wildlife film screenings, performances, talks, stalls and more, Wild Weekend is looking to be a spectacular microcosm of all the fun and education that the rest of the festival promises.

 

The mid-week programme offers a similar programme of free (or optional donation) events from panel shows on wildlife in the city, to foraging walks, photography workshops, more natural world film screenings, and a whole lot more. In particular, the midweek programme is notable for its seeming commitment to disability access – from dedicated “walk and roll” nature walks, to virtual woods walks, and events at dementia-friendly community gardens.

 

 

The Festival of Nature culminates in ‘Community Day’ on Sunday 9 June – an invitation to celebrate the actions you and your community are taking for nature across the West of England. If you’re interested in getting involved, you can do so by hosting an event or activity that showcases your green space and what you’re doing to support local wildlife.

 

As mentioned, The Festival of Nature takes place from Saturday 1 June to Sunday 9 June across Bristol & Bath. To see the full programme of events, head here – or to find out how to get involved with Community Day, head here.

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Patrick Bate

Patrick is a filmmaker with so much Bristol in his blood the white blood cells are graffiti'd. Educated at the Northern Film School in Leeds, he’s returned home to be a Videographer and Reviewer for 365Bristol and BARBI. When he’s not messing about with cameras, he enjoys playing guitar, spending far too much time on tabletop RPGs, and being an awful snob about cider. Have a look at his work here, or get in touch at patrickb@365bristol.com.