Wildlife walks, nature workshops and film screenings are among the events happening in Bath and North East Somerset as part of the Festival of Nature 2024 that takes place from 1 to 9 June.
Saturday 8 June will feature a ‘greening up’ of Milsom Street, with family friendly nature stalls and activities including the World’s Smallest Wildlife Film Festival offering families an opportunity to learn about the natural world and how they can help it flourish.
Bath Assembly Rooms is the venue for an afternoon of talks on the same day, featuring Cam Whitnall – My Wild Life; Jon Chase – Science Rapper; Turi King on ancient/forensic DNA research; and hedgehog expert and ecologist, Hugh Warwick.
Community Day on Sunday 9 June will see events in multiple locations across the West of England to celebrate the actions for nature being taken at community level.
Somer Valley Rediscovered will be hosting a free Family Woodland Adventure in Waterside Valley with Steve England, inviting families of all ages to learn bushcraft skills including building a survival igloo and a campfire.
Libraries will be running drop-in Nature Storytimes: Bath Central Library on Tuesday 4 June; Midsomer Norton Library on Wednesday 5 June; and Keynsham on Thursday 6 June. There will also be an exciting nature trail which runs all week in the three libraries.
Summertime Crafting and Storytelling at Radstock Library on Tuesday 4 June will feature a nature puppet crafting workshop followed by a children’s storytelling session in Radstock Community Orchard.
Councillor Sarah Warren, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate and Sustainable Travel, said, “It is great to be running an expanded programme of activities in Bath and North East Somerset this year as part of the Festival of Nature, many of which are free. We hope that people will be encouraged to try something new or explore a new place and gain a greater understanding of how they can take action for nature.”
Events in Midsomer Norton include: Less Walk More Talk – a gentle foraging walk; Insect Collage workshop with Marian Hill; and a Family Nature Walk and Sing-A-Ling Music Workshop. In Batheaston there will be a Creative Willow Workshop and a Beavers in Batheaston event.
Bathscape will be running tree and bat walks on 9 June and information will be added to the events page on the Bathscape website.
Online events include a talk on Eurasian Otter Conservation, and How to Plan a Walk and a Get Crafty With Nature session, designed to offer disabled adults and those with chronic fatigue a change to get creative and connect to nature from their home.
The Festival of Nature is organised by the charity The Natural History Consortium, a collaboration between Bath & North East Somerset Council, Avon Wildlife Trust, BBC, Bristol City Council, Bristol City Council, Bristol Zoological Society, Defra, Forestry England, National Trust, Natural England, University of Bath, University of Bristol, University of the West of England, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and Woodland Trust.
You can find the programme of events in Bath & North East Somerset on the website and a PDF version of the programme online here.