Wilmslow Town Council has awarded almost £3,000 to kickstart an environmental family festival in Wilmslow.

Transition Wilmslow, are organising the inaugural Festival of Nature in Autumn this year.

They received a grant of £2,815 from our town's smallest form of government, who meet on Cliff Road.

Described by its organisers as "a festival of events to make life better whilst protecting the planet", Festival of Nature festival hopes to raise awareness of climate change and demonstrate how simple changes can make a difference towards reducing peoples' carbon footprint.

These activities will include bike rides, including e-bike taster sessions from the new Electric Bike store on Alderley Rd.

There's also a family Open Day at Oakenclough Children's centre with vegetable growing and well-being activities,

The festivities will also involve guided walks and family tree planting.

The eco-friendly festival will help nurture nature, but also our town's culture, as there will be art and poetry events alongside a pedal powered concert with Bez from Madchester band Happy Mondays.

Pippa Tyrrell Jones explained, "The grant will support a variety of free activities across Wilmslow as part of the Festival of Nature in October and November 2021, aimed at encouraging people of all ages to value the natural world around us and to think about what we all need to do to help our planet.

"We hope that there will be something for everyone and that we can showcase our town and the wonderful countryside around us."

The festival is being organised by several local voluntary and community groups, including Transition Wilmslow, Wilmslow Civic Trust, Wilmslow WI, Wilmslow High School, Wilmslow Primary schools, Chapel Lane - Love the Lane, Wilmslow in Bloom, Oakenclough Children's Centre, and Cycle Wilmslow.

Wilmslow Town Council Chairman, Martin Watkins, said of the grant approval, "We are excited to be able to support a festival that will be fun, free, varied and accessible to the whole community, whilst also encouraging people to take care of our natural environment.

"Seeing so many local groups involved in the organisation of the festival is heartening, and we hope all Wilmslow residents will be able to enjoy one - or several - of the brilliant events scheduled."

The sponsorship of Wilmslow's Festival of Nature supports several aspects of the Wilmslow Neighbourhood Plan, which was adopted when it passed its referendum of Wilmslow residents in October 2019, such as Policy NE5: Biodiversity Conservation, which encourages the preservation of wildlife and biodiversity and protection of habitats.

Transition Wilmslow have also been awarded a separate Town Event grant of £6,425, in addition to the aforementioned Community grant of £2,815.

This news follows the establishment of the Green Community Fund last month, which will give £10,000 to green projects across Wilmslow.

With many of the Festival's events being child-focussed, it is hoped that it will inspire the next generation of climate-conscious Wilmslow residents, for a greener future.

One step at a time, our town is doing our bit to help fight climate change.

For more information on the Wilmslow Festival of Nature - or to get involved - please visit this webpage.

Are you a small community business or organisation? Details on grants available from Wilmslow Town Council can be found here.

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