Ashford's Great Big Green Week 2023 enjoyed by all

This year’s national The Great Big Green Week activities organised by Ashford Borough Council was well met by local residents.

The Great Big Green Week is a national celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. Ashford Borough Council organised various activities throughout the week to ignite conversations and encourage residents to get involved.

The main event, Great Big Green Week Roadshow, which took place in Ashford Town Centre saw residents bringing in small electrical items in need of repair to the pop up Repair Café Ashford or to be rehomed by the Pilgrims Hospices. For those items unable to be repaired residents could leave them to be recycled.

Many enjoyed the free craft activities courtesy of Made in Ashford and came along to their Craft Pre Loved sale. For the more musical, lots enjoyed a jamming session with the Junk Yard Orchestra which took over the bandstand. A green themed market stall took over Park Mall, and experts were on hand to give advice on biodiversity, home energy efficiency and recycling, with live music courtesy of Revelation to enjoy whilst they wandered around.

A special environmental award was presented to Goat Lees Primary school by our Mayor, Cllr Larry Krause, in recognition of the exceptional achievement in gaining several environmental awards from the RSPCA and the Action Climate: Race to Zero Award. The staff and students are leading the way in their ongoing enhancement of their school grounds and empowering the next generation to make a difference.

Eight Eco Schools came together to enjoy a fabulous day learning about nature conservation, made possible by Led by the Wild. The children and staff learnt how to conduct a bio blitz, experienced pond dipping, tree shaking and sweep netting. All children came away with a bountiful nature kit to be used in school and future visits are planned, courtesy of funding secured by Led by the Wild team. One student was heard saying “I wish every school day could be like today”.

The ever popular Eat Well Spend Less Roadshow which took place during the week in Park Mall saw lots of people come along to find out how they can reduce food waste in their home; to save money and help the environment.

The week finished with Kent Wildlife Trust’s family friendly wildlife day at Conningbrook Lakes, with families coming along to spend Father’s Day discovering all the wildlife on our doorstep, with bug hunts, nature walks and bird watching workshops to inspire and motivate the next generation of nature lovers.

Sophie Stiles, Climate Change Manager for Ashford Borough Council said: “The Great Big Green Week 2023 was a great success for Ashford, bringing us together to learn about our precious resources and how we can all play our part.

“We want to thank all the volunteers and businesses who joined us by participating or arranging events during the national campaign and for making this such an enjoyable and insightful week for all.”