VILLAGE COMMUNITY TO LAUNCH THE FIRST ANNUAL ENVIROMENTALLY STUDLEY FESTIVAL ON EARTH DAY WITH A MORNING OF ECO-FRIENDLY INITIATIVES

Studley will launch a brand-new festival which aims to tackle climate change and promote a more sustainable future for all at a special ‘taster’ event at Studley Parish Centre on Earth Day – Friday 22nd April.

The first ever Environmentally Studley festival will take place from 18th June – 2nd July 2022 and on Friday 22nd April, the community will officially launch the summer event with a morning of eco-inspired demonstrations that they hope will encourage as many people as possible to start planning ahead for the main festival.

The ‘Eco Taster’ launch event will take place at the Studley Parish Centre from 11am-2pm on Friday 22nd April which is celebrated globally as Earth Day. The Environmentally Studley organisers will welcome representatives from Stratford District Council who will demonstrate their E-Cargo bike initiative – a scheme aimed at encouraging businesses, organisations, community, and voluntary groups across the area to use electric bikes instead of cars and vans for local deliveries.

Stratford District Council will also be demonstrating their new household food caddies and answering questions about the new 123 bin collection scheme which comes into play this spring with the aim of reducing energy usage and saving money by encouraging homeowners to dispose of their food waste more efficiently.

The Environmentally Studley team will also be demonstrating Giki Zero – a free online tool that can be used to track and reduce our individual impact on the environment with lots of suggestions on how we can offset or minimise our carbon footprint.

Environmentally Studley is a two-week festival organised by local volunteers that aims to bring the community together to inspire, encourage and discover new ways to live more sustainably and make positive changes that will help protect and nurture the future of the planet – both locally, and on a global scale too.

Environmentally Studley will promote a calendar of eco-inspired events throughout the festival fortnight and festival organisers are hoping that local schools, businesses, local groups and individuals will arrange their own events or activities to add to the festival calendar. Event ideas include litter picks, clothes swaps, recycling drives, tree, and wildflower planting, and walk to school days. Organisations confirmed to take part so far include Arden Marches Churches, Studley in Bloom, Aunty Jen Productions, Studley WI and Studley in Business

As well as events, there will also be an opportunity to make a pledge to take a positive action towards protecting the future of the planet.  Pledges can be made as an individual, a family, a group of friends, or as a business or organisation. Pledges will be attached to an ecologically friendly ‘Pledge Hedge’ in the village during the festival and will be collated and recorded to help measure the collective impact of the festival and inspire future commitment to protecting the planet.

The Environmentally Studley fortnight will conclude at the annual Studley Festival at Studley Sports and Social Club on Saturday 2nd July with a celebration and fun activities to help promote sustainability and take realistic action against climate change.

Bill Acres, Environmentally Studley Steering Group said:

“We felt that Earth Day would be the perfect moment to launch the Environmentally Studley festival to our community and get everyone thinking about how they will take part in the festival this summer. With some great demonstrations from SDC and our own volunteers we can get the festival off to a positive start. Understanding how we can realistically contribute to protect the future of our planet feels daunting, but it can start with just a few small adjustments to our everyday routine and build from there.

Earth Day shines a global light on the need to protect our planet so it’s the perfect time to consider how we will do that closer to home too.”

Environmentally Studley will take place from Saturday 18th June – Saturday 2nd July 2022. For information on how to get involved or to add an activity or pledge please visit https://enjoyablystudley.co.uk/environmentally-studley/, you can also follow the Facebook page by searching ‘Environmentally Studley’ on Facebook.