South Gloucestershire enjoys a wide variety of natural habitats and environments. Over the coming week, a range of events, talks, and tours will showcase this diversity and highlight the work of the council, its communities and partners towards creating a greener, cleaner, fairer, and more resilient future.
There will be a host of events in South Gloucestershire for people to get involved with that highlight the work or the council and our whole community to deliver a greener, cleaner, fairer and more resilient future.
Activities run between June 7-15 and highlights include:
• 13 June, 10am – 12pm. Walk and Botanical Survey at Woodwell Meadows Local Nature Reserve, in Littleton-upon-Severn. This wildflower event will celebrate the launch of Woodwell Meadow’s Local Nature Reserve status.
• 13 June, 10:30am – 1pm. Celebrating Hedgerows with CPRE – the countryside charity. A walk through parts of Yate Common to identify trees and other flora and fauna associated with hedgerows.
• 14 June, 10am – 4pm. Tortworth Forest Centre Summer Visitor Day. Take a tour among wildflowers at Tortworth Arboretum, discover hidden historic features through this beautiful landscape.
• 14 June and 15 June, 10am –6pm in Millennium Square, Bristol. Two days of free family-friendly nature activities, exhibitor stalls, wildlife film screenings, talks and performances.
The full programme of events can be found online at www.bnhc.org.uk/festival-of-nature/community-events-at-festival-of-nature-2025
South Gloucestershire Council Cabinet Member with responsibility for climate and nature emergency work, councillor Louise Harris, said: “We have such an incredible array of landscapes, habitats and wildlife in South Gloucestershire and the Festival of Nature gives us a great opportunity to see and learn more about the environments on our doorstep.
“As a council, we are committed to taking action to tackle the climate and nature emergencies. We know it’s a huge task and that we can’t do it alone. That’s why we are working with local groups and individuals in our communities, as well as with national Government to make the right decisions and make a real difference, whether it’s large or small.
“We’re doing what we can as an authority, but we recognise the scale of the remaining challenge. It’s a work in progress. But we are moving forward, and we are delighted by this ‘A’ score from CDP.
“For example, the potential impact on our climate and nature is considered in everything the council delivers. It’s not always possible to protect our natural world entirely all the time, there sometimes need to be trade-offs, but we need to know what the impact of our work is so that we can continue to make improvements overall.
“That’s why we’re taking action to better manage our land in the future and why we’re adding to the number of trees in the district. We are increasing the amount of land managed positively for nature and encouraging biodiversity and nature recovery through planting thousands of bulbs to encourage pollinators, for example.”
The council has recently been awarded an ‘A’ rating for its climate action by CDP, a global non-profit organisation that runs the world’s only independent environmental disclosure system for companies, capital markets, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts and make Earth-positive decisions.
South Gloucestershire has been part of the reporting process over the last few years but this year for the first time has received an ‘A’ score alongside 112 other cities/areas out of 752 marked submissions.
Councillor Harris added: “I hope lots of local people will take part in the Festival of Nature, to see the rich natural diversity we have in South Gloucestershire, to enjoy it and to see how they can help to protect and enhance it.”
More information about the work of the council to meet the challenges of the climate and nature emergencies is available on the website at https://beta.southglos.gov.uk/climate-emergency-in-south-gloucestershire
