Eco festival is first of its kind
An event aimed at raising awareness of climate change is set to take place this month.
Understood to be the first of its kind in the local area, the Stonehouse Eco Festival will look to engage communities with action they can take on protecting the environment.
Over 20 national and local organisations will take part in presenting stalls, workshops, films, walks and talks that everyone can get involved in to learn about reducing the impact of climate change in their lives.
That involves Keep Scotland Beautiful as well as South Lanarkshire Council who will be in attendance.
The ambitious plans to launch such an event began last year as locals were invited to meetings to discuss how their eco-friendly ideas could be shared further afield.
And now after months of successful collaboration, the Eco Festival is set to run for the first time on Saturday, May 21. It takes place between 10am to 4pm at St Ninian’s Church in the village and will be free for all ages to attend.
The festival is organised by members of the Dovesdale Action Group who recently won a monumental campaign to stop plans of an incinerator being built in their community.
Activist John Young from the group led the year-long movement whilst still planning ahead for a more eco-friendly Lanarkshire that can get involved through the festival.
Many of the groups including the Dovesdale Action Group have been very vocal over environmental issues in recent years and even managed to attend events and present at COP26 in November last year.
John says: “We can’t wait for governments globally to take the necessary action to slow the impact of climate change. It’s up to us!
“Across the planet people are changing the way they live, work and thrive as communities to create more caring environments that seek to benefit us all.
“We might not be able to change the decisions our national governments take, but we can change some of the things we control in our own lives and as communities that could change the way in which we understand nature and how we share in the resources it provides.”
Speaking on next month’s event, John added: “The event would seek to create an awareness of the national and local organisations that protect our environment as well as highlight the threats that we face if we don’t seek to protect nature and the species that ensure our survival.
“The event will also be an opportunity to be the catalyst for change in
Stonehouse and what we can do together, or indeed as individuals, in playing our part to ensure our children have hope and not despair for the future.”
The full list of participants include: Brighter Village Project; Climate Action Strathaven; Divest Strathclyde; Dovesdale Action Group; Friends of the Earth Scotland; Friends of Stonehouse Park; Greenpeace; Home Energy Scotland; iskconscotland Eco Farm; Keep Scotland Beautiful; Larkhall Academy Sustainability Group; Larkhall Community Growers; Roasted (Strathaven); Royal Society for Protection of Birds; Scottish Wildlife Trust; South Lanarkshire Council; The Co-operative; Thyme to Fill (Eco products); Woodland Trust Scotland; Stonehouse, Blackwood and Kirkmurihill Mens Shed; Wee Green Neuk.
You can find out more about the Stonehouse Eco Festival on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ Stonehouseecofestival