FROME is taking part in Great Big Green Week once again from Saturday 8th to Sunday 16th June.
As part of the UK-wide event, Frome’s Great Big Green Week features 40 events for all ages running across Frome, exploring and celebrating all things eco-friendly, nature based and sustainable. Many events are based in and around the town’s green spaces, highlighting the action Frome is taking to tackle the climate emergency.
Frome’s Great Big Green Week 2024 is split into five themes:
Swap, Share, Repair
Take positive action against climate change by donating unwanted tech to the Donate IT Tech Amnesty on Saturday 15th June which will be refurbished and donated to people who need them. For more information visit https://www.discoverfrome.co.uk/event/donate-it-tech-amnesty-2/ – the last amnesty in January yielded more than 500 devices.
Get on your bike with Frome Community Bike Project’s ‘Dr Bike’ sessions: repairs, advice and refurbished bike sales at Frome’s Saturday market on 12th June and at their base at Station Approach on Saturday 15th, plus a class to teach you to repair your own bike on Friday 14th June.
Revamp your wardrobe at The Big Green Clothes Swap on Wednesday 12th June or join Everyone Needs Pockets on Thursday 13th June for talks and a haberdashery and textile swap: sustainable, ethical and affordable fashion and home options.
Food and growing
On Sunday 9th June, professional forager and conservationist George Linklater will guide you on an ‘Elderflower and Spring Foraging Feast’ at Rodden Meadow. Learn about wild food and how to grow and harvest it sustainably, then enjoy the delicious results with a meal prepared on site.
Frome Field 2 Fork welcomes you to their Community Market Garden and Off-Grid Water Systems Tour on Sunday 9th June. Explore their agroecological community market garden and how they manage water on the 1.5-acre site using off-grid water systems including a bore-hole, solar-powered submersible pump, gravity-fed irrigation, rainwater harvesting and permaculture earthworks. After the tour, everyone is invited to stay and help look after the site for the day and join in a shared lunch.
Join like-minded people for food and chat on Thursday 13th June, at the Big Green Summer Meet Up in Victoria Park. Share food and thoughts and make new friends. You can also pick up something tasty and local at Frome Farmers’ Market on Saturday 8th June!
Nature
The Christ Church churchyard is open 2pm to 5pm daily from Saturday 8th to Sunday 16th June for Living Churchyards: expand your knowledge of birds, butterflies, lichen and wildflowers. Picknickers welcome!
On Tuesday 11th June you can get to know the nature reserve at Rodden Meadow, with an introduction to its incredible flora and fauna.
Local author and ancient tree specialist Julian Hight is leading another Frome Heritage Tree Walk on Saturday 8th June, sharing his knowledge of the history, legacy and lore of Frome’s most majestic trees.
Also on Sunday 9th June, youngsters and their grown-ups are invited to a Family Pond Dip and Allotment Explore with Science Boost CIC from 10am to 12pm.
Join Friends of the River Frome and Frome Families for the Future’s River Festival on Sunday 9th June for some river exploration! Take a dip to see what lurks beneath the water’s surface, embark on a captivating storytelling journey along the riverbanks and help launch Frome’s Big River Watch (8th to 16th June).
On Tuesday 11th June, Frome Town Council’s Wild About Trees officer Helen Viner is inviting people to join her in collecting data and checking the progress of Egford Park’s Tiny Forest, using a range of practical and accessible citizen science techniques.
A screening of My Garden of a Thousand Bees from CIC Meadow in my garden follows filmmaker Martin Dohrn as he sets out to record all the bee species in his tiny urban garden in Bristol during the Covid-19 lockdowns and promotes ways to support bees in our own gardens, plus a bee hotel-making session.
Wellbeing
Start every morning of Great Big Green Week with a guided, mindful nature connection session with eco-practitioner Barbara Gonzalez and discover the benefits of a greener and mindful morning routine, including improved mood, greater focus and clarity, and a more positive mindset.
Frome Community Bike Project’s sociable group bike ride on Sunday 16th June, is open to bicycle and e-bike enthusiasts. This is an intermediate-level ride with some hills, so you need good road awareness and a reasonable level of fitness, although we’re assured there are plenty of rest stops. For cycling beginners, there’s a free introduction to safe cycling on roads for adults on Thursday 13th June, led by a National Standard cycle instructor.
Shared Earth Learning is offering a ‘forest school for adults’ on Monday 10th June, at their Vallis Veg site, making connections and promoting relaxation in nature for boosting wellbeing.
Taking Action
Eco-practitioner Barbara Gonzalez leads ‘Help! I’m freaking out about climate change!’ on Sunday 16th June, a workshop to help find hope and resilience in the face of the climate crisis.
On Friday 14th June, Dale Vince OBE, author of ‘Manifesto: The Battle for Green Britain’, and one of the key pioneers of renewable energy, is hosting a talk, Q&A and book signing at Hunting Raven Books.
Frome Town Council’s resident retrofit expert, Sally Richards, is hosting another talk to inform homeowners about how they can make their homes more energy efficient, in partnership with Bristol’s Centre for Sustainable Energy, on Tuesday 11th June.
Charges apply for some events, although many are free of charge. Keep track of all Great Big Green Week events on the Discover Frome website at https://bit.ly/great-big-green-week-2024.
