The Festival of Nature, the UK’s largest free celebration of the natural world, will arrive in Bath on 25th June for a day of family-friendly fun and marks the grand finale of a wild adventure along the River Avon.
The day is the climax of two weeks of river-themed events running along the Avon from Bristol to Bath.
This is the first time in its 14-year history the Festival has celebrated the region’s waterscapes.
The Bath event will open with a procession led by a willow sculpture portraying the Spirit of the Avon, which will wind its way through Royal Victoria Park to the main event area.
Councillor Martin Veal (Conservative, Bathavon North), Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “This is the third year Bath has hosted the Festival of Nature, which will see an array of national and local organisations flock to our beautiful Royal Victoria Park for a family-friendly day of hands-on activities, innovative arts and inspiring entertainment designed to showcase the natural world.
“It is really important that this event is getting locals engaged with our waterways at a time when the Council and its partners are looking to get people’s views on how we can revitalise the canal and river through the Water Space study.
“I urge everyone to come along and get involved with as many of fantastic programmed events as possible.”
Join in the events that the WaterSpace Partnership is organising for the programme, together with many volunteers and local interest groups:
- WaterSpace Study Open Studio Event at Widcombe Social Club– 18th June; 10am – 3pm;
- Behind the Scenes at Sewage Treatment Works – 18th/19th June in Saltford;
- WaterBlitz – 10th-25th June. Help us collect 500 water quality samples from across the catchment;
- A series of nine River Avon Walking Tours – 14th-26th June;
- Brilliant Bats Event – A Big Bat Survey event after dusk in Bath’s City Parks on 21st June. Sign up in advance as spaces are limited.
- Self-Guided Walking Maps – explore the River Avon and Kennet & Avon Canal, with some new route guides coming soon.
- Keynsham Festival of Nature Event at the Memorial Park – 19th June. Wind in the Willow themed family fun.
- Bath Festival of Nature Event at Royal Victoria Park – 25th June. Visit the marquee for family friendly bat craft activities where you can learn about species living along the River Avon in Bath on 25th June, eat like a bat and create your own bat box to take home. Find out about projects you can get involved with.
All activities are free of charge and work on a first-come first-served basis.
For more details about the day and to see the full two-week Festival programme including canoe safaris, bat walks and citizen science activities, go to www.festivalofnature.org.uk.