What's On
Photo of a group of people standing talking in a meadow at Scarborough Castle

Great Big Green Week 2024

The UK’s biggest celebration of climate change action is happening this summer and English Heritage is excited to be involved. Great Big Green Week 2024 runs from 8-16 June and is a national festival of fun, practical events organised by communities and organisations for the good of everyone.

This year’s Great Big Green Week is all about swaps. From exchanging skills and ideas to willow weaving and learning about wildflower meadow management, there’s something to interest everyone.

Whether you take part with your family, your community, your school or your business, here’s what’s happening at English Heritage and how you can get involved.

Photo of an adult and two children exploring the gardens at Down House, home of Charles Darwin

This year we’re looking forward to celebrating Great Big Green Week at more than 10 of our sites. June is one of the best months of the year to enjoy our glorious gardens, with our visitors having the chance to learn more about how we’re caring for them in a sustainable way. Highlights of the week include clay workshops at Walmer Castle, a pot-painting and seed-sowing workshop at Brodsworth Hall and a willow-weaving workshop at Witley Court.

We can learn so much about sustainability from the ways in which our sites were managed in the past. Many of our gardens have a long history of sustainable practices which arose out of necessity, such as crop rotation, water management and seasonal food production. At Audley End, for example, the walled garden was specifically designed to provide shelter and protection from harsh weather, allowing the growing season for fruit and vegetables to be extended.

Landscape Advisor Emily Parker has put together an article on gardening sustainably, looking back through history at sustainable gardening methods and how we can apply these today. We’re excited to share stories like these with our visitors.

Graphic reading 'We're a proud partner of The Great Big Green Week'

Great Big Green Week is organised by The Climate Coalition and is the UK’s biggest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. The Climate Coalition is the UK’s largest group of people dedicated to action on the climate and nature crises. Along with its sister organisations Stop Climate Chaos Cymru and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, it is a group of over 130 organisations — including the National Trust, Women's Institute, Oxfam, and RSPB — with a combined supporter base of 20 million.

For more information, go to https://greatbiggreenweek.com/.

FIND OUT MORE

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  • CLIMATE ACTION PLAN 2022–2025

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