Your say / water
‘Even the tiniest water spaces make a positive impact for nature’
Did you know bees love water but can’t swim? Or that everyone in the UK lives within 80 miles of our coast? Or that studies show just five minutes next to clean water can cut stress by up to 15 per cent?
With that in mind, after more than 20 years of bringing nature to the streets of Bristol, this year’s Festival of Nature is diving headfirst into our first feature theme – and it’s all about water.
It all started last year when we read a report showing there had been a major trend in sales of aquatic plants and other pond-making materials.
is needed now More than ever
People across the UK are building more watery habitats to provide vital homes and water sources for wildlife.
Festival of Nature is all about finding tangible, positive ways for people to take action for nature and so we decided to ride the wave (sorry) of public interest with a water theme. Blue is officially the new green.
It’s clear from the nature work over the last year that water resonates more than ever. It is the missing ingredient in many gardens, parks and built-up commercial areas, and scientists are finding out more and more about how vital water is to wildlife and biodiversity.
As ever, there are difficult conversations about how we use land and space in our cities, and water spaces create new concerns around safety as well.
This year the festival, which always draws in the crowds, will be creating a pop up mini wetland in the centre – photo: Anna Barclay
The Festival of Nature, which runs from Bristol to Bath, has always called the banks of the River Avon home.
The new Bath Riverline is the perfect launchpad for a celebration of water across our two cities and we’ll be running paddleboarding and kayaking sessions during the opening weekend (June 8), to get people enjoying their local blue spaces.
We’re also looking across the globe at the oceans that support our planet, and we can’t wait to provide a first behind-the-scenes look at David Attenborough’s new Oceans film with the filmmakers based here in our ‘green Hollywood city’.
And if the UK’s rivers and streams are the blue arteries of the country, wetlands are nature’s water treatment plants, trapping pollutants, buffering floods and boosting biodiversity.
Last year’s festival saw us launch Bristol’s first ever eco-islands into the Harbour, which are now permanently positioned and in full bloom at Capricorn Quay.
This year, working with the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT), we are creating the first ever pop-up wetland in a city centre, with an 8×8 metre installation in Millennium Square for people to come and immerse themselves in reeds, mud, bird calls and real wildlife.
And younger visitors can have a go at building their own mini wetlands, learning in a hands-on way how plants and microbes clean water.
Last year Festival of Nature visitors helped plant up the floating eco-islands that were launched into the water and are now thriving at Capricorn Quay – photo: Anna Barclay
Like lots of Bristolians I live in a city-centre flat, but I’m lucky to have a balcony and this summer I’ll be working on creating my own tiny balcony pond.
Even the tiniest water spaces make a positive impact on our environment, and as part of this year’s Festival of Nature, we are inviting as many people as possible to join us in creating mini habitats.
We’re calling it 1001 Homes for Nature. If you have a window ledge, a doorstep, a balcony or even a garden – we need your help!
We’re really interested in hearing how our audiences respond to our water theme. Running festivals and cultural events is an increased challenge. Every single budget line has increased, people have less time for volunteering and attending events.
But despite that, we saw over 30,000 visitors attend last year and we’re keeping the festival free for the 22nd year – we think it’s vitally important to make nature accessible for everyone to enjoy and learn about.
With the current interest in our oceans, rivers and waterways, we know there is interest in the blue world around us, so our job through the 80+ events and activities that the festival offers is to turn that interest into action.
The Festival of Nature runs across Bristol and Bath from June 7-15. Explore the programme at bnhc.org.uk/festival-of-nature
This is an opinion piece by Savita Willmott who is director of the Festival of Nature and chief executive of the Bristol Natural History Consortium.
Main image: BNHC
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