Now summer! June 10th to 18th 2023
A national festival of local activities celebrating community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. All the Tavistock events listed below have free entry.
Sat 10th June 10-12 Friends of Tavistock Library Plant sale
Sat 10th June morning Tamar Energy Community advice stall at Tavistock Farmers’ Market (Bedford Square)
Sat 10th June: 1.30 – 3.30 Puppet Workshop (for children with parents / carers) by Learn Devon at Tavistock Library.
10th to [17th] now 24th! June Tavistock Library (opening hours) All Things Green – displays from local groups
Tue 13th June from 7.30pm Green Drinks – informal drop in for conversation on environmental issues, hosted by Transition Tavistock.
Sat 17th June 10.30 – 12 Family Workshop by Learn Devon at Tavistock Library. For children age 4-12 with parents / carers. Design a T-shirt with a climate friendly message.
Tue 20th June 7pm Transition Tavistock Midsummer Meeting, United Reformed Church, Russell St . Includes Cornwall Climate Care’s film “Food for Thought” on organic farming, with discussion led by filmmaker Bryony Stokes.
Thanks to the Tavistock Times for special feature on 1st June. Watch out for a new guide to Tavistock’s sustainable businesses from Visit Tavistock.
There are more ideas on GreatBigGreenWeek.com. If arranging an event in or near Tavistock, list it online there, and also send us details to include here.
A creative idea for individuals, families and groups of any size is to write a Letter to Tomorrow as a way to share hopes for the future and call on decision makers play their part in protecting the people and places we love.
Items below relate to 2022. For inspiration only!
September 24th to October 2nd 2022
Communities around the UK are taking part in the #GreatBigGreenWeek, celebrating local action for climate, nature and people. 🌳🌍💚and asking decision makers to step up too. Visit GreatBigGreenWeek.com to find out more, including practical ideas. We’re putting on some events of our own, linking with others including Tavistock Library, and have encouraged youth, faith and social groups to feature the theme within regular activities during the week. Further events in the Tavistock area related to climate or nature can be added below – let us know. A printable poster is here. West Devon Borough Council are listing events anywhere in West Devon.
What’s happening near Tavistock?
Before the week
Tue 13th Sept noon to 13:30 Super Soup Lunch (soup, bread and fruit) at Tavistock United Reformed Church, Russell Street. Katrine Musgrave from Christian Aid will give a short talk on the charity’s work on climate justice. Donations invited.
Tue 22nd Sept 14:30 Greening Local Transport Join Transition Tavistock’s Travel Action Group to share ideas for people and planet friendly ways of getting around. Pinder Court Community Room, King Street, Tavistock.
During Great Big Green Week
Sat 24th Sept at Tavistock Library: All Things Green Meet local groups supporting sustainability and biodiversity. Drop in activities for adults and children, including making balloon cars and straw rockets, a decomposition quiz and milk top game, and compost making with the Community Gardeners. Also “Between the Lines” musical film at 2.30pm.
Sat 24th to Fri 30th Sept at Tavistock Library All Things Green continues. Exhibition in foyer from local groups sharing ways to join in and make a difference. Display of books on Green Week themes for adults and children to borrow. Opening hours 9-6 Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri; 9-4 Sat. Closed Sun & Wed.
Sat 24th to Fri 30th Sept in Sticklepath Village Hall. Care and use of green spaces Display by Sticklepath Parish Council as part of a consultation with residents about managing verges, banks and other green areas in the village in the light of the climate emergency.
Mon 26th to Fri 30th Sept (not Wed), 3.30 – 4.30 at Tavistock Library. Family drop-in to create recycled face masks, make more plans, look at worms and create an Elmer using nature. Also on 26th, 2.30pm Garden Chat with sale of houseplant cuttings.
Sat 24th Sept 9:00 – 15:00 Local food stalls and Tamar Energy Community advice at Tavistock Farmers’ Market, Bedford Square.
Sun 25th Sept 10:45 Harvest Festival, followed by shared lunch, at Tavistock Methodist Church, Chapel Street (one of three churches in the town with Eco-Church awards).
Tue 27th Sept 19:30 First anniversary of Transition Tavistock’s online Sustainability Book Group. Discuss “From What Is to What If” by Rob Hopkins, one of the founders of the Transition Town movement which started in Totnes. This free event is held on Zoom, so advance booking is required to get the link. (Missed it? Next title here).
Wed 28th Sept19:00 Climate Change: Stories that Motivate. Free workshop at Learn Devon‘s Alexander Centre in Tavistock. How can we communicate well about ways to respond to climate change? Please book by 21st Sept to ensure you receive advance information. [CANCELLED as not enough advance bookings. Sorry you missed it? Get in touch to express interest in a future one.]
Fri 30th Sept19:00 Retrofitting Your Home – in practice. Online talk from Tamar Energy Community.
Sat 1st Oct 10:00 Tidy Tavy Litter Pick. Meet outside Meadowlands Leisure Centre to join in this community volunteer clean up.
Sat 1st Oct 10:30-15:30 Together for our Common Home St Mellion. Conference covering the impact of climate change in East Cornwall & West Devon and ways to respond. Free, advance booking essential. More details https://greatbiggreenweek.com/events/together-for-our-common-home/.
And to follow up
Tue 11th Oct from 19:30 Drop in to Transition Tavistock’s monthly Green Drinks at a local hostelry to talk over inspiration gained and what comes next.
To hear about local events run by Transition Tavistock and others beyond this, sign up for our monthly newsletter. For a wider picture of climate change action across Devon, see Devon Climate Emergency.
Items below relate to 2021. For inspiration only!
September 18th to 26th 2021
Local events as part of a national week to raise the profile of climate change and nature, show why it is relevant to our community and celebrate local activity. All are free and open to everyone. Do share the downloadable poster.
- Sat 18th 10:00 – 15:00 All things Green activities and stalls at Tavistock Library
- Information from local groups (including us) on opportunities to make a difference
- Drop in craft activity for children and adults with Tavistock Scrapstore
- Mon 20th 10:30 Explore growing micro-greens in reused tins.
- with Learn Devon at Tavistock Library.
- Tue 21st 19:30 Launch of Transition Tavistock’s Sustainability Book Group
- Online event: Discuss “Doughnut Economics” by Kate Raworth. Register here.
- All week when Tavistock Library open
- display of relevant books for adults and children to borrow
- exhibition in foyer
- make a moth with a message to world leaders at COP26 (more below)
- Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri 9:00-18:00, Sat 9:00-16:00
- Thu 23rd 19:00 Tamar Energy Community Talk (online event)
- Retrofitting your home – What’s this all about? Register here.
- Sat 25th 9:00 – 14:00 Meet Transition Tavistock & TEC at the Farmers’ Market
- Visit our stall in Bedford Square
- Talk to us about energy in the home, Walkable Tavistock and more
- Find out how you can get involved in local activities.
- Sun 26th 10:00 Harvest Festival celebrating Eco Church award
- Tavistock Methodist Church, Chapel St and on YouTube
These events form part of West Devon’s Great Big Green Week. See the bigger picture across the district here.
And to follow: Wed 20th October, 7.30pm. Film Evening showing “Thankyou for the Rain”, a Kenyan farmer’s experience of climate change, at Tavistock United Reformed Church, Russell St, PL19 8BD. Free, no booking required.
Got an event or display to add? Contact info@transitiontavistock.org.uk or Tavistock.library@librariesunlimited.org.uk.
As a unifying theme for Great Big Green Week in the Tamar Valley and West Devon, Art & Energy Collective, supported by Tamar Energy Community, invite groups to join in their inspiring Moths to a Flame project. This involves hosting moth-making events or mini-installations where people can hang moths they’ve made (from milk bottles – instructions here!), before or during the week. The installations will be collected in plenty of time to be taken to Glasgow for a mass participation artwork, with messages to the COP26 climate summit, recorded by people making moths, shared online. This is an enjoyable opportunity for people to come together, which may be a stepping stone to developing collective action to combat climate change. Contact kate@tamarenergycommunity.com to find out more.
