A GREEN festival celebrating the best of eco-friendly projects and businesses will kick-off in Oswestry next week.

The Shropshire Love Nature Festival runs from Saturday, July 23 to Sunday, August 21 in a month packed with events exploring the county’s natural environment and raising awareness of how people can help protect its rich natural heritage.

The four weeks of events, run as a collaboration between organisations and individuals, include opportunities to learn about and connect with nature, gain new skills working in nature and to take action to help protect the natural environment.

Events at the festival, which is supported by Zero Carbon Shropshire, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Shropshire Good Food Partnership and the Lottery Heritage Fund, range from craft events, walks and talks, community fairs and a pop up Grow Your Own Roadshow each weekend.

Festival chair Liz Knowles said that the festival was held for the first time in 2021 and this year’s schedule looked even more packed with events and activities for nature lovers of all ages.

She said: “The festival is designed to give four concentrated weeks of events that focus on the value and beauty of nature, and the urgent need to protect and restore our natural environment.

Events will offer everyone the chance to connect with nature, learn new skills and take action in their own lives for its preservation and restoration.”

“We hope that the events of the festival will provide lots of inspiration to help people find ways of working with and protecting our environment all year round."

The festival kicks off on Saturday, July 23 with an open day from 11am to 3pm at Tom Adam’s Fruit Tree Nursery at Weston Rhyn, near Oswestry.

Visitors will have a chance to view the organic certified heritage fruit tree nursery as well as browsing around a range of stall holders offering local food, produce and traditional crafts.

The Grow Your Own Roadshow will be making weekly appearances during the four weeks of the festival with the first taking place on July 23 in Oswestry outside the Liar Liar Coffee Shop from 11am to 2pm.

It will include guidance on how to make small changes in gardens, food choices and in the local community to protect the natural environment.

The roadshow will be back at the same venue each Saturday on July 30, August 6, August 13 and August 20.

Further information on the festival is available at https://www.shropshirelovenaturefestival.org/ or by emailing shropshirelovenature@gmail.com. Information on Zero Carbon Shropshire is available at https://zerocarbonshropshire.org/