Sometimes it takes a real emergency to unite us all. And they don’t come much bigger than the crises facing nature and the climate right now. These threaten everyone, no matter who we are.
We need to act together, urgently, to tackle such huge challenges.
So it was really heartening to see communities across the UK come together in September 2021 for the Great Big Green Week.
Led by our partners at The Climate Coalition, this nationwide campaign inspired hundreds of thousands of people to join more than 4,500 community events and festivals calling on the UK government to keep all its climate promises ahead of hosting the UN climate summit, COP26, in November.
From community screenings of David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet and artist-led creative workshops we supported, to festivals, climate marches, litter picks, cycle rides and local sustainable living challenges, it was fantastic to see thousands of people bringing their communities together and taking positive action for the environment throughout the week.
You may have read about our Just Imagine competition to visualise a greener, brighter future. Well, many of the winning artists from that inspiring project led workshops, and you can see some of their work here.
Looking at the detail
Karen Goonewardene ran a two-hour drawing workshop asking the public to super-size nature to reflect the increased role it should have in our society. “I’m interested in… a brighter and greener future,” says Karen. “The inspiration for the workshop came from my drawing of a bramble root called ‘Heart of Nature’ that seemed to fit in perfectly with the Just Imagine brief that included the phrase ‘putting nature at the heart of our decision-making’.”
Creativity for all ages
Mabel Cheung Harris ran a workshop in Devon in partnership with Newton Abbot Museum. She welcomed plenty of budding artists to her ‘Make and Create’ session, aged from two to 70!
Creating a healthier future
Another of our Just Imagine winners, Natalie Ellis, organised an exhibition in Cirencester where local artists were invited to create artwork in which they imagined a greener, healthier future where nature is restored.
Other voices
Artist Emma Souter led a clay workshop in Wallingford where people were invited to model something from nature at the Oxfordshire Great Big Green Week stall. This was the first in a series of clay workshops to collectively build an installation for COP26, which was showcased in November with hundreds of clay models in one large event.
Illustrator Alfie Bryan delivered a workshop with ‘Friend in Deed’, connecting with the residents of Badger’s Wood care home and Chiswick House care home where AVIVA staff volunteer (WWF’s partners). They looked at the value of art as therapy and invited participants to imagine an alternative future – a question that we tend to pose more often to younger audiences.
And artist Andrew Bristow worked with children and young adults from Mencap Liverpool and Sefton in a creative workshop inspired by the sea. It was the first time they’d been in each other’s company since the pandemic started, providing a wonderful way for the group to reunite, while thinking creatively about how we can live in harmony with nature.
The Great Big Green Week was an opportunity for people to show how united they are in the fight against the climate crisis, and why this is a fight that unites us all. People, landscapes and wildlife across the UK are already feeling the impacts of the climate emergency, and so the public are raising their voices on the need for urgent political action and the future they want to see.
Get involved in 2022
Great Big Green Week will return in September – find out how you can get involved.
More to explore
“If we damage the natural world, we damage ourselves”
Our Call of the Wild podcast launched with a very special guest: Sir David Attenborough. Podcast host Cel Spellman asks him about his hopes and fears for our planet’s future
