Bristol Festival of
Nature celebrates a decade of discovery. A new challenge to uncover Bristol’s hidden
environmental hotspots is launching in May to celebrate Bristol Festival of
Nature’s 10thanniversary.
Bristol99 will give the public the chance to discover
the natural world in their own neighbourhood, with exciting wildlife events
being held across the city’s 99 best sites for nature.
It will encourage people
to explore their local area and celebrate the wildlife in Bristol’s green spaces
including everything from hidden gems to the city’s best known
parks.
It begins with a ‘BioBlitz’ at Kings Weston Estate on
May 3 and 4, where the festival team, will seek the help of members of the
public to discover as many species as possible in a designated area over 24
hours. The events will then continue over the next six weeks before culminating
in the main Bristol Festival of Nature
weekend.
The festival is the UK’s largest
free natural history event and takes place at Bristol Harbourside on the weekend
of 15-16. On June 14 the annual Festival of Nature Schools’ Day,
supported by Clifton College will welcome over 1,000 primary school pupils to
the site for a day of hands-on science and nature
activities.
Giving wildlife enthusiasts of all ages the opportunity
to explore and enjoy the natural world in the heart of the city, the public
festival brings together over 150 organisations for a programme of
interactive activities, live
entertainment, hands-on experiences, a market packed with
local produce and much more.
The highlights for the weekend
include:
· The first screenings of
new wildlife films produced by the next generation of natural history
filmmakers, who are studying a new MA course in wildlife filmmaking run by UWE
and the BBC.
· A pop-up butterfly garden
run by North Somerset Butterfly House which will give visitors an immersive
experience to learn about some of the world’s most beautiful
butterflies.
· The Seeds of Change Garden
which will connect the natural world to the city’s history of trade and
migration through a ballast seed garden produced by Arnolfini and the University
of Bristol.
More than 150,000 people have attended the festival
since 2004, and the past 10 years have seen it grow significantly to become one
of Bristol’s most popular festivals, helping to raise the profile of
environmental issues and natural history in the city and across the
UK.
Savita Custead, Chief Executive of Bristol Natural
History Consortium which organises Bristol Festival of Nature,
says:
“The Bristol99 challenge will help to take the Festival
of Nature out into the city and directly to the people of Bristol. The Festival
has always aimed to inspire people about the natural world and this is a
fantastic new way to take the initiative and help the public to find nature on
their doorsteps.
“Bristol is the home of natural history in the UK and we
are proud of the contribution the Festival of Nature has played in developing
that reputation. It is the only event that brings together all of the key
environmental organisations in the city, and over the last 10 years we have seen
these relationships go from strength to
strength.
The festival was named “Tourism Event of the Year 2011”
in the Bristol Tourism and Hospitality Industry Awards 2011, and was awarded
Bronze in the Tourism Event of the Year category at the South West Tourism
Excellence Awards 2011-2012.
The Bristol Festival of Nature takes place on the
Bristol Harbourside and is open from 10 am – 6 pm on Saturday June 15, and 11 am
– 5 pm on Sunday June 16. Admission is free.
For further information, interviews or images please
contact Max Boon at Spirit PR on 0117 944 1415 or email mboon@spiritpublicrelations.co.uk
Also see http://www.bnhc.org.uk/home/festival.html
________________________________________________________________
The Bristol Festival of Nature is an initiative of the
Bristol Natural History Consortium, which is a charitable collaboration between
11 of the biggest natural history organisations in the city, and it is the
strength of this partnership that has helped the festival to flourish for the
past decade.
The Bristol Festival of Nature aims to engage the widest
possible audience in the UK’s biggest celebration of the natural world.
Its main objectives
are:
- To deliver a memorable celebration of the natural world
and to recognise Bristol’s reputation as a leading centre for the understanding
and appreciation of natural history
- To attract new audiences and widen participation in the
understanding and enjoyment of the natural
world
The festival is an initiative of the Bristol Natural
History Consortium, a charitable collaboration between: Avon Wildlife Trust, BBC
Natural History Unit, Bristol City Council, Bristol Zoo Gardens, Defra,
Environment Agency, National Trust, Natural England, University of Bristol,
University of the West of England and Wildscreen.
The festival is supported by British Ecological Society,
Bristol Water, IOP Publishing, At-Bristol, Clifton College, Space Engineering
Services and Company of Biologists.
In 2013 the Festival of Nature is part of the British
Ecological Society’s centenary Festival of Ecology, held from 15 June to 4
August 2013. The BES will be working in partnership with over 60 organisations
celebrating the science of ecology through public events for adults, schools and
families. www.festivalofecology.org; www.britishecologicalsociety.org
The Festival of Nature is part of
Bristol’s BIG Green Week Festival (15-23 June), the UK's annual festival of
environmental ideas, art and culture. www.biggreenweek.com.
The Green Capital Partnership has launched its Vision for an Environmentally Sustainable Bristol. 
