From coffee mornings to tree planting, there are plenty of opportunities for enthusiastic helpers during Shaftesbury’s Great Big Green Week later this year – can you help?

Volunteers are needed to run community activities to help raise awareness of and combat climate change.

Great Big Green Week (June 10-18), is a nationwide celebration of community action to tackle the climate crisis. Planet Shaftesbury has a range of events planned, including herb talks, tree painting (painting on paper, not on the trees!), garment upcycling, planting wildflowers, coffee mornings and farm visits. The tree planters who planted Harfish Wood in Tisbury need people to help them ‘walk’ down the grass. Breaking the stems by trampling it underfoot suppresses its growth, which improves the competitive advantage of the saplings.

The organisers of Shaftesbury’s Great Big Green Week would really like you to consider running an activity. It doesn’t have to be complicated – a coffee morning with friends can make a difference. There’s an enthusiastic support network to support you take what might be your first steps in the fight against the climate and biodiversity crises.

Planet Shaftesbury stalwart Chris Harwood explains: “What we want is for a quarter of the population to be hosting activities for the other three-quarters to attend! You can help bring people together, strengthen the resolve in each of us, and signal to the politicians that we want them to stop the burning of fossil fuels.
“If you aren’t able to host or organise something, remember: just by turning up at an activity in Great Big Green Week and enjoying yourself, you will be fighting climate change and the biodiversity crisis.”

To find out what activities are on offer, visit www.greatbiggreenweekshaftesbury.org. If you want to add your activity to the growing list, email chris@greatbiggreenweekshaftesbury.org.