Greenpop brings festival of action back to Garden Route
The 2019 Eden Festival of Action from 22 June to 14 July, will be Greenpop’s 8th annual Festival of Action event.
High school students are hosted over the first two weeks of the programme and adults in the third week. In 2018 Greenpop hosted the festival in the Garden Route for the first time and are returning to continue their work in the area after the devastation of the 2017 and 2018 fires.
This year’s event will be hosted at Wild Spirit Lodge, located near Plettenberg Bay. The area is surrounded by indigenous forests, pristine beaches and the mountains of the Tsitsikamma National Park.
Give back and get active
Greenpop Marketing Manager, Catherine Edwards says every June and July, the Greenpop Festival of Action brings people together from around the globe to learn, connect, give back and get active.
“Our vision for attendees is to create a space for personal growth, personal sustainability and create an empowered regenerative community. We want to equip guests to become custodians of the natural world. This year we plan to plant over 4500 indigenous trees, participate in much needed alien clearing, paint environmental murals in collaboration with local communities and attend workshops on sustainability. We believe in getting active – not anxious – about the future of our planet.”
Edwards says they are on a mission to green communities with indigenous forest trees. “The indigenous trees will allow for the biodiversity and ecosystem services of the area to be increased. We aim to immerse attendees in this week-long sustainability experience through our eight pillars: reforestation, wellness, plant-based eating, permaculture, personal growth, connection, arts and creation as well as sustainability.”
Leadership
According to Edwards, the Eden Festival of Action 2019 will be an opportunity for people to get involved with the global community, connect with sustainability leaders and build crucial leadership skills while furthering their knowledge about the environment.
“Our goal is to create a platform where current and future leaders can collaborate in searching for sustainable solutions together.
“Curating our programme for this year’s event will be Matthew Koehorst. Matthew of Six Kingdoms is eager to sink deep into the world of applied human ecology, working on projects that close our waste streams, increase our efficiency, and allow us to reconnect with the ecosystems of this planet. The programme will include reforestation within the Garden Route, alien clearing, biomimicry, permaculture, natural building, eco-enterprise, environmental mural painting and beekeeping.”
Free time
She says attendees will also have time for hikes, nature immersion, quiz nights, movie evenings under the stars, listening to live music and connecting with like-minded people.
“There will also be free time to enjoy the venue and a day to enjoy all the incredible activities and nature that the Garden Route has to offer. Another aim of ours is to make this event as inclusive and accessible as possible. We want anyone to be able to come and change their world and become an active citizen, no matter their background. Which is why, thanks to amazing support from Bitou Municipality, Knysna Municipality, Garden Route Initiative and CapeNature, we offer scholarship spaces for low-income youth as well as some (still available) sponsored tickets that will be offered to the public soon through a competition we will be hosting.”
Dates:
22 – 29 June – Youth Week 1
30 June – 7 July – Youth Week 2
7 – 14 July – Adult Week
www.festivalofaction.com
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Source: Knysna Plett Herald News