After several months of planning, a Sustainability Festival took place at the end of May. Annie Wynn the Development Director of Let’s Grow Preston provided the logistics to the planning group for the festival to happen alongside the well-established annual Spring Fair at their Walled Gardens base next to Ashton Park. Funds were raised from a variety of sources including a People’s Postcode Lottery grant via Friends of the Earth to pay for a Marquee for stalls and the tech for short presentations from a range of speakers.
Topics covered the basics of climate change, the work of the Preston Climate Jury, tips for householders to be more energy efficient, the ambition of Trampower for a new local tramline and the progress of Retrofitplus as it works on the Brookfields estate to provide mentored green construction skill-sharing for young people. An update from Preston Pedals Ltd shared their expanding success in running led social rides, fixing bikes at a variety of community bases and passing on donated bikes. Community Energy Preston presented on the project to install rooftop solar financed by a community share offer. Cllr Suleman Sarwar PCC’s recently appointed Cabinet Member for Climate Change spoke of his vision for the role.
Several community organisations including a Ribbleton craft group had stalls. ‘Cosy Homes’ which advises householders and landlords on all funded schemes for saving energy were busy throughout the day. As well as promoting national Friends of the Earth campaigns, the CAP stall had a display of posters submitted by primary schools on ‘Our School’s Steps to Sustainability’.
The Sustainability Festival was a successful outcome from the recommendations by Preston Climate Jury to ‘harness the power of community to bring about change’.