Events held across Three Rivers to mark Great Big Green Week

A host of free activities will be taking place in Three Rivers this month as part of a nationwide campaign to highlight the need for urgent action on the climate emergency.

Taking place between 18 and 26 September, the national Great Big Green Week has been organised ahead of COP26, the United Nations climate talks taking place in Glasgow in November.

Supported by Three Rivers District Council, which recently published its own Climate Emergency Strategy, the week will kick off in Three Rivers on 18 September with a free film screening of the children’s film, The Lorax, at Watersmeet Theatre, Rickmansworth. The showing is at 1.30pm and is free, but advanced booking is required.

Watersmeet will also be hosting another screening on Tuesday 21 September of David Attenborough’s A Life On Our Planet - a powerful first-hand account defining moments of his career, humanity's impact on nature, and a message of hope for future generations, starting at 7pm. Again, advanced booking is required.

The council will also be launching a new scheme to help alleviate period poverty while reducing waste in the district by making free reusable period products available at food banks and Healthy Hubs.

Other events in Three Rivers during Great Big Green Week include:

• Webinars and live demonstrations from Veolia and Herts WasteAware on food waste and waste reduction in Hertfordshire.
• Litter picks by Friends of the Earth Watford and Three Rivers in Bushy Arches, Knutsford Playing Fields, and West Watford.
• Open days at Woodoaks Farm.
• Chess Valley Challenge 2021 – a sponsored walk to support Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.

Great Big Green Week aims to draw attention to climate change and destruction of the natural world, while encouraging people in the community to do their bit and discuss the issues we face. The Three Rivers and Watford events are being co-ordinated by Watford and Three Rivers Friends of the Earth.

Cllr Phil Williams, the council's Lead Member for Environmental Services, Climate Change and Sustainability said: “As a council, we will soon be unveiling a specific action plan on the back of our Climate Emergency Strategy detailing how we can work together to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045 at the latest. But we are all in this together, which is why events like Great Big Green Week are so important. The more we can get everyone talking about the Climate Emergency and making it part of our daily lives, the better the chance we have of tackling it.”

For more information about the Great Big Green Week visit www.greenwatford.uk/greenweek

To read Three Rivers District Council’s Climate Emergency strategy, visit:  https://www.threerivers.gov.uk/egcl-page/climate-change