A VILLAGE between Malvern and Ledbury is embarking on an ambitious new plan to become more sustainable.

November 12 sees the first ever Eco Festival in Colwall.

The free event is aimed at showing residents how they can live more sustainably.

The focuses of the event include reducing carbon emissions, ecology and wildlife, and using your voice to advocate for change.

Colwall Village Hall and Colwall Primary School will host the event, which features more than 30 stalls, expert talks and children's activities along with a nature-inspired art competition.

The event is organised by Colwall Greener, which is a group of people in the village who are interested in what they can do to help locally or individually to move towards a greener future.

A spokesperson for the organisers said: "Individual actions make a difference, and the Eco Festival aims to provide local people with the practical tools to take action, improve the local community and, in many cases, save money too."

There will be opportunities to test drive an electric bike and get inside an electric car, and for those wanting to reduce energy usage and save money this winter advice on retrofitting, solar PV, heat pumps and thermal tracing.

For gardeners, there will be pollinator-friendly plants for sale and advice on peat-free and organic gardening.

Children’s activities in the school hall will include a book and puzzle corner, children’s crafts activities, an exhibition of nature inspired artwork produced by local children and examples of eco initiatives being run by schools in the area. 

The festival will feature a wide range of organisations including the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Cleevely Electric Cars, Caplor Energy, Malvern Hills Trust, Herefordshire Green Network Building Sense, local wildlife trusts, Green Investing Ltd and many more.

This free event is supported by the Malvern Hills AONB and in collaboration with Colwall Orchard Group, Colwall Primary School, the Great Collaboration and the Colwall WI.

An AONB spokesperson said: "The power of communities is shown when they come together to solve a common problem.

"This Festival does just that and helps make the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty such a special place."