It's been months in the planning ... and now here it is. Bristol's first BIG Green Week which aims to be a great inspiration for change.
BIG GREEN STREET MARKET
Bristol East Greenpeace were there for the first event - one of the country's biggest street markets centred around St Nicholas's market and St Augustine's Parade. It was an excellent opportunity to continue our campaigning for the badly needed reform of the EU's Common Fishing Policy. To find out more and create your personal sea shanty petition to EU Fisheries Minister, click here.
Out pitch near the harbourside was well located and thanks to Carol and Fi the stall looked marvellous with the banners, flags, stickers and campaign material. Thankfully the weather turned out to be dry and sunny - but occasional gusts of wind did threaten to blow is into the fountains! Millie the Mackerel had to be centre of attention and she was in her element when she met the alluring Bristol Mermaid. Millie was also a 'WoW' with the children and a few had a go with a magnetic fishing game.
Our 'catch of the day' was a brilliant 394 fish cards signed. Many thanks to the team that included Alexandra, Carol, Fi, Ian, Loz, Mark, Paul, Richard B, and finally Sergey who was street campaigning for the first time and seemed to have a great time being a 6ft mackerel for the afternoon! Well done all.
TRIDOS BANK FILM SHOW - 'THE END OF THE LINE'
Bristol East Greenpeace had a stalll at the showing of the documentary film 'The End of the Line' which examined the devestating effects of overfishing, particularly of tuna fish. The question and answer session was conducted by Stephen Simpson from the University of Bristol's Cabot Institute. The Institute has been researching how sustainable our oceans will be in 2050 given the effects of climate change and the warming of the oceans. It is clear that better management of the marine environment is crucial if fish species are to survive. Thanks to Carol and Fi for attending this event.
BRISTOL EAST GREENPEACE AT HAMILTON HOUSE'S BIG GREEN DAY.
We were pleased to be part of Big Green Day at Hamilton House. In the afternoon we showed the film 'Mind Bomb' to a small audience, but were glad to see a good number of people (including local street fundraisers) in the evening for the 40 Years of Greenpeace documentary. The film charts the development of the organisation from its start back in September 1971 and marked some of the key successes over the years. Many thanks to Richard L for organising the technical bits and introducing the film shows and to Carol, Cordelia, Fi, Loz, Mark, Richard B, and Sue for their support, especially those who ran the stall in the lobby and managed to get more signatures for reform of the Common Fishing Policy.
BRISTOL'S BIGGEST BIKE RIDE
Well done to Richard L, Loz and Sue for taking part in the Biggest Bike Ride and raising some money for Greenpeace. There was a great atmosphere, bringing together a good number of people of all ages, and great that the weather did not spoil the event.
Huge big thanks to Fi who has been so instrumental in initiating and co-ordinating most of the above events on behalf of Bristol East Greenpeace. For photos and comments from the week please go to our Flickr and Facebook pages.
WHAT A GREAT WEEK!
So there we have it! We were there at the beginning and end of Bristol's Big Green Week and proud to be part of the festival. A fantastic range of events were organised including, a great series of Schumacher Lectures (which will all eventually be posted on www.permanentculturenow.com), electric bike racing up Park Street, music, comedy, art events, walks, talks,poetry, workshops, film shows, the Festival of Nature, the Big Market and Biggest Bike Ride. It confirms that Bristol is a worthy contender for the title of European Green Capital for 2014 - to show your support, click here. For me the week has given me a better sense of hope, it's been inspiring and thought-provoking - and damn good fun! It certainly makes me want to do more for the environment and I only hope this feeling has been duplicated many times across the city and beyond.
Given the success of the week overall there is already talk of Big Green Week 2013. All things being equal Bristol East Greenpeace will be there in force!
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