All over the globe right now, people are looking towards a green recovery, to accelerate climate action and to build back better. The local NGO is using this momentum to inspire change in people’s lives, to get active (not anxious) about the future of our planet.
In line with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration which is advocating for the halt of ecosystem degradation, Greenpop is aiming through this event to promote a new culture of restoration, highlighting its importance when trying to undertake the planet’s biggest issues such as climate change and food security.
Eden Festival of Action 2021 will be Greenpop’s 9th annual Festival of Action event hosted over two weeks from 27th June – 11th July 2021 at Wild Spirit Lodge, Garden Route.
What is incredible about restoring landscapes is that it provides a foundation for all of the Sustainable Development Goals, like reducing flood and fire risk, ending hunger and aiding economic growth. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, at which the goals are the heart of, were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, sharing the essence of peace and prosperity for the people and planet, now and for generations to come.
Greenpop’s restoration festival combines practical ecosystem restoration work like tree-planting, with a full line-up of workshops, talks and activities from sustainability experts. The evenings are filled with campfire sessions, storytelling and music from some of South Africa’s finest musicians. Watch the video from the Eden Festival of Action 2019 here.
The event in 2021 will be hosted at Wild Spirit Lodge, located near Plettenberg Bay in the heart of the Garden Route. Surrounded by the indigenous forests of the Tsitsikamma National Park and pristine beaches, the location is a perfect place to immerse in nature and give back to the surrounding area which is still suffering after devastating fires wreaked havoc on large areas of the Eden District back in 2017. After these fires, Cape Town-based urban greening and reforestation organisation Greenpop was approached by various NGOs and community organisations to begin working in the area.
At their Eden Festival of Action in 2021, Greenpop plans to plant 2000-3000 indigenous trees, participate in much-needed alien clearing, paint environmental murals in collaboration with local communities and host talks and workshops on sustainability. They will be inviting an array of NGO partners to attend to engage in further conversations imperative to furthering climate restoration work advocacy.
From beekeeping to natural building and upcycling, the festival will provide a space for turning environmental awareness into positive action in a creative way that will aid growth in people and the planet alike. Collaborative artworks, live music, DJ’s, and dancing under the clear, unpolluted nights skies that the Garden Route boasts are some additional highlights of the festival. The skills learned and shared will be invaluable in creating a more environmentally conscious society that can better respond to the environmental and social challenges we face, now and in the future. The Eden Festival of Action aims to create an empowered regenerative community and want to equip guests to become custodians of the natural world.
Another aim of Greenpop is to make this event as inclusive and accessible as possible. They want anyone to be able to come and change their world, become an active citizen, no matter their background. Which is why, thanks to amazing support from CapeNature, they o er scholarship spaces for low-income youth.
Dates: 27 June – 11 July 2021
For more information, visit the website here.
Pictures: Supplied
