Newton Abbot is to host its first climate festival in June. Organised by Action on Climate in Teignbridge (ACT), the Arts Climate Festival will use the arts to explain what climate change means to people living in the area and will suggest ways we can all make small changes that will make a big difference to the world we live in.

Taking place between June 22-29, the festival will feature live music, workshops, street entertainment, art exhibitions, poetry and a ‘Nature on the Green’ event.

A ten foot ‘tree of hope’ sculpture made from repurposed wood will be unveiled in the centre of Newton Abbot at the official opening of the festival at 10:30am on June 22. The tree will be decorated with ribbons, on which local people have written messages of hope for a better world.

A forest of smaller tree sculptures, made by community groups and schools, will accompany the giant sculpture.

Teignmouth Recycled Art in the Landscape (TRAIL), which has partnered with ACT to create the trees, is inviting the community to take part in a free workshop at Newton’s Place between 10:30am and 12:30pm on Saturday June 8 to decorate repurposed wood for the sculpture and to write on the ribbons that will decorate the tree. Participants in the workshop will also be able to make their own small tree for the forest of hope.

ACT said it hopes the festival will bring the community together ‘to make pledges towards environmental conversation and create a symbolic representation of our collective commitment to positive change’.

‘The idea of our ACT with the Arts Climate Festival is to bring awareness via the arts, as we need to make tackling climate change our top priority. The festival will give the people of Teignbridge the chance to find out more and encourage them to help make a difference,’ said ACT chair Kate Benham.

ACT was set up in 2019 in response to the climate emergency declaration made by Teignbridge Council in April of that year. It aims to help residents build environmentally friendly communities and sustainable economies across Teignbridge.