EVENTS in Otley and nearby Nidderdale feature in the region's first rewilding festival this summer.
The Yorkshire Rewilding Network (YRN) is holding the first Yorkshire Rewilding Festival to create an opportunity for a wider audience to explore rewilding through the arts, through debate and discussion, and through community gatherings.
There are a variety of events planned, including: the creation of a live, collaborative artwork which reimagines a Yorkshire city with a wilder future; a day of learning and connection for rewilders; a specially commissioned story and musical performance set in beautiful woodland; and a day of wild family fun in a forest park. Plus, the festival also goes out on tour, with Wild Workshops taking place in some of Yorkshire’s most inspiring rewilding sites.
Yorkshire Rewilding Festival kicks off in York on Tuesday, June 13. The opening event will be a collaboration with the York Festival of Ideas 2023 - Reimagining a Rewilded York; an evening of open discussion and artistic creation where a panel of experts encourage the audience to imagine how urban rewilding could transform York. Artist James McKay will interpret the ideas and suggestions, capturing them in a unique painting – an alternative future vision of the city.
On Friday, June 23 June, in woodland north of Leeds at Farnley Hall the next Festival event, WildSong, explores rewilding through music and spoken word. This unique, intimate evening will start in a meadow, where participants can enjoy drinks before being led into the woods for a night of story and music. This event is supported with funding from Leeds Inspired, part of Leeds City Council.
An inspiring and practical day connecting rewilders, Yorkshire Rewilders Day, follows at Farnley Hall on Saturday, June 24 in partnership with nature charity, Wildlife Friendly Otley. This is a day for connection with fellow rewilders, to share knowledge and experience, inspire each other, and learn something new. There will be panel discussions, walks and activities (both creative and practical), and plenty of time to chat, ask questions and make new connections.
And on Sunday, June 25, Yorkshire Rewilding Festival joins Otley Nature Network's Chevin Discovery Day - a free, family-friendly event hosted by Friends of Chevin Forest Park. YRN will collaborate with SunUp Festival to provide an immersive workshop concentrating on our connection with nature. A local artist will encourage people of all ages to help ‘rewild’ and transform a blank piece of canvas into a wild and abundant landscape, and there will be an interactive ‘rewilding world’ specially designed to inspire young minds and hands.
Over the summer Yorkshire Rewilding Network will be taking the Festival on Tour with Wild Workshops at a range of rewilding sites, including Nidderdale. They will be hosting workshops and activities from natural mindfulness and forest bathing to art and drawing, to forest school and family nature connection days.
Samantha Mennell, Yorkshire Rewilding Festival Director, said: “We’re so excited to be launching our first festival, and for us, it’s all about connection. Rewilding is always at it strongest when links are being made, whether that’s within landscapes or between people. This festival is only possible because of the new partnerships we’ve made around the region and we’re excited about the amazing chance it gives us to reach out to more diverse audiences and get more people rewilding!”
For further information on all the events, go to https://www.yorkshirerewildingnetwork.org.uk/yrn-festival-2023/
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here