Women's festival praised for leaving no trace
A community of 'wild' women gathered over the weekend for a festival celebrating the outdoors and left without a trace.
Almost 500 women and children from across the country had their first experience of a women's only festival at Chetwynd Deer Park hosted by community group, Wild Wanderers.
Despite having no designated litter-pickers and only a handful of bins, not one piece of rubbish was left behind.
Larnia Ryder, founder of Ryde activewear store, attended the event and said she was amazed at the thoughtfulness of the women who attended:
“At the end, it was like we’d never been there. It just boiled down to a mutual respect and thoughtfulness to one another and the environment.”
Wild Wanderers are a community group that hosts events and activities for women who enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, wild swimming, camping and mountaineering.
The group was founded by friends Melissa Jones and Emma Woodhall, who met through social media on a wild camping group.
The founders said: "We had a small group of girls who would get together and do wild camps, hikes, wild swimming and lots of other outdoor activities.
"After a trip to Scotland and posting our adventures on social media platforms we had many women ask where they could find adventure friends.
"We decided that many more women may benefit from having a women only community in this male dominated hobby and that’s when the Wild Wanderers began.”
The event saw a host of entertainers, live music, wellness activities and food trucks.
On the festival, Melissa and Emma said: "We wanted to put on a festival so that a high volume of people could have their first taste of a festival with wellness activities in a relaxed, fun atmosphere.
"We love the fact that people feel confident to come on their own, knowing that our team of organisers, volunteers and community will help them feel comfortable and safe.”
