Green festival draws the crowds to Ludlow
Soaring temperatures saw about 2,000 people flocking to take part in the 24th Ludlow Green Festival which was staged in Castle Square on Sunday.
Organised by Ludlow 21, a voluntary community group, the festival included 50 stalls, family activities, dancing, live music and various events aimed at enabling people to live "greener" lives while reducing their carbon footprint.
There was even a local GP, Doctor Simon Hodson, from Shrewsbury, who took the role of 'Doctor Green' and dressed in scrubs to talk about climate change, bush fires, floods, rising temperatures and melting ice caps.
He invited children and families to help provide 'CPR' for the plant through 'Climate, Planet, Recovery'.
Youngsters and their parents were invited to choose the right medicines to solve issues the planet faced and postcards produced on the day calling for Government action are to be handed to local MP for South Shropshire Philip Dunne.
Tish Dockerty, the 52-year-old chairman of Ludlow 21, said: "The event was completely free of charge and this was the festival's 24th year and formed part of the Ludlow Fringe Festival.
"We missed one year because of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and this year, fortunately, we were able to offer many more hands-on activities.
"Planet Earth is an ailing patient in need of urgent care and attention and Doctor Green explained the symptoms which are becoming both increasingly self-evident and ever harder to ignore.
"While there may not be complete agreement about what treatment should be applied, doing nothing is clearly not an option.
"This year's festival took over the whole of Castle Square and was based on the theme of Climate, Planet, Recovery."
Tish added: "We wanted to provide opportunities for visitors of all ages to explore and learn about what is being done now, and what more can be done, to solve the problems and how everyone can play their part.
"There was a Master Composter providing advice for gardeners and explaining how to increase biodiversity.
"A Climate Question Time offered people the opportunity to discover how to keep houses warn and how to alter travel patterns and reduce carbon emissions.
"We were delighted that so many families came along and there were many hands-on activities for children to enjoy.such as the chance to make bug hotels from bamboo and old pallets.
"Children were allowed to take these home to place in their own gardens and we hope this will encourage them to think about the planet.
"There were guests also providing education about pollination.
"We were fortunate that we had such wonderfully good weather and Ludlow Brewery provided beer to enable parents to cool down while listening to musicians who performed free-of-charge.
"The Brownies also ran a tea stall which proved very popular."
