Connecting Green Gathering Themes
Community, inclusion, accessibility and wellbeing are key elements of The Green Gathering and crucial for a liveable future – we know sustainability isn’t only about environmental issues.
Our festival is renowned for its welcoming and revitalising atmosphere, for the care and respect people show one another, for appealing to toddlers and octogenarians and all ages in between, for programming artists of under-represented genders, and for extending our Assisted Access services each year.
We create havens for healing, safe spaces and adventurous places for young people, support for the more vulnerable amongst us, free yoga sessions with skilled teachers, and therapeutic massage on a pay-what-you-can-afford basis.
You are invited to seek what you need: from a consultation with a Medical Herbalist to sexual health signposting at Welfare, a tea party in the Women’s Tent, sharing circle at the Queer Dome, mobility support in the Assisted Access field, time to chill in the Serenpod, a whole weekend’s-worth of family activities in the Kids’ Garden, or a gong bath in the Healing Circle.
From Welfare…
Just inside the festival arena, our experienced Welfare team are ready to listen, empathise, advise, signpost, offer a recovery space, provide mental health support, reunite lost people and more. Here you'll find The POD - a small, quiet area with weighted blankets, tactile and stim toys, mood lighting and white noise - for people experiencing emotional or sensory overwhelm.
…to the Medical Tent…
The first port of call if you need medical care, here you’ll find a truly holistic approach, with paramedics, first aiders, herbalists and other health professionals working closely together to provide the most appropriate treatment in any situation.
…to Info Exchange…
The absolute centre of the festival: a font of knowledge with maps, programmes, phone charging, ethical merch and a wise, kind crew who enjoy collecting information from festival-goers just as much as they love being able to answer your questions.
…to the Women’s Tent...
Pitched in a garden in the Campaigns Field and packed with ideas, artwork, politics, laughter and cups of tea, the Women’s Tent aims to challenge patriarchy in a space where all self-identified women can connect, create and feel safe.
…to the Queer Dome…
A supportive space for lgbtq+ people, as free as we can make it from homophobia, transphobia and assumptions about gender and sexuality. With sharing circles, workshops, queer history, queer activism and friendly drop-in sessions.
…to Assisted Access…
Located on a flat part of the festival site close to the main track, our Assisted Access area harbours a welcome tent, accessible toilets and shower, solar-powered wheelchair charging, a shuttle buggy transport service, British Sign Language communication support, campfire space and friendly helpful crew.
…to the Crow's Nest...
A unique space on the periphery of the Transformative Adaptation village - a sacred place for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour); where melanated people can retreat if needs be, tell stories, or not, and be heard, or hide. A space specific to race, similar in purpose to the Women's Tent and Queer Dome.
...to the Teens Space...
Tucked into the treeline above the Crow's Nest, Wye Circus hosts a welcoming space especially for teenagers, with aerial trapeze rig, games, music, juggling, crafts, cookery… plus time and space to chat, read, hang out.
...to the Kids’ Area…
Our festival is bursting with chances to explore, learn, play and perform. Our Kids’ Garden has space for little ones to run and crawl, and creative activities to join in with all day long. There’s a swap shop and face painting, baby yoga and bubble magic. Older kids and families will stumble upon all kinds of fun on the Village Green – think sock wrestling, crazy golf, giant chess and bungee trampolines.
…and down to the Healing Circle.
Walk across the Village Green and drop down to the edge of the camping fields. Here in the Healing Circle you’ll find tranquillity, wellness, meditation, movement and massage; often there’ll be sitar or flute music wafting on the breeze as you enjoy glorious views across the valley from the exquisite mandala garden and therapy tents. Workshops in healing arts and treatments by complementary therapists are all free or by donation. Yoga classes in a variety of styles run from 8am throughout the day.
“The Green Gathering provides a counterbalance to what’s going on in the rest of the world, a little picture of how life can be…” - Lizzy, Green Gathering co-ordinator
Whether you consider the kinder, gentler ways of treating ourselves and each other you’ll encounter at Green Gathering escapism from the ‘real world’ or a template the rest of society would do well to adopt, we hope you’ll embrace the experience – and maybe even be inspired to recreate it in your family or workplace.
People tell us The Green Gathering feels like coming home. So why not take the best parts of the festival home with you?
