Toby’s Garden Festival: The First Carbon Neutral Garden Show In The World
Hosted by BBC Two Gardeners' World presenter Toby Buckland, Toby’s Garden Festival (Friday 3rd - Saturday 4th May 2024) is proud to announce it has been awarded carbon neutral status. Set in the stunning grounds of Powderham Castle, near Exeter, it’s the first carbon neutral garden show in the world to achieve such accreditation, a huge achievement for the festival which also celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
Two days of delight, celebration and inspiration for gardeners and lovers of the great outdoors, Toby and his dedicated team have worked hard to reduce the impact of the festival on the environment. Over the past 10 years they’ve sourced from local sustainable suppliers but knew there was more to do, so, with the help of eco-auditors, Blue Marble, they monitored the carbon the festival produces and have offset it by planting trees as part of a wildlife protection scheme.
Founder of Toby’s Garden Festival, Toby Buckland, comments: “Over the past two decades the effects of climate change have accelerated, with ever-more extreme weather and the loss of wildlife, birds and biodiversity from our countryside. Since our first festival, we’ve strived to make a difference, curating our exhibitors to ensure plants, crafts and food are provided by companies that work with nature and support their local economy. We’ve also actively reduced travel when organising the festival by working from a virtual office, partnered with waste companies who recycle what they can and ensure no waste goes to landfill, provided visitors with recycling points for the plastic pots they have at home, gifted wildflower seeds and showcased chemical-free garden products and techniques.”
Toby continues: “Our green philosophy has also allowed us to analyse our environmental impact measured in tons of carbon. With that knowledge and the expertise of Blue Marble, we’ve partnered with an ecological project in Cambodia, The Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, who through preserving and enhancing a protected habitat can recapture the carbon Toby’s Garden Festival releases.”
The Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary spans over 290,000 hectares and is a haven for biodiversity and a vast storehouse of forest carbon. The protected area is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including 84 globally threatened species including yellow-cheeked crested gibbon and endangered Asian elephants. Launched in 2010, The Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary is a collaboration between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Wildlife Conservation Society and has made impressive strides in reducing deforestation, promoting alternative livelihoods, supporting education and training initiatives and establishing ecotourism that supports local communities.
Family friendly, Toby’s Garden Festival boasts an impressive programme full of free gardening and food and drink talks, demonstrations, tastings and workshops plus live music. Much more than purely a garden festival it’s an unmissable two days, with over 200 exhibitors including award-winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show plant nurseries and British-grown trees, roses, border and wild flowers, aquatics, shrubs and houseplants plus sculptures and garden furniture and an ‘Artisan Barn’ showcasing local artists, crafts, ceramics, textiles, glassware and jewellery. Heritage craft demonstrations including stave baskets and brush making and free flower crown making workshops with the help of the British Academy of Flower Arts, also run over the two days.
To find out more information about Toby’s Garden Festival including what’s on details, visit the official Toby’s Garden Festival website at tobygardenfest.co.uk. To stay up-to-date follow @tobygardenfest on X (formerly Twitter).
