Greenfest 2026

On Saturday 24 October, more than 1,000 people braved Storm Boelo to come to St Bart’s for GreenFest 2026, West Berkshire’s free celebration of nature, climate action and positive change. With over 75 organisations, 20 talks and six zones (Food, Home, Travel, Stuff, Nature and Community), there was something for everyone and our students were right at the heart of it.

Our Conservation and Kintsugi clubs ran a popular stall selling Kintsugi pieces and badges featuring our famous school wildlife, including 8 brand-new designs. See next week’s BartholoNews for more information on these! Students produced some amazing artwork and talked with visitors of all ages about how we have been bringing wildlife back to the school grounds, and about Kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken things to create something more beautiful than before. A screen behind the stall played footage of our wildlife and our large and rambunctious fox family was a big hit. The stall raised £170 for sustainability projects at school. A big thank you to Hannah, Merrigan, Darcy, Carys, Chloe, Sophie, Seyram, Maia, Alyssa and Lianna.

We also had a number of older student volunteers who helped keep the whole event running. The organisers said they were fantastic and would love to have them back next year. Thank you to Josh, May, Misha, Kata, Louise-Marie, Delaney and Seren, you were amazing!

An extra special thanks go to the Music Tech Group members Ben, Lawrie, Noah and Ellie, who worked with Mr Weller on the Friday and came back on the day to help out with all things tech related. The organisers told us: “They were absolutely invaluable… all four were so capable and polite. They also offered and then helped us move chairs and things around, supporting the site team. They really went above and beyond and I commend them to you.”

Our Sports Hall was transformed by more than 350 pieces of giant bunting, made by local people at community events throughout the year, plus a beautiful leaf archway and art installations from AWOL Outdoor Arts, Newbury. Visitors talked to solar and heat pump installers, looked around electric vehicles and listened to speakers including nature writer Nicola Chester and wildlife photographer Simon Booker. Lee Dillon, MP for Newbury and St Barts alumnus, opened the festival, saying; “What I love about GreenFest is that it isn’t about telling people what to do, it’s about showing what’s already happening here, and inviting everyone to be part of it.”

One teenager who visited with friends said: “What struck me was how positive it all felt. Most of what I see about climate change is really doom and gloom, so it was nice to see people near me actually getting on with things. Farmers, river groups – it made me feel like it’s not too late.”

A parent said: “We came for an hour and stayed all afternoon. We discovered a nature corridor project five minutes from our house that we never knew existed. We’ve already signed up to help.”

Co-organiser Nikki Coome of the Nature and Climate Network summed it up: “Our aim was for people to leave with something they could act on the next morning, not just good intentions… Visitors might have booked a heat pump survey, joined a wildlife group or simply picked up an idea to cut food waste. Small steps like these, taken by thousands of neighbours, add up to real change.”

Well done to everyone who made it happen, and thank you to all who came, even in a storm.