Green Week 2017 roundup

21st June 2017

Another year, another amazing (and slightly bizarre) Green Week here at Stride Treglown. Our theme for 2017 was ‘WILD’.

We wanted to get people thinking about the importance of nature for our physical and mental wellbeing, and how, as designers, we can incorporate more ‘wild’ into the places and spaces we create.

Here’s what we got up to:

#WildGreenWeek Photo Competition

An open photo competition for the public, clients and staff to show us their best photographs of nature reclaiming the man-made. Photos were submitted on Instagram and Twitter and are displayed on www.wildgreenweek.com.

The winning entry is below, with James bagging himself a Cacoon hanging tent (which was hanging from our Bristol office cedar tree during the week).

 

Wild Animal Visit

Both our Cardiff and Bristol offices were visited by some interesting animals on Friday. Snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, tortoises and… a Shetland pony!

 

5 to 9 Micro Adventure

In the spirit of an initiative started by author and adventurer, Alastair Humphreys, we reversed the 9-to-5 by leaving the office for a micro-adventure. After spending a night in nature, we returned ready for work the next morning.

One group trekked 8.9 miles from our Bristol office to the Cadbury Camp Iron Age Fort. They cooked over an open fire, shared stories and slept under the stars. Another group drove down to Croyd at 5pm for a surf and a pint, returning at 9am ready for work.

 

Colin Moody’s ‘We Are One’ Project

Photographer and radio DJ, Colin Moody, came to tell us about his ‘We Are One’ project: an attempt to photograph 1% of Bristol’s population in order to create one composite portrait.

His ambitious project is a reaction to world events, with the aim of promoting unity at a time when global news focuses on division.

He then took a photo of everybody in the Bristol office, with the results below. Don’t we look a friendly bunch!

 

Avon Wildlife Walk

Our Bath office went on a walking tour of the local area, hosted by Avon Wildlife Trust, to find our more about the nature on their doorstep.

 

Bournville Bees

Our Bournville office met Bournville Village Trust resident beekeepers, Ian and Colin, from Bournville Beekeepers. Both are former Cadbury’s employees, whose love of beekeeping developed into a joint venture keeping bees in and around public spaces in Bournville, such as the Bournville Village Trust Headquarters (where Stride Treglown Birmingham are based), Rowheath Pavilion and Selly Manor Museum.

The afternoon started off with a presentation in the office over lunch, followed by suiting up to inspect a hive.

 

Wild and Rustic Food

Pop-up catering company, Wild and Rustic, set up shop outside the office and shared tastes of their countryside-inspired cooking.

Founded in 2014 by Laurence Aspey, who has worked within Rosette and Michelin starred establishments and for names such as Jamie Oliver and Gennaro Contaldo, Wild and Rustic uses local suppliers, seasonal ingredients and organic veg.

 

Wild Yoga

Too keep us fit, our Bath and Bristol teams enjoyed some ‘wild yoga’ during a sunny Thursday lunchtime with local yoga teachers Wild Wolfs.

 

All-in-all, a very successful, very busy, very wild Green Week! Suggestions for next years’ theme welcome, or if you would like to come in and do a talk or tell us about your project, please get in touch.

What is Green Week?

Green Week is an annual week of themed days designed to raise the profile of sustainability, both internally at Stride Treglown and externally to local businesses, communities and clients.

It aims to give people a better understanding of sustainable issues, the part we can all play in reducing our carbon footprint, and how we can help our local communities.

Previous years’ highlights include:

– Publication of our 52 Big Ideas for Bristol book
– Top Gear style Man v Machine race across Bristol
– Opening of our office allotments
– Candle lit speaking event at Redcliffe caves
– Design a bird box competition
– Shared local meals

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