National Campaigns
The deadline for entry to the Bee Friendly Trust’s Bee Friendly Awards 2025 is Friday 4 April, with winners announced on World Bee Day 20 May. Download a Bee Friendly Awards poster to recruit support in your area. Another year-round campaign for councils and communities is Bee Squared
Energy Savers Week 20 – 26 January, is run in partnership with Energy Saving Trust. The focus of this week of activity is to share a winter heating checklist, to help consumers keep warm and spend less this winter.
Big Garden Birdwatch 24 – 26 January. According to the RSPB, we’ve lost 38 million birds from UK skies in the last 60 years. Every bird you do – or don’t – count will give insight into how garden birds are faring.
Food Waste Action Week 17- 23 March encouraging us to ‘Choose What You’ll Use’, highlighting the benefits of buying loose fruit and vegetables and inspiring people to do this wherever they can. Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) aims to future-proof food, prevent plroblem plastics, transform textiles and accelerate the circular economy.
Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) Village Halls Week 17-23 March will celebrate, encourage and support the efforts of volunteers who keep these important rural community buildings open. This year it is sponsored by UtilityAid, the largest energy broker for the not-for-profit sector. Resources on the transition to Net Zero including a Design Guide for Community Facilities.
Great British Spring Clean and Great Big School Clean 21 March – 6 April is Keep Britain Tidy’s mass-action environmental campaign. Litter-picking is a simple action that anyone can do. It makes an immediate and visible difference to the environment where we live, work and play. Resources and guidance available.
Sustrans The Big Walk & Wheel 24 March – 4 April is the UK’s largest inter-school walking, wheeling, scooting and cycling challenge. It inspires pupils to make active journeys to school to improve air quality in their neighbourhood. Can you support your local school with resources or volunteers or make streets safer in your community through Safe Streets?
RHS National Gardening Week 28 April – 4 May “First Time Gardeners” and National Children’s Gardening Week 24 May – 1 June celebrates the fun that gardens hold for kids. Children, parents, grandparents, schools or garden businesses can find ideas for fun garden projects and activities. More from RHS on power of Community Gardening, Wildlife Trust partnership Wild About Gardens and the School Gardening Campaign.
The Big River Watch, 25 April – 1 May. Twice a year, The Rivers Trust run a simple citizen science activity that helps build a picture of river health across the UK. Whether you’re a swimmer or a paddler, an angler or a rambler, a wildlife spotter or a sit-and-watch-er, download the app and complete the quick survey.
No Mow May We’ve lost approximately 97% of flower-rich meadows since the 1930’s and with them gone are vital food needed by pollinators, like bees and butterflies. With over 20 million gardens in the UK, even the smallest grassy patches add up. PlantLife campaign and resources including posters and information packs.
National Hedgerow Week 5-11 May. Hedgerows form the UK’s largest wildlife habitat, are a major part of our landscape and cultural heritage, and are crucial to halting biodiversity decline and tackling climate change.
West Midlands Retrofit Action Week 10-18 May isBirmingham programme for 2024
See theMay is Living Streets’ National Walking Month and encompasses Walk to School Week 19 – 23 May. Find out more about Safer Routes to School and reducing pavement parking.
Water Saving Week 12-15 May Waterwise helps communities, businesses and governments to understand the value of water and use it wisely so that we have enough now and in the future.
The Big Paddle Clean Up, 24 May – 8 June, paddlers, water sports clubs and other groups help to clean up rivers and waterways.
National Open Garden Scheme runs all year round. Did you know many local Warwickshire gardens can also be viewed by arrangement during the summer – – Kenilworth, Barford, Snitterfield, Southam all feature. Your council could sponsor an inspirational visit for your school or community group (community transport available from WRCC) . Did you know there are virtual visits also available?
Save the date for a visit to Sustainable Wellesbourne’s Open Gardens for Wildlife 31 May/1 June.
The Great Big Green Week 7 – 15 June is the UK’s biggest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. This year’s theme is “Let’s swap togther for good” – from clothes or book swaps, to skill swaps in allotments or upcycling workshops, to knowledge swaps on discussion panels, events can be hosted by anyone in the community. Resources available from The Climate Coalition whose partners include the RSPB, WI, WWF, Co-op and National Trust.
Bike Week 10-16 June, Cycling UK is dedicated to supporting cyclists. The event is an opportunity to promote cycling and show how cycling can easily become a part of everyday life.
World Refill Day 16 June from City to Sea is a campaign to stop plastic pollution at source. Anyone can download the free City to Sea Refill app to tap into a network of places to reduce, reuse and refill. If you have a location – a sports club or a shop – where you’re happy to allow the public to enter and refill their tap water, this is a ‘publicly accessible water point’ and can be registered as a Refill Station for water refills. Find out how
Clean Air Day, 20 June, find out more about air pollution, how it impacts health in the UK and the campaign from Global Action Plan.
Bees’ Needs Week 18-14 July coordinated by DEFRA (to be confirmed)
Following the Big Butterfly Count 2024, Butterfly Conservation declared a butterfly emergency. By taking part in a UK wide survey, you can help assess the health of our environment by counting butterflies. 18 July – 10 August
National Allotment Week is a yearly event in August from the National Allotment Society. These small plots of land are rented out to people by a parish or town council. The Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 placed duty on local authorities to provide sufficient allotments, according to demand and to purchase compulsorily land to provide allotments. Allotments played a big role during the First and Second World Wars, when many foods were strictly rationed and are now recognised to provide a variety of social and environmnetal benefits.
Seed Gathering Season, 22 September – 23 October. The autumn equinox is the official start of The Tree Council’s initiative. Seed gathering is fun, free and easy. Wherever you live, whatever your age, you can get involved. Resources include a webinar to help you find the right place for trees, identification guide and how to grow trees from seed.
Unblocktober is the world’s first month-long national campaign and awareness month to improve the health of our drains, sewers, watercourses and seas – driven completely by the British public. Save our sewers and our seas!
Recycle Week 14-21 October (to be confirmed) where retailers, brands, waste management companies, trade associations, governments and the media come together to achieve one goal: to galvanise the public into recycling more of the right things, more often. Join other local authorities to promote WRAP’s campaign Recycle Now.
Flood Action Week 14-20 October (to be confirmed) the Environment Agency urges the public to be prepared for flooding and think about simple stepsto protect themselves in advance and keep themselves safe in the event of a flood: Sign up to flood warnings, Know how to turn off your gas, electricity and water, plan where to move your valuables and pack a bag of essentials in advance. And remember never walk or drive through floodwater. Warwickshire resources
This campaign shows people that a few steps can reduce the devastation caused by floods to their homes and businesses, with around 5.5 million properties in England at risk from flooding. Recent data suggests nearly half the country is unsure of how to find information on local flood risks.Resources from Warwickshire Resilience Forum and CSW Resilience
Led by Keep Britain Tidy, November is Buy Nothing New Month It’s much more beneficial for the environment to reduce your consumption. This means reusing and repairing items, borrowing and renting, and if you need to buy something, buy it second-hand – excluding essentials like food and medicine.
National Tree Week, held in the last week of November, is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration from the Tree Council. People are encouraged to plant trees to mark the start of the winter tree planting season.
If your parish or community group is holding an event, contact Warwick District or email swclimate.engagement@warwickdc.gov.uk As part of the Local Climate Engagement Programme, we produce a bi-monthly newsletter to advertsie your event and can support with advice and resources. Sign up here
United Nations
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The 17 Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030. Learn more about each goal and take action. Every month, editorial content focuses on one of the SDGs. January: Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
International Dates
International Day of Clean Energy 26 January
World Wetlands Day 2 February
World Wildlife Day 3 March
World Water Day 22 March. The UN has declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. The first World Day for Glaciers is 21 March, to raise global awareness of the critical connections between the cryosphere, climate change, the water cycle, the economy, environment and society.
Earth Hour 22 March
International Day of Zero Waste 30 March. Learn six things you didn’t know about the true cost of fast fashion.
Earth Day Tuesday, April 22, 2025 is the 55th anniversary of Earth Day.
World Bee Day 20 May
International Day for Biological Diversity 22 May
World Bicycle Day 3 June. The bicycle contributes to cleaner air and less congestion and makes education, health care and other social services more accessible to the most vulnerable populations.
World Environment Day 5 June. Republic of Korea to host World Environment Day 2025 with a focus on ending plastic pollution.
World Oceans Day 8 June. United Nations Ocean Conference 9-13 June in Nice, France “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean” to support the implementation of SDG 14.
International Day of Clean Air for blue skies 7 September
World Rivers Day 27 September
International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste 29 September
World Habitat Day 1 October
International E-Waste Day 14 October
World Food Day 16 October
World Soil Day 5 December
This calendar was compiled having used many of the free national resources for local campaigns. Thanks to the following online publications of key dates, including the United Nations, Church of England, Something Big, Bywaters Recycling and Moral Fibres.