Reading Climate Festival is putting Reading on the map
GAIA – a world-famous touring art installation by Luke Jerram – was the centrepiece of this year’s Reading Climate Festival.
Seven metres in diameter, and created from 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface, Gaia allows us to see our planet floating, in three dimensions, as astronauts do.
Over 12,000 people visited GAIA at Reading Town Hall between the 10th and 18th June 2023.
Common experiences for visitors were: a feeling of awe for the planet; a deep sense of the interconnectedness of all life; and a renewed commitment to taking care of our wonderful planet.
Everyone who visited was asked to visit ReadingCAN’s climate pledge page to commit to at least 5 of the 15 suggested actions individuals can take to help our town get to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
There were over 30 other festival events from 10 – 21 June 2023 across Reading and online, including a Samba Parade for kids, talks on retrofitting and heat pumps, events on carbon reporting for businesses and schools, a sustainable fashion event, a talk by Ray Mears and so much more.
Keen to get involved in 2024?
Event planning and fundraising for Reading Climate Festival 2024 (our fourth annual event) will start after the summer.
ReadingCAN’s volunteer-led, not-for-profit festival is getting better every year. If you’re keen to get involved, make sure to sign up to our newsletter – ReadingCAN Updates – and then stay tuned for ‘Expressions of Interest’ for 2024.
We’re excited to see where this festival goes and what it can do for Reading’s goal to be net zero by 2030.
Missed it? We recorded some of our online events.
Recordings are available for some of the online events on our YouTube channel, including talks on: creating warmer homes; Reading’s progress towards net zero; heat pumps; and rewilding the Knepp Estate.
