On Saturday 7 June, Shakespeare’s New Place, the site of the playwright’s final home, opened its doors to the public for a free day of fun as it hosted the launch of Stratford-upon-Avon’s Great Big Green Week.
The day formed part of the Trust’s Sustainable Shakespeare initiative, and wider Big Green Month celebrations, which featured a diverse series of events and activities that shined a spotlight on the natural environment and the impressive biodiversity found across the Shakespeare family homes.
‘’Despite the rain, a big thank you to everyone who joined us on Saturday for our Sustainable Shakespeare Community Day at Shakespeare’s New Place, marking the start of the town’s Great Big Green Week celebrations.
‘’It was wonderful to see people of all ages eager to learn how they can make a difference, no matter how big or small, in protecting our planet. From sharing ideas and practical tips on living more sustainably, to engaging in thought-provoking activities, we hope everyone left feeling empowered to take action today."
Said Andrew Anderson, who leads on sustainability at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Highlights of the Day
During the event, guests could walk through the picturesque surroundings of the Great Garden at Shakespeare’s New Place for free as they celebrated the positive work being undertaken by local groups and charities to tackle climate change and protect the natural environment.
There was a diverse lineup of thought-provoking and engaging activities, including a special puppet making workshop. Visitors also had the opportunity to speak with partner organisations, such as Heart of England Forest, the River Hope project, Rubbish Friends, Net Zero Stratford and Act on Energy, to learn more about their work and upcoming activities throughout the week.
‘’The theme for this year’s Great Big Green Week is “Let’s Swap Together for Good”. The Sustainable Shakespeare Community Day was a great way to launch the festival and showcase ideas for simple swaps to make our lives better and greener. It should also inspire stronger action for climate and nature.’’
Commented Janet Palmer of Net Zero Stratford and Great Big Green Week organiser.
New for this year and inspired by The HERDS public art and climate action initiative, visitors had the opportunity to get hands-on creating endangered animal puppets from recycled materials. Led by artist and puppeteer Pippa Church from Flawed Mandrake Theatre, during the drop-in workshop visitors got creative bringing the owl, often symbolic of Lady Macbeth, to life as well as moths and bats.
‘’With thanks to funding from The HERDs, we were thrilled to host this hands-on activity that invited people to think about their connection to the natural world and climate change in a creative way.
‘’As part of our multi-year project, The Women Who Made Shakespeare, this activity was inspired by some of Shakespeare’s female characters, bringing the owl, which often symbolises Lady Macbeth, to life, as well as our own sustainability and biodiversity projects at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. It was inspiring to see the creations come to life in our parade, which ended celebrations.’’
Added Frances Hall, audience engagement manager at the Trust.
For those who wanted to learn more about sustainability at the Trust, its gardens team were on hand to share what they are doing to improve biodiversity across all of Shakespeare’s family homes and to offer helpful tips and advice on how to create thriving green spaces at home.
Whilst soaking up the atmosphere, visitors could sit back and enjoy live acoustic music from local band Boe-Jigge and explore the New Place gardens and its new exhibition, Infinite Variety, Shakespeare's female characters in objects and words, for free.
Before leaving, guests could visit the Trust’s retail stall to browse a selection of sustainable products crafted from local resources and talk to the team to discover the stories behind the products.
For more information about the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s Sustainable Shakespeare programme, visit https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/about-us/sustainable-shakespeare/.
To see the full list of events taking place in Stratford-upon-Avon for Great Big Green Week, visit https://netzerostratford.org.uk/home/great-big-green-week-2025/.