April 22, 2025
The Earth Speaks. Envirolution Listens.
In 1970, as smog thickened and rivers caught fire, 20 million people across the United States walked out of classrooms and jobs to demand a future. That was the first-ever Earth Day. A new environmental movement was born, not from politicians or corporations, but from people. Everyday people, standing up for the planet.
That was over 50 years ago. And while the challenges have grown more complex, climate collapse, plastic pollution, biodiversity loss, the spirit of Earth Day remains: listen to the Earth, and act.
At Envirolution, that same spirit called to a group of volunteers in Manchester in 2010.
We didn’t start with funding or formal backing. We started with a question:
What if we could create a space where climate action felt joyful, creative, and rooted in community?
What began as a local eco-festival soon evolved into a cooperative movement, with assemblies, workshops, music, and skill-sharing that centred local knowledge and collective power. Just like Earth Day’s early days, our work was (and still is) led by people, not profit.
Where Earth Day ignited a global conversation, Envirolution has made it local, tangible, and lived.
We built solar-powered stages before it was trendy.
We ran community climate assemblies that fed directly into Manchester’s Net Zero plan.
We transformed a forgotten bowling green into a thriving permaculture hub.
And we’ve done it all without losing our roots, as volunteers, cooperators, artists, and agitators.
Our work isn’t just about “raising awareness.” It’s about raising roofs, raising gardens, raising each other.
Earth Day reminds us that change is possible, but only if we keep going. And here in Manchester, we are.
We’re growing our movement. We’re building new partnerships. We’re training the next generation of climate leaders. And we’re getting ready for Envirolution Festival 2025, an event that’s not just sustainable, but regenerative.
So as you reflect today on the Earth’s story, remember this:
✨ You’re not separate from it.
✨ Your choices matter.
✨ And your community is already moving.
Join us! because Earth Day is every day, and the revolution is local.
April 18, 2025
At Envirolution, we do not just work for environmental change, we work for a just world, one rooted in dignity, liberation, and collective care. That means standing up in moments like this. The UK Supreme Court’s recent decision threatens the rights of transgender people, and we will not meet this moment with silence.
We say clearly, unapologetically:
Trans rights are human rights.
Non-binary people exist.
Queer lives are sacred.
But this is about more than one ruling. It’s about a broader pattern of erasure, state violence, and institutional oppression. We raise our voices not only for our trans and non-binary siblings but for all people whose rights and safety are under threat.
We stand against racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, classism, colonialism, and all systems of domination that seek to divide, exploit, and dehumanise.
We stand for:
The right to live free from fear, regardless of gender, race, disability, class, or origin.
The right to bodily autonomy and self-definition.
The right to protest, to gather, to speak, to exist.
The right to live in harmony with the Earth, not as consumers, but as caretakers.
The right to joy, to healing, to community.
As a community-rooted organisation, our justice is intersectional and uncompromising. Climate justice does not exist in a vacuum. It is interwoven with struggles for housing justice, racial justice, migrant justice, LGBTQIA+ rights, and disability justice. We will not fight for a greener world while leaving anyone behind.
To anyone reading this who feels scared, erased, or exhausted: We see you. We honour you. We’re with you.
We will continue to build spaces where people of all identities are safe, celebrated, and free. We will challenge discrimination wherever it appears, in the streets, in the courts, in policy, and in our own spaces. We will speak when it is dangerous to speak. We will protect each other when systems will not.
This is what justice demands. This is what love looks like. This is who we are.
With love and solidarity,
Envirolution
April 14, 2025
Community Climate Festival Faces Eviction from Storage Base — Envirolution Launches Urgent Fundraiser to Save Equipment and Secure Its Future
Manchester, UK — 14/04/2025
The team behind one of Manchester’s most iconic community climate festivals has been told to vacate its only storage facility, with nowhere to go.
Envirolution, the volunteer-run organisation behind the annual free festival in Platt Fields Park, has been forced to begin moving out after the council condemned the building where all of its equipment is kept. With just weeks to relocate and no alternative space offered, the organisation now faces a logistical emergency:
How do you deliver a festival with no gear, no storage, and no roof over your infrastructure?
In response, Envirolution has launched an urgent public appeal called “Fuel the Future”, aimed at raising £10,000 to secure a new home for its equipment and infrastructure, and a stretch goal of £20,000 to deliver a stripped-back version of the 2025 festival.
The current building, located in the top yard of Platt Fields, has been used for years to store stages, marquees, tools, signage, and accessibility equipment. The organisation has offered to provide its own storage container on-site, but with the space also earmarked for future development, no long-term solution has been secured.
https://envirolution.org.uk/donation-information
£10,000 — Secures safe, long-term shelter for Envirolution’s equipment and future.
£20,000 — Covers a minimal version of the May festival, delivered without losing momentum.
Despite the crisis, the team is still planning to deliver the 2025 festival on Saturday 31st May in Platt Fields Park, a free, people-powered celebration of climate action, music, and mutual aid. It will also be used as a listening space to gather ideas from the community about how we protect and support grassroots efforts in a time of environmental and political uncertainty.
Envirolution is a Manchester-based, volunteer-led climate action organisation. Its annual festival has welcomed thousands of people to connect through sustainability, education, music, food, and activism. The event is and always has been free to attend and free from corporate control—run by the community, for the community.
April 14, 2025
As we launch our Fund the Future Fundraiser, we’re not just asking for donations, we’re inviting you to help shape the future of Envirolution, both on the ground and online.
Our 2025 festival is still powering ahead, but following the closure of our storage space, we urgently need to raise £10,000 to keep the festival alive and £20,000 to secure a new home for the equipment that brings our ideas to life.
And we’re doing it our way: through creativity, collaboration, and community-powered tech.
£25 – Your name in our 2025 digital programme
£50 – Your name on the “Supporter Wall” on our website
£100 – Climate Champion Profile: name, photo + one-liner
£200 – Sponsor a toolkit feature (“Brought to you by…”)
£500 – Founding Digital Patron of the Toolkit
£1,000+ – Eco Architect badge + featured donor story
Alongside the festival, we’re relaunching our website with a growing library of interactive, educational tools and climate games, all built in-house, with zero budget and maximum impact.
Can you power the festival using only renewables? Choose between solar, wind, or coal, and keep the heat levels down!
Drag each item into the correct bin and become a waste-sorting champion. A fun way for kids and families to learn recycling basics.
We're not going anywhere, but we can’t do this alone. This fundraiser keeps us independent, innovative, and rooted in the communities we serve.
Whether you give £1 or £1,000, share the campaign, or simply cheer us on, you’re helping us fuel the future.
March 30, 2025
It’s International Day of Zero Waste, and today we’re spotlighting the powerful choices each of us can make to reduce waste, conserve resources, and support circular living. In a world overflowing with single-use everything, embracing zero waste isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being intentional.
Choose products with minimal or compostable packaging, support refill shops, and buy in bulk when possible. Planning your meals and shopping with a list helps reduce food waste and impulsive purchases. Remember, every pound you spend is a vote for the world you want to live in.
Before tossing broken items, ask: can it be fixed? Repair cafés and local fix-it groups are popping up everywhere, and they’re not just useful, they build community. Turn worn jeans into tote bags, jars into lanterns, pallets into planters. The creative potential in ‘waste’ is endless.
Thrift stores, vintage markets, swaps, and apps like Vinted or Depop are full of pre-loved treasures. Buying second-hand reduces demand for fast fashion and keeps usable goods out of landfill. Plus, it’s affordable, stylish, and sustainable.
At our festival and in our workshops, we promote zero waste by featuring local reuse initiatives, tool sharing schemes, creative repair stalls, and sustainable fashion showcases. Whether it’s building stages from reclaimed materials or using repurposed art supplies for kids’ crafts, we believe waste is just a resource in the wrong place.
This Zero Waste Day, take one step. Start small. Shop second-hand, repair that zip, say no to a plastic bag. Because when we shift our habits, we shift the future.
Share your zero waste tips or upcycled creations with us on Instagram or Facebook. Let’s inspire each other to waste less and live more 🌍♻️
March 23, 2025
Today we mark International Meteorology Day, and if that sounds like just another weather-related nod, think again. Because meteorology isn’t just about rain forecasts or sunny spells, it’s the lens through which we understand the rapidly shifting climate that governs all life on Earth.
To most, weather is just a backdrop. But to those who listen closely, the atmosphere tells a far more urgent story. Meteorology is the science that translates the language of the sky, measuring temperature, wind, moisture, and pressure, and transforms it into data. That data, collected across generations, gives us the ability to detect change. Not just day to day, but decade to decade.
It was meteorological records that first revealed our climate was heating up. It was meteorologists who noticed the subtle acceleration of storm seasons, the shifting jet stream, the shrinking ice cover, the strange pulses of rainfall where there should be drought, and drought where there should be growth. They were the first to observe what many tried to deny.
Meteorology is how we track Earth’s pulse.
And in the context of the climate crisis, that data isn’t neutral. It’s a warning, a demand, and a tool for transformation. These patterns aren’t just academic, these are the conditions that flood homes, scorch fields, ignite wildfires, and displace millions. Without meteorology, we would be flying blind into climate collapse.
It’s meteorology that informs climate models. And those models? They’re not just projections, they’re maps of possible futures. They help us understand what will happen if emissions rise unchecked, or what we can still preserve if we act decisively. They give substance to activism, credibility to campaigns, and guidance to policymakers. When we talk about limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, it’s meteorologists who showed us why that line matters.
Meteorology doesn’t just measure the damage. It helps us prepare. From early warnings about floods, typhoons, and heatwaves to long-term insights into rainfall patterns and seasonal disruptions, it’s the frontline system keeping millions alive.
And yet, despite this, the science is often politicised, marginalised, or misunderstood. Because it doesn’t scream, it whispers. It gathers. It proves. And for some, proof is dangerous.
But for us, it’s powerful.
At Envirolution, we don’t just acknowledge meteorology, we build with it. Our community assemblies, like the one held across Manchester, our food justice workshops, our solar-powered stages and education programmes, they’re grounded in climate science, and that science is made possible by meteorological observation.
Understanding the science is one thing, but knowing what to do with it, that’s where real change begins.
Meteorology has shown us the symptoms of climate change in real-time. But it’s also given us the tools to adapt. To rethink. To reimagine how we live alongside the environment rather than in conflict with it.
When we know the weather is becoming more extreme, we can create early warning systems in our communities, text chains, local networks, emergency protocols that help vulnerable neighbours stay safe. When we see long-term rainfall shifting, we can redesign community gardens, allotments, and green spaces to hold water better and grow what’s now viable. When we understand how wind patterns affect heat islands in cities, we can plant trees, build shade, or design structures that cool instead of trap heat.
These are not abstract ideas. They are practical steps, powered by meteorological insight, that anyone can take part in.
At Envirolution, we believe the power of weather data isn’t just for scientists or governments. It belongs to all of us. That’s why our projects and events are rooted in making climate knowledge accessible. From children learning about growing food on Fun Filled Farm Fridays, to workshops at the festival that explore how transport, energy and housing all connect to climate stability, we use real data to inspire grounded solutions. We’re not trying to save the world all at once. We’re starting where we are.
And that’s the beauty of local action.
When we host a solar-powered festival, we’re not just having a party, we’re showing that renewable energy is here, now, and it works. When we collaborate with projects like Platt Fields Market Garden, we’re turning overlooked spaces into edible ecosystems. When people come together through our community climate assemblies, they bring lived experience and creative thinking to the table, crafting climate solutions that actually reflect the communities they serve.
Meteorology helps us see what’s possible. But it’s community that brings it to life.
And the truth is, most of the solutions we need already exist. Rainwater harvesting. Shared transport. Urban growing. Energy co-ops. Repair cafes. Thermal curtains. Food sharing networks. These aren’t just buzzwords, they’re tools that lower emissions, build resilience, and foster connection.
We don’t need to wait for the world to change before we act. We can build the world we want to live in, one gathering, one garden, one neighbourhood at a time.
So this International Meteorology Day, let’s not just look up at the sky. Let’s look around us. Let’s honour the science that helps us understand, but let’s also celebrate the communities that turn understanding into action. Because when we work together, informed by the data, inspired by each other, and rooted in place, we become the climate solution we’ve been waiting for.
Share how your community is weathering the changes and inspiring action on Instagram @envirolutionuk or Facebook @Envirolutionuk.
March 21, 2025
International Day of Forests celebrates the incredible role forests play in supporting life on Earth. From capturing carbon and preventing flooding to offering space for recreation and reflection, forests are essential to our wellbeing and future.
The UK has seen a long decline in forest cover over the centuries, but recent years have brought renewed focus on rewilding and replanting. Projects like the Great Northumberland Forest and the new Western Forest near Bristol are helping to increase tree coverage and restore ecosystems.
Volunteer with woodland charities – Groups like The Woodland Trust, The Conservation Volunteers, and local friends-of-the-forest organisations offer tree-planting, path maintenance, and biodiversity monitoring opportunities.
Buy sustainably sourced wood and paper – Look for FSC-certified products to ensure your purchases support responsible forestry.
Support community-led forest projects – Many towns are establishing local woodland initiatives. Supporting or donating to these helps bring green space back under local care.
Advocate for rewilding and green access – Share information with your local council or MP about the importance of forest access and expansion for both people and planet.
England has over 1,500 publicly accessible forests and woodlands, many managed by Forestry England. You can visit these spaces for walking, wildlife spotting, and wellbeing. Here are a few highlights:
Delamere Forest (Cheshire) – Just outside Manchester and Liverpool, Delamere offers serene walking and cycling trails through ancient woodland, plus a café, visitor centre, and even treetop adventure courses. It’s a great spot for families and wildlife enthusiasts alike, with accessible paths and peaceful views of Blakemere Moss.
Grizedale Forest (Lake District) – Nestled between Coniston Water and Windermere, Grizedale is famous for its outdoor sculpture trail—where art and nature merge. With miles of forest tracks for mountain biking, hiking, and trail running, it’s ideal for those who want a more adventurous outdoor experience. The views from Carron Crag are stunning year-round.
Thetford Forest (Norfolk/Suffolk border) – As the UK’s largest lowland pine forest, Thetford offers a mix of tranquil open spaces and deep woodland walks. It features the High Lodge activity hub with biking routes, Go Ape, picnic areas, and educational trails. It’s a haven for birdwatchers, especially nightjars and woodlarks.
Stick to marked paths and trails to protect sensitive habitats.
Take litter home or use provided bins—leave no trace.
Observe wildlife quietly and from a distance.
Check local guidelines about dogs, fires, and camping before you go.
At Envirolution, we believe forests should be part of everyday life—open, accessible, and protected for generations to come. This International Day of Forests, we’re encouraging our community to reconnect with local woodlands, support forest-positive initiatives, and explore the green spaces around them.
Share your forest walks, photos, and nature tips with us on Instagram @envirolutionuk or Facebook @Envirolutionuk!
March 18, 2025
Every year on March 18th, Global Recycling Day reminds us of the power we have to reduce waste, save resources, and protect our planet. Recycling isn't just about separating paper from plastic, it’s about rethinking waste as a valuable resource. Whether you’re at home, school, or work, small steps can lead to big changes.
DIY Plastic Bottle Recycling – Instead of tossing out used bottles, transform them into bird feeders, storage containers, or self-watering planters. Check out these creative projects here.
Recycling for Kids & Schools – Teaching children about recycling through hands-on projects can spark lifelong habits. Here are some fun ideas to try.
Recycled Crafts & Home Décor – Upcycling old items into beautiful and practical home decor is both sustainable and stylish. Find inspiration here.
Daily Recycling Hacks – Simplify recycling at home by setting up clear bins, repurposing glass jars, and donating unwanted clothes. Discover easy tips here.
Many everyday items can be recycled, but knowing what goes where is essential. Check out Recycle Now’s guide to make sure you're recycling the right way.
At Envirolution, we’re committed to building a greener future through education, community action, and creative sustainability projects. Join us in making small, meaningful changes this Global Recycling Day, because every action counts.
Do you have a creative recycling tip or upcycling project? Share it with us on Instagram @envirolutionuk or Facebook @Envirolutionuk!
May 1st 2023
After a long hiatus due to COVID-19, Envirolution Festival is back in person on Saturday 27th May 2023, 1pm-7pm in Platt Fields Park, Fallowfield.
As Manchester’s leading environmental community festival, Envirolution aims to explore creative ways to enrich our lives, communities and environment. The festival has been running since 2010. However, like the rest of the world, it had to stop in person events due to the pandemic, moving the festival online. 2023 will be the first year Envirolution Festival is back live in Platt Fields park and it is shaping up to be the best year yet!
Get ready for a programme packed full of interactive workshops, inclusive talks, world music on our two solar-powered stages, wellbeing activities, children’s games, market stalls, delicious food by GRUB, MUD Kitchen and much much more.
We’re also working with the amazing Platt Fields Market Garden which, with the help of the Envirolution team, who took a fenced off disused bowling green and turned it into a permaculture paradise.
We can’t wait to welcome Manchester’s passionate communities to this inclusive, free celebration of creativity and alternative approaches to reducing our impact on the environment. Everyone is welcome, from the diverse communities that surround Platt Fields park and across Manchester.
August 15, 2024
From August to September there’s a chance for YOU to have your voice heard. A series of workshops happening all around the city will give you the unique chance to tell our leaders what you think should be happening about the climate emergency..
Please help us spread the word and tell everyone you know.
Click the link below to find out more and sign up! ttps://zerocarbonmanchester.commonplace.is/proposals/in-our-nature-community-assembly/step1