Basingstoke Green Week
A week-long celebration of local action to tackle climate change and nurture nature returns to the borough for its 14th year this summer from Saturday 6 June to Sunday 14 June.
Events and activities for all ages to enjoy are being organised by communities with the help of the borough council.
Here’s what’s happening and when:
Saturday 6 June – live stage shows in The Malls, Basingstoke town centre (10am to 3.30pm)
10am to 10.30am – Junk Jodie: Bee Insect-AZING!
Buzz with Junk Jodie and Bobby Bee to explore the importance of gardens and insects! Spark creativity and meet with recycled friends like Glinda Grasshopper, Leonardo Lady Bird and Cody Caterpillar. Get ready to be inspired to transform junk into Toys! Bee Insect-AZING will encourage imaginative play including singalongs, dancing, and a Junk-TASTIC craft activity where you will create your very own Bobby Bee to take home and buzz around! It’s going to BEE…. Insect-AZING!
10.30am to 11am – Tips on how a family can save money up to £70 a month and reduce their household waste at the same time.
11am to 11.30am – Urban Picnic by Scratch Built Productions
A delightfully bonkers al fresco adventure… Expect a smörgåsbord of entertainment, interactive games, curious competitions, and lashing of glorious silliness.
Perfect for all ages, the Urban Picnic is a pop-up celebration of joy, nonsense, and community spirit that’s served with a side helping of fun facts about how we can reduce food waste and how small changes can make big differences. So pack your best picnic hat and prepare to play.
11.30am to 12 noon – Find out what a repair café is, where you can find your local one, how they work and how much money you can save by getting your stuff fixed for free instead of chucking it away.
12 noon to 12.30pm – Dig! by Pied Piper Theatre
As the sun comes up on a new day, the garden wakes up!
Join the Pied Piper Theatre for a gentle first theatre experience, perfect for the very young with music, rhythm and singing. The story brings to life a world of growing plants, busy bugs, wriggling worms and ever changing weather! The suggested age range is six months to two years.
12.30pm to 1pm – Hear from Natural Basingstoke and local ‘wilder’ groups about what they are doing in the borough to help nature and how you can get involved. The Basingstoke and Deane Green Team will also talk about how their free garden surveys can help you support wildlife in your garden.
1pm to 1.30pm – The Magic of Recycling with Becky the Bin-tastic Magician
Join Becky for a fun-filled, earth-saving adventure! This exciting magic show is packed with dazzling tricks, silly laughs, and interactive fun that teaches kids how to reuse, recycle and reduce waste. Watch as trash turns into treasure, rubbish disappears and magic grows right before your eyes. It’s the perfect mix of fun and learning! Don’t miss this magical, family-friendly show. Bring your curiosity, your smile and your love for the Earth!
1.30pm to 2pm – Find out what a nappy library is, how it works, and how much money it can save you and your family as well as the planet.
2pm to 2.30pm – Urban Picnic by Scratch Built Productions
A delightfully bonkers al fresco adventure… Expect a smörgåsbord of entertainment, interactive games, curious competitions, and lashing of glorious silliness.
Perfect for all ages, the Urban Picnic is a pop-up celebration of joy, nonsense, and community spirit that’s served with a side helping of fun facts about how we can reduce food waste and how small changes can make big differences. So pack your best picnic hat and prepare to play.
2.30pm to 3pm – Find out about free bike checks from the Community Furniture Project.
3pm to 3.30pm – Dig! by Pied Piper Theatre
As the sun comes up on a new day, the garden wakes up!
Join the Pied Piper Theatre for a gentle first theatre experience, perfect for the very young with music, rhythm and singing. The story brings to life a world of growing plants, busy bugs, wriggling worms and ever changing weather! The suggested age range is six months to two years.
Saturday 6 June – Green market in The Malls, Basingstoke town centre (9am to 5.30pm)
Come and browse our stalls, chat to local nature and climate groups are doing in the borough and find out what they are up to, purchase local honey, browse refurbished bikes, get a free bike safety check, find out what a reusable nappy library is and how a repair café works, book a free garden or energy survey with the Basingstoke and Deane Green Team, pick up water-saving freebies, plus more.
You can also talk to Natural Basingstoke and local conservation groups to find out more about volunteering in your local area. Visitors of all ages are invited to take part in a rare species wildlife trail around The Malls’ shops, where spotting 10 rare species of flora or fauna in the shop windows will earn you a set of free wildlife stickers.
Here’s the list of attendees:
- Basingstoke and Deane Green Team – book a free garden survey to help increase biodiversity in your garden, or an energy survey to help make your home warmer and reduce your energy bills, or find out more about solar panels, heat pumps, and insulation, and what grants are available. Or get some sustainable travel advice.
- Borough council’s waste team – find out more about how you can reduce your food waste and save money, what you can recycle and where.
- Borough council’s ranger team – get involved in a ‘whose poo?’ game; see if you can identify rare species; and learn more about nature volunteering and activities in the borough.
- Natural Basingstoke – find what they and other local nature conservation groups are up to, how you can make simple changes to your own garden for wildlife, or even get involved in a local group.
- Laverstoke Men’s shed – browse useful items, such as bird boxes and bee motels, or find out what a men’s shed is.
- Community Furniture Project – buy a refurbished bike or bring your own and get a free bike check.
- South East Rivers Trust – find out about the volunteering work going on in the Loddon River.
- Charles Butler Foundation – come and find out about bees, kids activities, and buy locally produced honey.
- Northdown Orchard – find out more about, or buy, locally grown organic fruit and veg, or sign up for a veg box delivery.
- Inspero – find out what this amazing charity does in enhancing lives in our community with food, education, and well-being services.
- Mencap – find out how Mencap supports people with learning disabilities
- Overton and Basingstoke Nappy library – find out what a nappy library is, have a look at a range of reusable nappies, wipes and period products.
- South East Water – Is your loo leaky? Can you take the four-minute shower challenge? Pick up some free water saving devices
- Business for Good – find out what local business are doing to make them more sustainable
- Chineham Repair Café – find out what a repair café is, how it works and how you can find your local one for any broken items you may have
- Stagecoach – chat to the team and enter its prize draw for free bus tickets
Saturday 6 June – activities beyond Basingstoke town centre
Get items fixed for free at a repair cafe
Hatch Warren Repair Cafe – from 10.30am to 1pm at Hatch Warren Community Centre, Basingstoke RG22 4XF
Sustainable Bourne Valley Repair Cafe – from 10am to 12 noon at George Inn Pub, St Mary Bourne
Whether you have a torn jacket, a faulty toaster, a wobbly chair or another broken item, the skilled volunteers at these repair cafes could help you fix it instead of binning it.
Overton Green Weekend (Saturday)
Overton residents and visitors can enjoy activities and events including a repair café at Overton Community Centre with knife sharpening and bike repairs, an open day at the Community Kitchen Garden on Winchester Street, and a guided evening bird walk from Overton Hill.
Sunday 7 June
Overton Green Weekend (Sunday)
A full day of activities for all ages. Early risers can join a dawn chorus guided bird walk from Overton Hill, followed later by a pre‑loved clothes swap at St Mary’s Hall on the High Street. The afternoon includes hands‑on family activities, with a bug hunt and river dipping sessions along Kingsclere Road, plus a furniture upcycling workshop at Overton Community Centre.
Monday 8 June
Upholstery and sewing workshop with The Community Furniture Project
From 10am to 1pm at The Community Furniture Project, 6 Joule Road, Basingstoke RG21 6XH
A workshop to learn how to upholster and sew, putting a new lease of life into clothes and fabrics. To book your place, call 01256 320 700 or click on the button below to email.
Tuesday 9 June
Chat sustainability at a People, Planet, Pint meet up
From 6pm to 9pm at The Alchemy Wine Bar, 16 Winchester Street, Basingstoke RG21 7DZ
This free, relaxed and informal event is a chance for those interested in sustainability in all its forms to meet and have a chat over a drink.
Whether you’re a sustainability professional, small business owner, local council/government worker, student, consultant, looking to switch careers, or anything else besides, come down and meet others interested in sustainability.
Opening evening at Makerspace, a community workshop
From 7pm to 9pm at Maritime House, 65 New Rd, Basingstoke RG21 7PW.
Basingstoke Makerspace is a not-for-profit community workshop offering a space for individuals to engage in making, creating, and learning new skills through various tools and equipment, including laser cutters, 3D printers, woodworking tools, and more.
Thursday 11 June
Learn how to repair and upcycle furniture with The Community Furniture Project
From 10am to 1pm at The Community Furniture Project, 6 Joule Road, Basingstoke RG21 6XH
A workshop to show you how to put life back into old furniture. To book your place, call 01256 320 700 or click on the button below to email.
Friday 12 June
Visit Inspero’s community garden
11am to 2pm at Kempshott Village Hall, Basingstoke RG22 5HN
Come and take a walk around Inspero’s beautiful, RHS award-winning charity community garden. Meet and chat to staff and volunteers over a cup of tea or coffee and cake.
Sow some seeds or take a cutting of a beautiful plant to take home.
Saturday 13 June
Forest school outdoor cooking class with Inspero
Hosted during Basingstoke’s Green Week at the Inspero community charity garden, this hands-on event is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy nature while learning simple, delicious cooking techniques over an open fire. Whether you’re new to outdoor cooking or simply love being outside, it’s a fantastic way to connect, cook, and create something tasty together.
Spaces are limited – book early to secure your spot!
Sunday 14 June
Go on a free guided tour of a local orchard
12 noon to 4.30pm at Northdown Orchard, South Litchfield RG25 3PB
A chance to go on a free guided tour of Northdown Orchard, a small 12-acre organic family farm that grows and harvests a wide range of salads, herbs and vegetables all year round in its fields and greenhouses. There’ll even be a children’s vegetable hunt with plant prizes to take home.
