The Scaynes Hill Great Big Green Festival (GBGF) really swung into action this Saturday with a variety of things to draw people in to St. Augustine’s Church. Today’s all day events were well attended and enjoyed by villagers of all ages from nonagenarians to toddlers. The event also attracted local councillors from Mid Sussex and West Sussex as well as our MP, Mims Davies.
Outside the church the first sight of the day’s activities was evident in the form of the apple pressing with crates of apples being chopped and pressed to produce bottles of delicious juice. Some brought their own apples for pressing, while others joined in the action by helping to press the apples that had been picked around the village that week so that anyone who wanted could take home a bottle of the golden liquid. And to be fully sustainable the waste pulp was taken away to be fed to the pigs at Butterbox Farm.
Inside the church local producers/suppliers of food and other businesses, which are supporting the sustainability agenda, were exhibiting their wares. There were representatives from a number of local businesses, including:
- Butterbox Farm, located just outside Scaynes Hill, suppliers of meat from sustainably grass fed Dexter beef and lamb
- Generation Distillers, a husband and wife team distilling gin in Chailey using locally sourced ingredients
- Ounce, a minimal waste grocery & retail store, located in Lindfield, providing alternative products to replace throw away items as well as everyday pantry & household essentials, without the plastic waste
- High Weald Dairy making a range of award-winning cow, sheep and goat milk cheeses on a family-owned farm near Horsted Keynes in a manner that minimises the impact of its activities on the environment.
- Oakgates Farm in Clearwater Lane, suppliers of locally grown fruit and veg as well as home made jams
There were also exhibitions from other local businesses and groups, including a display outlining the progress on the proposed Scaynes Hill – Lindfield cycle/walkway with an opportunity to discuss the project with a member of the group that is promoting it. For the younger ones there were craft activities and toys to amuse and entertain.
In the Church Annexe there was a pop-up charity shop and, in the Anchor Coffee shop at lunchtime, a wonderful selection of refreshments, including soup, quiches, salads and crumbles to provide nourishment for all those who came.
Overall it was a great occasion for all concerned and the organising group at the church should be congratulated on a hugely successful day, which was only the third day of this 10-day festival. The exhibitions will remain in place for the rest of that period. There are plenty of other activities in the days ahead, including talks about ethical investments, recycling and everything you never knew about chocolate as well as storytelling, attending forest school and learning about the work of the Chailey Repair Cafe. The pop-up charity shop and the Anchor Coffee shop in the Annexe will be open on both weekends and on Tuesday morning. The full festival programme can be seen here and all events can be found on this website’s Events page.
Next Saturday (1st October) there will be a cycle extravaganza when there will be a variety of bikes on display with their owners, including an e-bike, a conventional bike converted to an e-bike, a folding bike, a folding e-bike, a traditional bike and a tandem. There will also be the opportunity to get your own bike security marked and registered free by the Sustainability Group (kindly funded by Lindfield Rural Parish Council) as well as a further opportunity to discuss the cycle/walkway project.