Let Sutton Coldfield Flourish!
FOLIO Sutton Coldfield is very excited to announce Flourish!, FOLIO’s festival of library-based events in conjunction with Sutton Coldfield’s entry to the nationwide Britain in Bloom competition.
Britain’s nationwide gardening competition, Britain in Bloom is a powerful tool for building communities and as such FOLIO Sutton Coldfield are delighted to play their part in bringing Sutton Coldfield together for a range of activities to broaden the reach of town’s entry.
By putting on a wide variety of indoor events themed around the core values of Britain in Bloom, including inspiring people to enjoy the benefits of gardening (with an talk about gardening as therapy by local horticulturist Jonathan Ensell) and encouraging positive behaviour changes such as recycling, composting and looking after our environment (with a visit by multi-award winning illustrator Mini Grey) FOLIO Sutton Coldfield hope the festival events will also reach new audiences. We hope to encourage people who might not have considered themselves green-fingered to try something new through Flourish! – whether that be through creating art, writing poetry, flower arranging or learning something new about some of the great gardens and parks we have locally. We hope that by bringing the outside indoors, FOLIO will enable more local people to feel part of our town’s entry into the Britain in Bloom competition.
Jonny Mayner, FOLIO Trustee said:
“From poetry workshops to informative talks about Sutton Park the Flourish! programme has something for young and old, the green-fingered and gardening novices. We are extremely grateful for the funding from Sutton Coldfield Town Council and Wylde Green Rotary Club that has enabled FOLIO to put this programme together and to make this small contribution to the town’s Britain in Bloom bid!”
Noran Flynn, FOLIO Trustee said:
“This is a great opportunity for us to grow as a community in Sutton Coldfield. FOLIO has worked with a number of partners to bring a varied menu of activities that will encourage residents of all ages to Flourish!”
Flourish! has been made possible thanks to funding from the Wylde Green Rotary Club and the Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council.
Arthur Law from Wylde Green Rotary Club said:
“Here at Wylde Green Rotary we are very proud to support our local community. This is a great way of showcasing Royal Sutton Coldfield and we will all be cheering on the Town’s entry to the nationwide Britain in Bloom.”
Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Clerk, Olive O’Sullivan, said:
“We are delighted to support the Flourish festival and are excited by the line-up of events and speakers that FOLIO has planned. We want the whole community to be involved in Sutton Coldfield in Bloom and hope that residents will take inspiration from the festival.”
The full Flourish! programme looks like this (all events except the floristry workshop are free, take place in Sutton Coldfield Library and are facilitated by volunteers from FOLIO Sutton Coldfield):
Saturday May 12 11 am – 12 midday
A family illustration and collage workshop by Kate Greenaway medal winner, Mini Grey based on her latest book The Last Wolf, a re-imagining of the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood but with an added environmental twist. This will be a great way to get young families thinking about the natural environment around them and what we can all do to protect the open spaces we love. This event ties in with The Tree Council’s Walk in the Woods festival and specifically links to Britain in Bloom’s focus on environmental responsibility.
Friday May 18 9-4.30
18th May 2018 is a Worldwide Day of Botanical Art and to celebrate this, FOLIO Sutton Coldfield will offer drop-in, self-paced colouring activities all day. Like gardening, the hobby of colouring-in is widely recognised as something relaxing and calming, and this will be the perfect opportunity to visit the library for some calm, reflective time. Ideal for any age. Whilst in the library, why not check out their stock of gardening books!
Saturday May 19 14.30-15.30
Back by popular demand, Sutton Coldfield Park Ranger Matthew Barker will give an illustrated talk on the trees in our very own and much loved Sutton Park, highlighting some of the unusual and especially interesting trees to look out for. This talk will tie in with The Tree Council’s Walk in the Woods festival and specifically link to Britain in Bloom’s focus on caring for local parks and squares.
Tuesday May 29 and Thursday 31 May 10am – 12 midday both days
Poetrees in the Library
This interactive art installation and creative writing workshop run by a performance poet over two days will encourage all ages to have a go at writing nature-themed poems and raps which will be transformed into trees to go on public display in the library. The poems written at these workshops will be published on FOLIO’s website.
Saturday June 9 2-3pm
Join Blue Peter Book Award-winning author Andy Seed for an hour of family fun based around his Anti-Boredom Book of Brilliant Outdoor Things to Do. There will be activities, games, jokes, riddles, quizzes and challenges on the theme of gardens and nature. Leafy laughs guaranteed!
Saturday June 16 2-3pm
A talk by a Senior Horticultural Supervisor from Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This talk, ‘A Botanical Year’, will illustrate the varied tasks undertaken through a 12 month period, and looks at the variety of plants in the collection, through the changing seasons.
Tuesday July 3 1-3pm
Floristry Workshop with Floral Jazz
Bring the Summer indoors and make your own plant pot flower arrangement to take home with you. All equipment included. Coffee and cake provided. Booking essential: Tickets £35 (includes hot drink and cake). Booking: https://floraljazz.bigcartel.com/product/plant-pot-flower-arrangement-workshop
Saturday July 7 2pm and again at 3pm (2 one hour workshops)
Juliette Green, Environmental Education Teacher from Martineau Gardens in Edgbaston, will be running free children’s plant workshops. Activities will include naming the parts of a plant and acting out pollination, seed sowing craft and a story.
Thursday July 12 1.30-3.30
A talk by Jonathan Ensell from Roots to Fruits about his experience teaching horticulture, from mainstream colleges to prisons and working with people with physical and educational disabilities, as well as those with mental health issues.