Taking place at Feanedock Woodlands, a striking 70-acre woodland site part of the UK’s National Forest, Timber Festival has a significant focus on sustainability and the climate. Each year, event organisers produce a sustainability report which documents the steps the festival undertakes in line with its creative design, production, and vendor teams. Timber Festival Director, Rowan Cannon, is among the founders who set up the festival after seeking a sustainable festival option and finding none, deciding instead to launch her own. The festival organisers also run the Just So Festival, aimed at families with young children. In fitting with the theme, the stages were designed with sustainability at the heart of their decision-making, as TPi’s Jacob Waite discovers.
What inspired you to create Timber Festival, and how did your search for a sustainable festival option shape its development?
“We’re a non-profit organisation and nature connection has always been central to all our work, with sustainability being one of our important practices within that. Our approach to nature connection is that we believe that the more people are connected to nature, the more it can lead to positive behavioural change, which can aid our quest for a more regenerative future. We were initially approached by the National Forest as part of their bold regeneration project. Three visionary councils – Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Leicestershire – pointed out a 220-square-mile patch of scarred industrial landscape and have transformed it into something special. The transformation over the past 30 years has been incredible.”
How has the site evolved over the past three decades?
“Tree cover has increased from 2% to almost 30%, and it’s not just about the planting of trees and environmental changes, but also about the transformation of community and society. Much of the local economy is now driven by woodland enterprise, whether that be sustainable tourism or charcoal creation. That’s the National Forest’s story, and they wanted to share it with us. We love festivals and bringing people together, so it was a perfect fit. When we launched Timber in 2018, having the ability to embed a sustainable ethos from the outset was a gift because we weren’t trying to change things; we were starting from scratch. One of the wonders of festivals, and building a temporary community, is that we can experiment with processes and practices which may one day influence or encourage broader societal changes.”
Could you elaborate on the key sustainability practices and initiatives that Timber Festival implements each year?
“Every year, we conduct a comprehensive environmental audit that encompasses our power usage and explores alternatives to generator power and other processes. We acknowledge the environmental impact of setting up a small village in a greenfield space, which necessitates bringing in facilities. Our power team calculates our consumption, and we strive to incorporate battery, solar, and wind power at some of our outposts. Additionally, we aim to reduce water, power, and gas consumption, and eliminate single-use plastics onsite. We collaborate closely with waste management companies to optimise waste separation and recycling onsite. Sustainability is detailed – there is no one-size-fits-all solution, so we strive to make incremental improvements across all areas.”
How do you measure the impact of these sustainability efforts, and what significant changes have you observed since the festival’s inception?
“There are numerous small changes that, when multiplied across the festival and hopefully across the industry, amount to significant impact. One of our major impacts is on audience travel. We incentivise sustainable travel methods through initiatives like green wristbands, which offer benefits such as discounts and prize draws for those not arriving by car. We also promote our ‘Timber by Foot’ programme, encouraging attendees to walk to the site with organised walks en route. We have a thriving community of cyclists who travel together, and we promote train travel, and provide a free bus service from the station.”
How do you incorporate sustainable practices into the overall production and operation of the festival? From construction to operation, etc.
“When it comes to contractors and vendors, one of our primary goals is to assemble an effective festival while engaging vendors and contractors who already practice sustainability. We are committed to influencing and supporting behavioural change among local vendors. For example, while composting toilets were initially more common in the south of England, through advocacy with our local provider, we now have a set of locally sourced compost toilets. Bringing about change requires open dialogue, and while some of these conversations can be challenging, we are taking people on this journey with us.”
Could you share some challenges you faced when launching a festival with a strong focus on sustainability?
“The primary challenge is acknowledging that by staging a festival, we are creating an environmental footprint. We have come to terms with this, believing that the environmental message we convey is worth the impact. However, we continually wrestle with this notion. Another significant challenge is the time and effort required for our team to constantly question and challenge each other’s decisions. If we weren’t scrutinising our decisions so thoroughly, we could likely organise the festival in a fraction of the time. For instance, most of our decisions, such as transitioning our food vendors to be meat-free, have long-term impacts that are complex and challenging to articulate, but they occupy much of our focus.”
Are there any areas identified in previous Sustainability Reports where you feel the festival can make further improvements?
“We conduct extensive measurement and evaluation of our operations, striving to reduce our internal and external impacts. We believe that by engaging with vendors and contractors on how they can adopt more sustainable practices, we can influence their approach not only to our event but to others as well. We value shared learning and progress, and initiatives like the Green Trader Award, which reduces pitch fees for the following year, help incentivise sustainable practices.”
What are your long-term goals for Timber Festival in terms of sustainability and environmental impact?
“Sustainability is a pervasive topic across the industry, and it is central to our mission. Given Timber Festival’s programming, we are optimistic about the future and are committed to advancing towards a restorative future. As festival organisers, we are deeply focused on addressing the climate crisis in a proactive and solution-oriented manner. We hope that attendees leave Timber Festival inspired to act towards making the world a better place.”
