A week of family friendly events, activities and live performances begins this Saturday (7 June) as Basingstoke Green Week returns this year to kick off a ‘summer of green’.

Celebrating local action on climate change and biodiversity, this is the first of several sustainability-themed events that Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is helping to bring together this summer to inspire people to live in a more planet-friendly way.

Running until Sunday 15 June, Basingstoke Green Week begins on Saturday 7 June with a variety of activities to entertain and inspire visitors to Basingstoke town centre.

Children will enjoy Becky the Bin-tastic Magician as she turns rubbish into treasure and sing along with Junk Jodie as they learn about the Amazon rainforest, in two of the live shows coming to a stage in Festival Place’s Porchester Square.

Folk band Apple of My Eye will take to the stage with a live gig to inspire visitors to the shopping centre with eco-themed music. Models will take a turn on the catwalk showing off ethically sourced, pre-loved clothing creations dreamt up by local label House of Ra.

Out in The Malls, people will be invited to shop until they drop at a green market where they can buy organic and local produce, take home free water-saving items and pick up bee boxes, bug hotels and similar crafts hand made by volunteers.

And as they browse the stalls, residents can also chat to the council’s Green Team to get free top tips for saving money, helping their garden flourish, travelling more sustainably and cutting carbon. They can also book in with these eco experts for a home visit for more tailored advice.

Activities will be running during the rest of the week to encourage communities across the borough to do their bit for the environment.

This includes an outdoor cooking class for young people on Thursday 12 June and guided tours at Northdown Orchard on Sunday 15 June. Sustainable Overton’s Green Weekend will return on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June, with events including a clothes swap, live performances and rock painting.

Keen gardeners will again be able to stock up on free woodchips while stocks last and repair experts will be fixing broken items for free on several days throughout the week.

Cabinet Member for Climate and Ecological Emergency Cllr Chris Tomblin said: “From making the air in our lungs cleaner through to saving money on our energy bills and seeing more birds, bees and hedgehogs in our gardens, there are so many benefits to living in a more sustainable way.

“As Basingstoke Green Week returns again this year, I encourage you to get involved with the events celebrating local climate and nature action to learn more about the little changes we can all make for our planet that can help make our borough a greener and more pleasant place to live too.”

The programme of events and activities is at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/green-week. The webpage will continue to be updated until Green Week begins.

The ‘summer of green’ is being organised under the council’s Sustainable Basingstoke initiative. More information is at www.sustainable-basingstoke.co.uk/summer-of-green