Environmental Education

It’s often being said that we need to take better care of our environment and ensure that the next generation grow up knowing about and caring for nature, and most would agree this is the case. But how do we provide this information in a practical way? Environmental education is a key factor in preserving and cultivating the nature around us, and Milton Keynes is on the way to creating something which will hopefully enable this in a big way.

A £500,000 environmental education and visitor centre is currently being built in Howe Park Wood, Milton Keynes, and is set to open in October. The centre will contain classrooms, meeting rooms, an outside decked area and new pond dipping platforms. Set in a beautiful ancient woodland setting, the centre will provide some key steps towards conservation and will help to teach children and adults alike about nearby wildlife and nature and how to help preserve it. Bird and bat boxes will be situated throughout the woodland and boxes for plants and insect homes will also be built. The centre will incorporate low carbon technologies in order to make it even more environmentally friendly, including an air source heat pump and solar panels. This is set to be a great resource for the community, and will hopefully play a big part in helping educate many about nature and how to take care of it.

Art in the Park

'Art in the park' is FREE family event happening this weekend in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes. It's organised by Islamic Arts, Heritage and Culture Milton Keynes, and is a cultural event celebrating the festival of Eid. The event aims to help build bridges between diverse communities through arts and culture, and there'll be a great deal going on for all the family to get involved with.

Events across the weekend run along a variety of artistic themes, including the 'art of integration' and the 'art of food', as well as workshops and much more. There will be a fairground, and exciting live music from a variety of bands including: Rhythmnreel and Bollywood brass to name just two. There will be an exciting 'digital wall' which will provide live interaction with exciting artists from around the globe. 'Arts of Food' will include some mouth-watering food demonstrations from TV chef Cyrus Todiwala OBE and a team of talented chefs.

Ultimately, this event aims to promote art and culture through education, encouraging more people to take an active interest and learn more about the cultures around them. Islamic art is filled with unusual geometry, pattern and colour, and this event gives all an opportunity to discover and find out more about the art.

Art in the Park is set to be a great couple of days, and is open Saturday 2nd August from 1pm until 7pm, and Sunday 3rd 1pm until 6pm, don't miss out!

(Please note: there is no public parking in Campbell park, the nearest car parks are at Centre:MK or theatre multi-storey; SatNav postcode for that is MK9 3NZ.)