Polmontfest

What You'll Find out at the hubs Wee (this year) Festival Our festival will feature knowledge-sharing sessions. On our community's shared purpose.

🌱 Regenerative Agriculture · Soil health, biodynamics, syntropic farming, holistic management 🌲 Forests · Agroforestry, community forests, old-growth ecology, reforestation, local forest fungal infections and non native species invasions 🌊 Oceans · whales and salmon recovery, phytoplankton, crustacean recovery, the Forth estuary crises 🍄 Fungi · Mycoremediation, mycoinsecticides, fungi in ecosystems, psilocybe stewardship 💧 Water · Watersheds, raingardens, wetlands, aquifer restoration, SUDS 🌍 Indigenous Leadership · Traditional knowledge, land back, biocultural restoration, sovereignty 🌿 Permaculture · Design principles, suburban to large-scale applications, Biodiversity recovery 🏛️ New Economics · Bioregional finance, ecosystem services, regenerative investment. Introducing citizen coin, shop with purpose, buy social, and ethical banking 🎭 Art, Music & Ceremony · Because healing the Earth is also a creative and spiritual act, reading, writing, poetry, film watching and film making, singing, dancing and theatre language and the arts play a massive role in community culture 🤝 Community & Governance · Social permaculture, collective wisdom, bioregionalism, cultural diversity Upcycled clothing, the fashion show, share and repair swap shops, swishes and the alternative high street Zero waste and low carbon living, resource management and internationally agreed sustainability goals - And of course music from our gathering team and others,

Festivals are powerful agents of change and a key for creating social connections in the current socio-cultural climate. Our inaugural event will be part of a wider ecosystem and their well-being relies on the well-being of so many stakeholders from the live music industry, including such as other social enterprises and festivals like us. Music broth has already agreed a pop-up Despite the many challenges inherited from the lockdown, increased global inequalities and climate-collapse, Scotland wales and England's music industry has continued to thrive and hit a record £7.6 billion in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) to the British economy¹. However, the deepening challenges are still threatening British music’s world-leading status. It's alarming to see that 72 UK festivals had to postpone, cancel or completely close in 2024 - alongside 37% of nightclubs closing since March 2020. More support is required from government bodies to reduce the economic instability for grassroots music and increase climate resilience to avoid many people being unable to access cultural events in the future. We want the government to make a stronger commitment to support the creative industries with increased funding opportunities. This is now Scottish statutory rights with circular economy and community wealth building laws

Over the last two years, outdoor events and festivals in the UK have also faced many challenges, from extreme weather events, excessive heat, to heavy winds & rainfall, impacting their operations, associated costs and the audience’s experience. Alongside rising production costs, event organisers have to plan for ever-more likely severe weather scenarios and increase their site’s resilience, while the lasting cost of living crisis is continuously impacting audiences and is still a major factor for people’s ability to access live music (particularly for young people).

The LIVE audience trend survey is highlighting that 27% of people surveyed feel like “everything is expensive” and 20% have less disposable income. Now more than ever we need to nourish and support grassroots networks and communities by: • taking everyone on the journey for a fairer, kinder and greener future • providing platforms for education, growth, critical thinking and debate • funding forward thinking ideas • amplifying positive stories & desired behaviours, our adventure group proudly say big adventures dont need to be big carbon, we aim to showcase that low carbon living is much more beneficial to our communities health and wellbeing than being mere consumers,