Friday 5th June | 10am-10pm | across Ivybridge
Watermark | Longtimber | Glanvilles Mill | Brewery | book shop | Library | ‘The Eye’
Moor Understanding
a day of big ideas, enlivening conversations and enriching experiences in nature, produced in collaboration with Sustainable South Hams’ Rally for Nature project
FRIDAY | TALKING PROGRAMMe | 11AM - 8:30PM
Come along and listen to talks, watch short films, ask questions, share ideas, meet your community, connect to nature and reflect on some big questions like:
What does a healthy river look like?
How can we speak up for nature?
What can we do to care for the places that care for us?
Rally for Nature is a regional campaign, led by Sustainable South Hams, focused on place-based transformation.
It aims to unify our collective action - bringing communities together around a love of nature to build a network of citizens, groups and institutions actively caring for their places.
Throughout the Day:
Farmers Market | Glanvilles Mill
A local farmers’ market will showcase a range of produce from across the area, including bread from Princetown, cheese from Totnes, ice cream and chilli sauces from Ashburton, and milk from Ivybridge. Choosing locally produced, carefully grown food helps support nature-friendly farming, reduces food miles, and helps our local community to thrive.
Exhibition | Watermark
Come and connect with some of the environmental organisations and local community groups that are doing brilliant things to care for Dartmoor and South Devon. Browse the exhibition, meet the people doing great work on the ground and find out how you can get involved and take action for nature in Ivybridge or your own community.
Tickets are available with concession and pay-it-forward options | £0 - £20
PLEASE NOTE - your Friday ticket gains you entry to all events on the Friday programme. There is no need to book a space for the individual events except for Guy Shrubsole's talk in the evening. If you wish to attend Guy's talk we ask that you book a space at checkout so we can monitor numbers.
Rally for Nature - A Workshop for Community Changemakers | Workshop 11:30-1pm
Jane Nichols, Sustainable South Hams | Beeson Room, Watermark
If you care deeply about seeing more action for climate and nature in your community and are prepared to make things happen, this session is for you. We’ll share an update since meeting many of you last year, outline the vision for the Rally for Nature, and invite your ideas on how we could make it take shape. We’ll also introduce practical “how-to” guides to support parish councils and community groups in taking simple, effective action to Rally for Nature.
Into the Living Forest: A Guided Journey in Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing) | Walk and Immersive Session 12-1:30pm
Harry Hilser and Stefan Batorijs; Nature and Therapy | Longtimber Woods
Step gently into the forest with Stefan Batorijs and Harry Hilser from Nature and Therapy for a guided introduction to the art and practice of Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing). Through a series of simple, sensory invitations, you’ll be supported to slow down, awaken your senses, and deepen your relationship with the more-than-human world.
Rooted in both ancient wisdom and contemporary practice, this session opens space for embodied reflection on sacredness, interrelatedness, and the animate intelligence of the living world—inviting a felt sense of belonging within nature, rather than separation from it.
Moor Abundance: Food and Nature on Dartmoor | Film Screening and Panel Discussion 1:15-2:30pm
Compere: Andy Johnson - Crop Community | Cinema, Watermark
Panel Members: Simon Roper - Devon Rewilding Network/Ambios; Jane Acton - Common Flora; Seb Powell - Hall Farm Dartmoor; Emma Magee - Dartmoor Landuse Management Group/Duchy of Cornwall; Helen Bruce – Dartmoor Preservation Association
Watch the short film A Cuckoo Calling - Farming Wilder on Dartmoor, hear about the work of the Devon Rewilding Network, then join a discussion exploring the connections between farming livelihoods, land management, and nature on Dartmoor. The conversation will consider the realities facing hill farmers, evolving approaches to land use, and how policy and support schemes shape decisions. Bringing together different perspectives, the panel will highlight shared goals and explore how collaboration can support resilient farm businesses and a healthy, diverse landscape within the National Park.
Rally for Nature - A Workshop for Event Organisers | Workshop 1:30-3pm
Jane Nichols, Sustainable South Hams | Beeson Room, Watermark
If you believe creative, fun events can help reconnect us to nature and deepen our connection to where we live, please come to this session. We’ll share an update since meeting many of you last year, outline our vision for the Rally for Nature and explore how venues and artists can play a part in bringing it to life. Together, we’ll look at how we can inspire behavioural change across South Devon—and what it means to truly rally for nature.
Into the Wondrous Moment: A Nature Connection Session for Adults | Workshop 2-3pm
Robin De Carteret | ‘The Eye’ performance area, by the river
Step into the present moment - a wondrous moment. This session invites you to slow down, notice deeply, and experience nature with fresh eyes. Through gentle guidance and creative invitations, you’ll explore attention, movement, spontaneous poetry and imagination as ways of connecting more fully with our living world. Expect moments of stillness, sparks of inspiration, and a renewed sense of connection and wonder.
Standing up for our Rivers | Talk 3-4pm
Wild About the Erme River, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Flete Field Lab | Cinema, Watermark
Join local environmental charity, Wild About The Erme River (WATER), the Westcountry Rivers Trust and a local organisation, Flete Field Lab, to dive into how we humans can play an active role in helping the river recover and thrive for future generations. There will be a preview of WATER’s recent film footage of the Erme with examples of how local communities are helping restore it to a more natural healthy state.
Myths and Legends of Dartmoor | Talk 3-4pm
Emma Cunis - Dartmoor’s Daughter | ‘The Eye’ performance area, by the river
Inside every seemingly strange story of witches, black dogs, and ghostly happenings on Dartmoor is a small kernel of truth. Hear some of Dartmoor’s most famous myths and legends and find out the real histories or possible origins behind the devil at Widecombe Church; Hairy Hands; Faithless Wives of Chagford; Hound of the Baskervilles; Bowerman’s Nose and Hound Tor; and more. This talk is based on Emma’s recent book Dartmoor Myths & Legends: Exploring Origins & Inspirations.
Rally for Nature - Schools and Young people | Workshop 4:15-5:45pm
Brad Barrass and Max Jeffery, Rally for Nature Team | Beeson Room, Watermark
If you’re a local young person who wants to take action for nature and the environment, or if you’re a local resident who recognises the vital role of young people in nature action, this session is for you. Led by Totnes-based youth leader Brad Barrass from the Transition Network Youth Circle, we’ll be asking what a youth-led Rally for Nature could look like and what it could achieve? How can we practice intergenerational collaboration in a way that empowers all who participate? How do we respect and nurture the passion of youth to lead with their authentic voice?
We the rivers and our voices: Exploring the rights of nature | Discussion & Workshop 4:15-5:45pm
Thomas Rickard, We Are Nature-Based CIC | Cinema, Watermark
Despite rafts of legislation and accompanying institutions, Dartmoor's rivers are still degraded, polluted, and under pressure. The science is clear enough. What remains less settled is the question of how we relate to a living landscape — and whether rivers might have something to say for themselves.
This session brings together practitioners, artists, and advocates to explore the emerging idea of rights of nature through the particular lens of Dartmoor's rivers: Anne-Marie Culhane (Tidelines), Tess Read (Exeter City Councillor), Josh Levene (Love our Ouse / River Rights Network), Neil Williams (Southampton University), and Thomas Rickard (Friends of the River Exe / We Are Nature-Based CIC).
The panel will be followed by a workshop. Come ready to think, feel, listen, and imagine as the river you are.
Nature Games for Families | Workshop 5-6pm
Robin De Carteret | ‘The Eye’ performance area, by the river
A playful outdoor session for children and adults to explore nature together through games, creativity and curiosity. From putting on your bat ears and meeting trees to becoming a living camera and taking part in a tree shake bug hunt, you’ll discover new ways of noticing the natural world and the small wonders all around you. Expect laughter, teamwork and moments of surprise and delight.
Roots of Resilience: Trees, Water & the Future of Our Landscapes | Talk & Discussion 6-7pm
Guy Shrubsole, Moor Trees, Woodland Trust | Cinema, Watermark
Join Guy Shrubsole, environmental campaigner and author of The Lost Rainforests of Britain, for a powerful exploration of the forgotten temperate rainforests that once cloaked much of the South West, but now only survive as fragments. This session will uncover what’s been lost, what can still be restored, and a new campaign to bring back Dartmoor's rainforests.
Followed by a panel discussion with the Woodland Trust and Moor Trees, we’ll explore how woodland regeneration can slow and enhance the flow of water, reduce flooding, improve water quality, and support thriving biodiversity—while reconnecting communities with the living systems that sustain us.
Dartmoor Folklore | Talk and Storytelling 7:30-8:30pm
Ethan Pennell | ‘The Eye’ performance area, by the river
Join artist Ethan Pennell for an illustrated talk on Dartmoor’s weird and wonderful folklore, exploring the eldritch world of ghosts, witches, wisht places and the fae phenomena.
For more information, to BOOK YOUR day ticket and YOUR Spot AT GUY SHRUBSOLE’S TALK, visit Eventbrite
The Visioning! | Workshop 1:30-3pm
Jackie Andrade, University of Plymouth | Ivybridge Town Hall
The Visioning game, created by Professor Jackie Andrade at the University of Plymouth, is a lively and imaginative activity that invites people to explore hopeful futures for their communities and the natural world. Using illustrated cards and collaborative conversation, participants reflect on local challenges and opportunities while imagining practical pathways toward more sustainable, nature-rich futures. The session is open to everyone — whether you’re already involved in environmental work or simply curious about how communities can come together to shape positive change.
The Visioning! | Workshop 3:30-5pm
Jackie Andrade, University of Plymouth | Ivybridge Town Hall
The Visioning game, created by Professor Jackie Andrade at the University of Plymouth, is a lively and imaginative activity that invites people to explore hopeful futures for their communities and the natural world. Using illustrated cards and collaborative conversation, participants reflect on local challenges and opportunities while imagining practical pathways toward more sustainable, nature-rich futures. The session is open to everyone — whether you’re already involved in environmental work or simply curious about how communities can come together to shape positive change.
Watch an inspiring film about regenerative farming on Dartmoor, then join in a panel discussion of changemakers passionate about local food production and nature recovery.
Hear from the Devon Rewilding Network and bust some myths about what rewilding is and isn’t. Explore a farmers market filled with local produce grown on Dartmoor.
Head down to the river with Flete Field Lab to learn about how fungi can help clean up our waterways, then meet Wild About the Erme River - a community group stepping up to restore the Erme and its habitat.
Join We Are Nature Based CIC to discuss how we can include nature in our decision-making and speak up for the more-than-human world.
Get outside and join a walking talk on the hidden botany and super-hero plants around Ivybridge or join in some nature connection experiences to help you slow down, be more present and explore the wonder of nature all around us.
Step into Longtimber Woods and immerse yourself in the nurturing qualities of the trees for a relaxing forest bathing session with nature therapy experts Stefan Batorijs and Harry Hilser.
Connect with local organisations and community groups and find out how you can get involved.
Join the Rally for Nature team for a conversation about how we can pull together to do more for nature, and pick up some useful resources and project ideas for your own community.
Listen to local authors and storytellers sharing tales of our local rivers, moorlands and the folklore of Ivybridge and Dartmoor.
To close our day, join bestselling author Guy Shrubsole for an awe-inspiring journey through the temperate rainforests of Dartmoor, and learn why these spectacular and crucial ecosystems need our help.
Together we will help build a shared understanding of Dartmoor, spark new connections and get inspired to take action for the landscape we love.
Ivybridge
Brewing Company
a social enterprise providing employment and training for adults with learning disabilities and autism.
Our taproom has become a popular community space within the town, where our customers can find a safe, friendly space to unwind and socialise.
We are pleased to have been chosen as the ‘hub’ for the RM Festival, and look forward to welcoming people to experience our taproom.
Friday & saturday | 10am - 10pm | taproom
