WIRRAL libraries have teamed up with local park rangers to deliver a summer-long festival of storytelling, nature, and crafts.

Green Bibliofest will see libraries across the borough transformed into event and theatre spaces, with workshops and live performances on the themes of climate, nature and sustainability, taking centre stage.

People will also be invited outdoors to enjoy a programme of park ranger-led activities, including bushcraft workshops and pond-dipping safaris, in Birkenhead Park and Wirral Country Park.

A Wirral Council spokesperson, said: “Parks and libraries are some of the most accessible, welcoming and cherished spaces in our borough, so I can’t think of better places to hold a festival for children and families.

“Using indoor and outdoor spaces in new and surprising ways also means there will be plenty to enjoy, whatever the weather.

“It’s sure it will be one of the highlights of Wirral’s Borough of Culture programme and give hundreds of local children and families a summer to remember.”

The Borough of Culture title is awarded annually on a rotational basis to one of the six local authorities that make up the Liverpool City Region, as part of the Combined Authority’s culture programme.

The festival programme is being delivered by Wirral artists who will lead performances and hands-on workshops for families, kids and adults. 

The festival will take place at Birkenhead Central Library on July 17 with a show by Mind The Gap, England’s disability performance and live arts company.

Pam Sullivan and Jo Gomez are running a ‘Pledge to the Planet’ workshop with a new tree sculpture for contributors to add their own climate pledges to, and Little Vintage Photography, who are offering audiences a chance to learning about the alchemy of photography with their own handmade camera, where participants can create photography from recycled materials.

Julie Dodd’s fungi sculptures are also the focus of one workshop, where newcomers will get to create fungi from recycled paper and tree bark.

Alison Bailey Smith’s inimitable free-form creations will also feature new sculptures of flowers and pollinators made entirely from recycled materials.

Wirral Libraries, in partnership with the Council’s Eco Schools, Cool Wirral and Wirral Rangers teams, have also launched a scheme to loan nature kit bags.

The bags can be collected from Wirral’s four main libraries in Bebington, Birkenhead, Wallasey and West Kirby. 

Other activities and events include nature-themed story times and a wide range of interactive sessions, including, puppetry, up-cycling, dance, woodworking, sculpting, map reading, weaving, den-making and fossil hunts. 

Green Bibliofest runs at venues across Wirral from July 17 to September 10, 2024. 

For more information and to book a place, visit the festival page on Eventbrite.