AROUND 200 people attended a festival centred on sustainable living as a West Oxfordshire village's campaign to go green gained momentum.
Eynsham Green TEA, which stands for Transition Eynsham Area, held its annual gathering in the village hall on Saturday, featuring apple pressing, electric vehicles and a bring and share meal.
The group has been in operation for several years and a mix of old hands and new visitors spent the afternoon learning how to make the area a greener place.
Residents brought apples that would otherwise have gone to waste and saw them pressed in an old-fashioned machine, in a nod to Green TEA planting around 40 apple trees around Eynsham over the last five years.
It was yet another success in campaigners' plans to make the village more sustainable and co-organiser Sue Raikes believes there has been an attitude shift towards green living.
She said: "For a long time people like us were thought of as a bit weird, but we're going with the grain now.
"A lot of people have realised climate change is real and is happening and there are things we can do about it."
GreenTEA is about helping people to make the transition to a more sustainable lifestyle less dependent on burning fossil fuels.
It works with residents in several villages across the district, including Eynsham, Long Hanborough, Standlake and Stanton Harcourt.
The festival began with the sit down meal, where participants were invited to bring their favourite foods.
Meat and dairy were the only banned food groups and visitors bought into this to contribute a range of healthier foods.
The festival came in the same week as Hanborough residents Jonathan and Lucy Bowden expanded their eco-shop, The Market Garden, by returning to the Eynsham Emporium, where Green TEA is based.
The store is the first in Oxfordshire to offer zero-waste shopping on a large scale, with customers asked to bring their own containers and choose from more than 100 products.
Ms Raikes said: "The way we think is very similar - there's huge enthusiasm in the village and it comes with the increased environmental awareness."
For more details on Eynsham Green TEA visit eynsham-pc.gov.uk/org
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