Green

Carwyn Graves and Alan Marshall talk to Meinir Howells

Elements of the Welsh Landscape

Thursday 23 May 2024, 4pm –  Wye Stage

The ecologist and the eco-designer discuss our landscape, how we have formed it and how we might continue to do so, in conversation with Welsh presenter and producer Meinir Howells. Graves gives a tour of the Welsh landscape, from the ffridd (mountain pasture) to the rhos (wild moorland). He dives deep into their history and ecology in his book Tir (‘Land’) offering hope for a future with richly biodiverse landscapes, still full of humans working the land. Environmental philosopher Marshall is noted for his investigations into eco-friendly cities of the future. In Sheeplands he examines the way sheep have contributed to the making of the modern world.

Sponsored by Black Mountains College

Anna Jones talks to Meinir Howells

Easy Wins

Thursday 23 May 2024, 5.30pm –  Wye Stage

Want to reduce waste, use less energy when cooking but still achieve kitchen triumphs? The chef and bestselling food writer (A Modern Way to Eat, One: Pot, Pan, Planet) takes 12 hero ingredients that are guaranteed to make your food taste great, and gives 125 all-new dishes that you’ll want to cook on repeat. Think Double Lemon Pilaf with Buttery Almonds, Traybake Lemon Dhal, Miso Rarebit and Cherry and Chocolate Peanut Butter Sundae. Jones shares tips distilled from her 20 years of experience, with practical advice on layering, texture and seasoning, plus plenty of ideas for vegetarian swaps. She talks to Welsh presenter and producer Meinir Howells.

Gareth E Rees and Fiona Stafford

Submerged Landscapes

Thursday 23 May 2024, 5.30pm –  Meadow Stage

Join author Gareth E Rees and academic Fiona Stafford on a journey through hidden spaces, forgotten gardens and natural and man-made phenomena that tell us about our past, present and future. Rees is author of Sunken Lands: A Journey through Flooded Kingdoms and Lost Worlds, which uncovers what our submerged past and shifting boundaries between land and water can tell us about our imminent future as rising sea levels transform our planet once more. In Time and Tide: The Long, Long Life of Landscape, Stafford combines local, literary and her own family history to look at the natural and human forces that transform places, and where we can find clues to the past. In conversation with Tom Bullough, author of 5 books, most recently, Sarn Helen - A Journey Through Wales, Past, Present and Future.

George Monbiot

The Invisible Doctrine

Thursday 23 May 2024, 7pm –  Discovery Stage

How can you fight something if you don’t know it exists? We live under an ideology that preys on every aspect of our lives: education, employment, healthcare and leisure; our relationships and mental wellbeing; even the planet we inhabit. So pervasive has it become that it seems unavoidable. But trace it back to its roots, and we discover that neoliberalism was conceived, propagated and concealed by the powerful few. It’s time to bring it into the light – and to find an alternative worth fighting for.

Environmental campaigner George Monbiot's previous book was Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet. His latest is The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism (& How it Came to Control Your Life).

This event will be available online

Chris Skidmore

Net-Zero: A Future Worth Resigning Over

Thursday 23 May 2024, 8.30pm –  Wye Stage

Few are better placed to discuss how the UK can meet its climate and biodiversity obligations than Chris Skidmore, the former Energy Minister who resigned as an MP in protest at the government’s plans to expand oil and gas production in the North Sea. Skidmore, who was responsible for signing Net Zero into law and chairing Mission Zero, the largest independent engagement exercise on Net Zero conducted to date, outlines the key ways in which the UK can deliver its commitments as part of the global Net Zero strategy, highlighting not just the challenges but also the opportunities for new jobs and investment in a better way of living. In conversation with Nik Gowing, the Founder and Co-Director of Thinking the Unthinkable, and former BBC News Presenter.

Sponsored by Ty-Mawr Lime

Morning Yoga with Hay Yoga Collective

Friday 24 May 2024, 8am –  Creative Hub

Start your day with an hour of yoga blending movement, mantra, meditation and breathwork. The classes support detoxification and regeneration – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our daily yoga classes are brought to you by a collective of ten highly skilled practitioners, all local to Hay-on-Wye. Each practitioner has their own style, but with all you can expect a mindful, student-focused practice with clear cueing and functional sequencing.

Whether you need grounding and recharging before a busy day at the Festival, an opportunity to stretch and move your body, or simply an hour to focus on your breathing, these classes are open and accessible to all. Practitioners will adapt to different levels of experience, providing options for deepening or softening within poses so that each student takes what they need from the practice. Beginners and experienced students are most welcome. Yoga mats are provided.

Wayfaring Walk with National Park Guides

Wayne Lewis and Rhys Guevara

Friday 24 May 2024, 10am–12.30pm –  Meeting Place on Festival Site

Guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park lead a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye.

Hay-on-Wye is based within 520 square miles of beautiful landscape that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.

In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park

Brett Christophers talks to Grace Blakeley

Why Capitalism Won’t Save the Planet

Friday 24 May 2024, 4pm –  Wye Stage

How do we save the planet? Political economist and economic geographer Brett Christophers argues that first we need to look at our understanding of capitalism and climate, and accept that saving the planet is not profitable enough for markets and the private sector. Today’s consensus that curbing climate change can be done through green electricity and measures such as ever-cheaper solar and wind power aren’t the key, says Christophers, because investment is driven not by price but by profit. He talks to economics and politics commentator Grace Blakeley about his illuminating book The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won’t Save the Planet, challenging our long-held views about how to combat climate change.

Michael Mann

Our Fragile Moment

Friday 24 May 2024, 5.30pm –  Discovery Stage

Join us for an enlightening session with acclaimed climate scientist Michael Mann. Mann’s The New Climate War, which garnered high praise in the UK, showed how fossil fuel companies have waged a thirty-year campaign to deflect blame and responsibility and delay action on climate change. In his latest book Our Fragile Moment, Mann delivers a compelling narrative outlining the urgent threat of the unfolding climate crisis. His clear and impactful message emphasises the crucial need for immediate action to avert further devastation to our planet. In conversation with Chair of Wales Net Zero 2035, former Environment Minister for Wales, and author of #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country, Jane Davidson.

This event will be available online

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Tim Spector

Eat Well, Live Well

Friday 24 May 2024, 7pm –  Global Stage

The food and nutrition experts discuss eating for health and gut happiness.

Having a healthy gut is fundamental to good health, and the best way to harness the benefits of gut health is by eating plants, says the River Cottage author. He shares the know-how in How to Eat 30 Plants a Week: 100 Recipes to Boost Your Health and Energy, to help us put more plants on our plates, whether we are omnivores, vegetarians or vegans.

In Food for Life, scientist Tim Spector investigates everything from environmental impact and food fraud to allergies, ultra-processed food and deceptive labelling. He is author of Spoon-Fed and The Diet Myth, and Professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London. He also leads the ZOE Health Study, which analyses our unique gut, blood fat and blood sugar responses, so that we can improve our long-term health.

Sponsored by The Granary – Café & Restaurant

This event will be available online

Morning Yoga with Hay Yoga Collective

Saturday 25 May 2024, 8am –  Creative Hub

Start your day with an hour of yoga blending movement, mantra, meditation and breathwork. The classes support detoxification and regeneration – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our daily yoga classes are brought to you by a collective of ten highly skilled practitioners, all local to Hay-on-Wye. Each practitioner has their own style, but with all you can expect a mindful, student-focused practice with clear cueing and functional sequencing.

Whether you need grounding and recharging before a busy day at the Festival, an opportunity to stretch and move your body, or simply an hour to focus on your breathing, these classes are open and accessible to all. Practitioners will adapt to different levels of experience, providing options for deepening or softening within poses so that each student takes what they need from the practice. Beginners and experienced students are most welcome. Yoga mats are provided.

Wild Swimming in the River Wye

Saturday 25 May 2024, 10am–12pm –  Meet at By the Wye

Come for a wild swim in the Wye with adventure and wild swimming specialist Angela Jones. The author of Wild Swimming the River Wye is passionate about protecting and respecting the river, its environment and wildlife. She shows how to engage in wild swimming with love and respect, testing the water for cleanliness and observing when it’s safe, before leading a guided wild swim session. Beginners and seasoned swimmers alike will gain a wealth of knowledge, including tips on acclimation, water safety, equipment, technique, reading the river and undercurrents.

You will meet Angela on the banks of the river at By the Wye Glamping Site, HR3 5RS, located just past the main bridge into Hay on the B4351
(What3Words : lifestyle.waving.cavalier).

The session starts at 10am and ends at 12pm at the river.

There is no parking at the swim site, please park in one of the designated carparks around town.

Franny Armstrong, Garry Charnock, Ed Hawkins and Kate Humble in conversation

You are not Alone

Saturday 25 May 2024, 10am –  Meadow Stage

Broadcaster and author Kate Humble talks to three remarkable individuals who created leading climate projects, igniting hope and progress, all inspired by events at Hay Festival in previous years.

Film producer Franny Armstrong honed the groundbreaking 1010 Campaign with Ed Miliband on the train back from Hay Festival in 2009; Garry Charnock was inspired by an event at Hay Festival 2005 featuring Sir David King to create the first carbon neutral village, in Ashton Hayes; and Professor Ed Hawkins created the Climate Stripes, illustrating temperature change, as part of the Hay Festival Trans.MISSION project in 2018.

Come along and be inspired to create your own projects and help transform our society to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Sponsored by Super Fungi

Wayfaring Walk: Enjoying the National Park

Joanna Perrin and Catrin Ward

Saturday 25 May 2024, 10am–12.30pm –  Meeting Place on Festival Site

Guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park lead a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye. You’ll be joined by local experts who will give their insights into this treasured landscape.

Hay-on-Wye is based within 520 square miles of beautiful landscape that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.

In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park

Yasmin Ali and Gwynne Dyer talk to David van Reybrouck

Planet Energy

Saturday 25 May 2024, 11.30am –  Meadow Stage

A chemical engineer working on energy, Yasmin Ali takes us across the globe to discover solar panel farms shimmering in the desert and power stations hidden deep in the mountains. In Power Up she explains where we get our energy from, how it is moved and used around the world – and why we need to understand the whole system if we want to transition towards a clean, green future. For his new book, Intervention Earth, journalist and writer Gwynne Dyer interviewed over 50 of the world’s leading climate scientists. From fission power to fake meat, from the deep seas to the jet stream, he reveals the most creative scientific thinking on how we might still solve the most frightening problem of our age.

Sponsored by With Intelligence

Michael Mansfield talks to Farhana Yamin

The Power in the People

Saturday 25 May 2024, 11.30am –  Discovery Stage

People power is unstoppable, says barrister Michael Mansfield KC, and he would know; he has spent his career fighting injustice, persecution and corruption, representing people including the Birmingham Six, Stephen Lawrence’s family, and the families of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster and of the Grenfell fire. Mansfield talks to lawyer Farhana Yamin about his 50 years of fighting for justice, some of his most important cases and why he believes that when people get together they can make lasting and positive change.

This event will be available online

Ashleigh Nugent

Verse and Venture: Exploring Nature Through Poetry

Saturday 25 May 2024, 11.30am–12.45pm –  Meeting Place on Festival Site

Immerse yourself in the inspiring Welsh countryside with poet, playwright and rapper Ashleigh Nugent, Creative Director of RiseUp, a Manchester-based organisation that empowers individuals to better their circumstances, prospects and wellbeing. In a unique event curated by the Black British Book Festival, you’re invited to write lines that capture the essence of the natural world, inspired by your surroundings, allowing nature to infuse depth into your writing. Let Nugent’s live poetry performance transport you to new realms of imagination under the open sky of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.

Curated by the Black British Book Festival

Mark Cocker and Hamza Yassin talk to Kate Humble

Brilliant Birds

Saturday 25 May 2024, 1pm –  Global Stage

Naturalist Mark Cocker has always been fascinated by swifts, and in One Midsummer’s Day he sets out to discover their essence. Migrating swifts span continents and their 12-week stopover with us is the definition of summer. These birds without borders are a metaphor to express the unity of the living planet, for no creature, least of all ourselves, can live in isolation. Fellow wildlife enthusiast Hamza Yassin’s book Be a Birder is a joyful guide for beginners. The wildlife cameraman (and Strictly 2022 winner) explains how to identify birds quickly, understand bird behaviour and choose the right equipment. Born in Sudan, living in Scotland, Yassin’s first TV appearance was as Ranger Hamza on the CBeebies show Let’s Go for a Walk and he is a presenter on BBC One series Animal Park. They talk to broadcaster and author Kate Humble.

This event will be available online

Timandra Harkness and Mark Stevenson talk to Martin Wright

AI: Nothing to Fear?

Saturday 25 May 2024, 1pm –  Wye Stage

It’s a looming apocalypse, morphing beyond all human control… or it’s the dawn of a new golden age, when our lives will dramatically improve. What’s our best hope of taming the AI tiger? Writer and comedian Timandra Harkness’ latest book is Technology is not the Problem. She presents the BBC Radio 4 series FutureProofing and How to Disagree. Mark Stevenson is a ‘Reluctant Futurist’, a strategic advisor to governments, investors, NGOs and corporates, as well as a comedy writer. His books, An Optimist’s Tour of the Future and We Do Things Differently, map out proven solutions to current dilemmas. They discuss the looming AI apocalypse with environmentalist Martin Wright.

Wild Swimming in the River Wye

Saturday 25 May 2024, 2.30pm–4.30pm –  Meet at By the Wye

Come for a wild swim in the Wye with adventure and wild swimming specialist Angela Jones. The author of Wild Swimming the River Wye is passionate about protecting and respecting the river, its environment and wildlife. She shows how to engage in wild swimming with love and respect, testing the water for cleanliness and observing when it’s safe, before leading a guided wild swim session. Beginners and seasoned swimmers alike will gain a wealth of knowledge, including tips on acclimation, water safety, equipment, technique, reading the river and undercurrents.

You will meet Angela on the banks of the river at By the Wye Glamping Site, HR3 5RS, located just past the main bridge into Hay on the B4351
(What3Words : lifestyle.waving.cavalier).

The session starts at 2.30pm and ends at 4.30pm at the river.

There is no parking at the site, please park in one of the designated carparks around town.

Lynne Jones and Farhana Yamin

People Power for Climate Justice

Saturday 25 May 2024, 2.30pm –  Spring Stage

Doctor and aid worker Lynne Jones, and lawyer and climate activist Farhana Yamin, a key architect of the Paris climate agreement, discuss the rise and methods of nonviolent action for political change. In Jones’ book Sorry for the Inconvenience but This is an Emergency she offers a ground-level account of the past five years of UK protests, exploring how and why ordinary citizens have adopted extraordinary methods to confront the climate and nature crises. As one of the world’s most accomplished movement lawyers, Yamin provides both inspiration and a compass for the way movements can use the law – and must sometimes break it – to bring about social justice. The concept of movement lawyering was first proposed by the US Center for Constitutional Rights a decade ago. She shares her expertise in an essay in the collection The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated.

Ashleigh Nugent

Verse and Venture: Exploring Nature Through Poetry

Saturday 25 May 2024, 2.30pm–3.45pm –  Meeting Place on Festival Site

Immerse yourself in the inspiring Welsh countryside with poet, playwright and rapper Ashleigh Nugent, Creative Director of RiseUp, a Manchester-based organisation that empowers individuals to better their circumstances, prospects and wellbeing. In a unique event curated by the Black British Book Festival, you’re invited to write lines that capture the essence of the natural world, inspired by your surroundings, allowing nature to infuse depth into your writing. Let Nugent’s live poetry performance transport you to new realms of imagination under the open sky of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.

Curated by the Black British Book Festival

Planet Assembly 1: A Circular Economy for the Future

A Thought Laboratory

Saturday 25 May 2024, 5.30pm–7.30pm –  Creative Hub

Bring your best ideas to this solutions-focused workshop session. Facilitated by sustainability entrepreneur Andy Middleton and joined by key speakers to be announced, we’ll look at the key issue of the economy, discussing the scale of the issue and a range of solutions.

Speakers include remarkable individuals leading climate and biodiversity resilience projects, igniting hope and progress in their neighbourhoods and the wider community. We want you to share your ideas and to be inspired by those making a difference. Be part of the change in this two-hour thought laboratory.

Charlotte Church talks to Mary Loudon

Saturday 25 May 2024, 7pm –  Discovery Stage

Charlotte Church’s childhood and teenage years were a jumble of global superstardom, financial wealth, tabloid intrusion and the accompanying personal strain. Now, she has taken her experiences of chaos and her passion for wellbeing and is a tenacious campaigner for climate action, economic equity, integrated education and political accountability. Church talks to writer and theatre producer Mary Loudon about her campaigning and The Dreaming, her house in mid-Wales which hosts retreats to provide healing, inspire change and cry hope in a troubled world.

Sponsored by Ewemoo

This event will be available online

David King and Ed Miliband

Tipping Points

Saturday 25 May 2024, 7pm –  Wye Stage

It is now indisputable that we are in a climate emergency. Soaring levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, particularly methane, mean more extreme weather events at greater frequency. As tipping points are exceeded, some irreversible changes have already been triggered in our climate systems. Join us on a deep dive into the pivotal moments of the climate crisis. David King will identify the tipping points that could shape our planet’s future and in response, Ed Miliband will lay out the decisions ahead and the opportunities we have to create a sustainable, fairer future for all. Professor Sir David King is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, Chair of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group and Founder of the Centre for Climate Repair in the University. He was the UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser, 2000–07, and the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative on Climate Change, 2013–17. Ed Miliband is MP for Doncaster North and Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

In association with the University of Cambridge

Morning Yoga with Hay Yoga Collective

Sunday 26 May 2024, 8am –  Creative Hub

Start your day with an hour of yoga blending movement, mantra, meditation and breathwork. The classes support detoxification and regeneration – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our daily yoga classes are brought to you by a collective of ten highly skilled practitioners, all local to Hay-on-Wye. Each practitioner has their own style, but with all you can expect a mindful, student-focused practice with clear cueing and functional sequencing.

Whether you need grounding and recharging before a busy day at the Festival, an opportunity to stretch and move your body, or simply an hour to focus on your breathing, these classes are open and accessible to all. Practitioners will adapt to different levels of experience, providing options for deepening or softening within poses so that each student takes what they need from the practice. Beginners and experienced students are most welcome. Yoga mats are provided.

Please contact Clare Fry at hello@larchwoodstudio.com with any questions relating to these classes. As capacity is limited, we recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.

Wayfaring Walk: Walk with a Warden

Toby Small and Bronwyn Lally

Sunday 26 May 2024, 10am–12.30pm –  Meeting Place on Festival Site

Warden Toby Small from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park leads a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye, with BBNP Head of Communications Bronwyn Lally. Learn more about the challenges facing the River Wye and what must be done to save it.

Hay-on-Wye is based within 520 square miles of beautiful landscape that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.

In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park

Kathryn Tann

Nature Writing Walkshop

Sunday 26 May 2024, 10.30am–12pm –  Meeting Place on Festival Site

Put on your walking boots, grab a notebook and join creative producer Kathryn Tann on a writing ‘walk-shop’, using the landscape to shape your stories. Practice using all your senses and surroundings to create memorable and transporting pieces of writing, with a focus on creative non-fiction. You don’t need to be an outdoors expert to bring nature and place into your creative work.

Starting from and returning to the Festival site, the walk covers around 1km in the environs of Hay-on-Wye, with regular stops and writing exercises along the way. Tann’s book Seaglass blends creative non-fiction with nature writing and memoir, portraying the journey of a young woman navigating modern adulthood.

Chris Thorogood talks to Robert Penn

Pathless Forest

Sunday 26 May 2024, 1pm –  Wye Stage

The Indiana Jones of the botanical world recounts his quest to find and save Rafflesia, the world’s largest flowers, from extinction. Talking to writer, photographer and broadcaster Robert Penn, botanist Chris Thorogood offers a fantastic glimpse into the world of extreme fieldwork, with local guides and foresters, braving leeches, kidnap, monitor lizards and lethal forest swamps.

Finding Rafflesia completes Thorogood’s childhood obsession with these plants. From the age of eight he was growing vines up his curtain pole. Today that boy is a world specialist on parasitic plants, Deputy Director of Science at the Oxford Botanic Gardens and a regular panellist on Gardeners’ Question Time.

Caroline Lucas

Another England

Sunday 26 May 2024, 2.30pm –  Global Stage

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion and the UK’s first and only Green Party MP, delves into our literary heritage to explore what it can teach us about the most pressing issues of our time, from the toxic legacy of Empire to the struggle for constitutional reform and the accelerating climate emergency. Today the dominant story of English nationhood is told by cheerleaders for Brexit, exceptionalism and imperial nostalgia. Focusing on stories of the English people’s radical inclusivity, their deep-rooted commitment to the natural world, their long struggle to win rights for all, Lucas sketches out an alternative Englishness: one that we can all embrace to build a greener, fairer future. In conversation with Brenda Hale, judge and former President of the Supreme Court.

This event will be available online

Taras Grescoe and Pen Vogler

Once and Future Food

Sunday 26 May 2024, 4pm –  Discovery Stage

The two writers discuss the history and future of food. Taras Grescoe argues that the key to sustainable eating lies in looking back to the foods, many almost extinct, that have sustained us throughout existence. His The Lost Supper reveals the flavours captivating gastronomes today: ancient sourdough bread last baked by Egyptian pharaohs; raw-milk farmhouse cheese from endangered British cattle; ham from Spanish pata negra pigs foraging on acorns. To save these foods, we have to eat them, or face famine and ecological collapse. Pen Vogler tells the stories of foods at the centre of social upheaval: the medieval inns boosted by the plague; the Enclosures that finished off the roast goose; the post-war supermarkets luring customers with strawberries. Her book Stuffed draws on cookbooks, literature and social records, to tell a tale of feast and famine. In times of plenty, we stuff ourselves. When the food runs out, we’re stuffed too.

Marina Gibson talks to Horatio Clare

Cast, Catch and Release

Sunday 26 May 2024, 5.30pm –  Meadow Stage

Drifting and directionless in her twenties, Marina Gibson escaped from the city to the country, where she picked up a fishing rod for the first time in years. It was a return to a childhood pursuit and a passion passed on by her mother. Through fishing, Gibson – founder of the Northern Fishing School at the Swinton Estate and an ambassador for Orvis, Costa and Angling IQ – found a source of serenity, refuge from a failing marriage and a connection to a tradition of female anglers stretching back generations. In Cast, Catch and Release Gibson follows the journey of the migrating salmon, and shares her own journey back to herself. Gibson talks to writer and broadcaster Horatio Clare.