Thousands of people are expected in Kendal as Natural Kendal’s Nature Recovery Festival returns to the town on Saturday September 26. This year’s event, titled Back to the Garden, will run from 9.30am to 4.30pm across the Westmorland campus of Kendal College, the Market Place and the Unitarian Chapel.
The festival is focused on the contribution that gardens, yards, allotments and community spaces can make to nature recovery. Organisers are encouraging visitors to consider how even small areas can be made more welcoming to wildlife.
What is happening at the Kendal festival?
The programme includes talks from Steve Trotter, chief executive of Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and Shelagh Todd, a sustainable horticultural consultant for Kendal Town Council.
Chris Dodd and Liz Jolley will also share their experience of increasing wildlife in their Kendal garden over the past 10 years. Their garden featured in Sir David Attenborough’s 2026 BBC series Secret Garden.
Music during the day will be provided by the Growing Singing Choir and Milnthorpe Steel Band. The event will also include a photography exhibition, with the winner due to be announced at 3.30pm.
The day will conclude with Gardeners’ Question Time at 3.45pm, giving visitors a final opportunity to hear gardening advice as the festival programme comes to an end.
Message from Natural Kendal
Craig Russell of Natural Kendal said the festival was about recognising the influence people can have in the spaces around their homes.
“Back to the Garden is really about recognising the power we have in the spaces immediately around us. There are millions of gardens across the country and, if we can encourage people to make even a small part of those spaces better for nature, collectively that becomes something incredibly powerful.”
He said people did not need to be expert gardeners or have large plots, adding that a garden, allotment, yard or even a few pots outside a front door could provide a starting point.
“It’s about helping people understand what they can do, sharing ideas and bringing people together. Little actions can create big changes, and that’s what we want people to take away from the festival.”
Attendance and admission
Last year’s festival attracted about 1,200 people to the Kendal College campus, while thousands more took part in activities in the town centre. Organisers expect thousands of people to attend this year’s event.
Admission costs £5. Entry is free for students, children and young people.
