Community action/Folkestone and Hythe

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| Location | Folkestone and Hythe, Kent, England |
| Coordinates | 51° 3' 27.89" N, 1° 0' 21.86" E |
The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Folkestone and Hythe.
News
[edit | edit source]- Folkestone & Hythe District Council commit to a one-year glyphosate phase out period trialling alternatives. Nov, 2019...pan-uk.org/pesticide-free-towns-success-stories/, folkestone-hythe.gov.uk
Hedgerows the 'unsung heroes of the countryside', BBC News (Feb 16, 2026) — A group of Kent volunteers is aiming to provide vital habitat for wildlife by planting about 3,800 yards (3,500m) of hedgerows in the countryside this year.
‘To live a normal life again, it’s a dream come true’: UK’s first climate evacuees can cast off their homes and trauma, theguardian.com (Feb 09, 2026)
Behind the scenes as GPs face 'tidal wave of demand', BBC News (Jan 22, 2026)
Record-breaking heat and dry spring leave parts of England without water, reuters.com (May 29, 2026)
The English restaurant turning hospitality on its head, positive.news (May 27, 2026) — At a pay-as-you-can restaurant in Stroud, radical hospitality and good food are bringing strangers together
Britain’s green transition should belong to everyone. Why is Labour so intent on stopping us having our say? George Monbiot, theguardian.com (May 27, 2026)
Amsterdam, along with other major European cities, bans public adverts for meat and fossil fuels [BBC], Daily Alternative (May 22, 2026)
How reindeer herds, nature and Sámi culture can thrive when forests are restored across northern Europe, theconversation.com (May 15, 2026)
Rewilding giants: captive elephants rehomed in Europe’s first sanctuary, theguardian.com (May 07, 2026)
Amsterdam, along with other major European cities, bans public adverts for meat and fossil fuels [BBC], Daily Alternative (May 22, 2026)
Solidarity fields in Syria: Reviving local seed production, globalvoices.org (May 21, 2026) — A community garden on Damascus's edge is quietly rebuilding Syria's agricultural memory
How reindeer herds, nature and Sámi culture can thrive when forests are restored across northern Europe, theconversation.com (May 15, 2026)
UK and international events
[edit | edit source]UK events
Jun 1 - 7, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Neighbourhood Watch Week, ourwatch.org.uk
Jun 1 - 7, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Volunteers Week, celebrating and saying thank you to the millions of volunteers across the UK, volunteersweek.org
Jun 5 - 8, 2026 (Fri - Mon) — The Big Lunch, the first weekend in June every year, everyone is invited, anyone can join in and whatever food people bring to the table is there to be shared, edenprojectcommunities.com
Jun 6 - 14, 2026 (Sat-Sun) — Great Big Green Week, celebrating communities taking action to tackle climate change and protect green spaces, greatbiggreenweek.com
Jun 07, 2026 (Sun) — Open Farm Sunday, farmsunday.org
Jun 8 - 14, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Bike Week, annual celebration showcasing cycling and how brilliant it is!, cyclinguk.org
Jun 8 - 14, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Carers Week, carersweek.org
Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Loneliness Awareness Week, lonelinessawarenessweek.org
Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Better Transport Week, annual, week-long celebration of sustainable transport, bettertransport.org.uk
Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Refugee Week, refugeeweek.org.uk
Jun 18, 2026 (Thu) — Clean Air Day, actionforcleanair.org.uk
Jun 19 - 21, 2026 (Fri - Sun) — The Great Get Together, annual celebration organised by The Jo Cox Foundation, helping unite people, bridge divides, and tackle loneliness, while showing the collective power we have as a community, jocoxfoundation.org
Jun 29 - Jul 3, 2026 (Mon - Fri) — National Co-production Week, scie.org.uk
Global or international events
Jun 03, 2026 (Wed) — World Bicycle Day, The bicycle is a "symbol of sustainable transport and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production, and has a positive impact on climate." (United Nations), June 3 each year, un.org
Jun 05, 2026 (Fri) — World Environment Day, June 5, annually, worldenvironmentday.global
Jun 08, 2026 (Mon) — World Oceans Day, June 8 each year, worldoceanday.org
Jun 12, 2026 (Fri) — World Day Against Child Labour, every year on June 12, ilo.org
Jun 17, 2026 (Wed) — World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, each June 17, un.org
Jun 21 and all of June — World Localization Day, worldlocalizationday.org
Jun 22, 2026 (Mon) — World Rainforest Day, June 22 is World Rainforest Day, worldrainforestday.org
2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events
Each week 3 different short videos from across the UK or world.
Rural sustainability UK, Community energy UK, Community action/Argyll and Bute / ...This week's featured Global videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism
Folkestone and Hythe video
[edit | edit source]Networks and sustainability initiatives
[edit | edit source]- Hythe Environmental Community Group, Hythe Community Hop Farm, hytheenvironmental.community
Events
[edit | edit source]The Hythe Venetian Fete is a traditional "floating tableaux" (water carnival) that dates and derives back to the 1860s Hythe Cricket Week. It takes place on the third Wednesday in August, every two years, on the Royal Military Canal at Hythe in Kent, England.
The competitive fete is largely sponsored by local businesses and media (some of which have their own themed floats) and also features related entertainments, refreshments, band concerts, and fireworks throughout the evening illuminated variation.
Community energy
[edit | edit source]- Sustainability Connections (Folkestone), About
Arts and culture
[edit | edit source]Creative Folkestone Quarterhouse (also known as Quarterhouse) is a performance and exhibition space in Folkestone, Kent, England. It is used for activities including theatre, dance, music, film, comedy, family shows, and live screenings from organisations including National Theatre and Royal Opera House. The venue is also home to numerous festivals, including Creative Folkestone Book Festival, Normal? Festival of the Brain, and SALT Festival of the Sea and Environment.
Community radio
Folkestone ( FOHK-stən) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal resort for most of the 19th and mid-20th centuries.
This location has had a settlement since the Mesolithic era. A nunnery was founded by Eanswith, granddaughter of Æthelberht of Kent in the 7th century, who is still commemorated as part of the town's culture. During the 13th century, it developed into a seaport, and the harbour developed during the early 19th century to defend against a French invasion. Folkestone expanded further west after the arrival of the railway in 1843 as an elegant coastal resort, thanks to the investment of the Earl of Radnor under the urban plan of Decimus Burton.
In its Edwardian-era heyday, Folkestone was considered the most fashionable resort of the time, visited by royalty — amongst them Queen Victoria and Edward VII and other members of the English aristocracy. The town's architecture, especially in the West End part, is a testimony of this period, with many impressive buildings, townhouses, villas, private squares, and large hotels built to accommodate the gentry. After two world wars and the boom of the overseas holiday package, the town quickly declined. The harbour's trade diminished following the opening of the nearby Channel Tunnel and the ending of ferry services from Folkestone, but it still remains in active use.
Shoreline 100.2FM is the community radio station for Hythe and Romney Marsh and has been broadcasting since January 2020. Academy FM 105.9FM, the community radio station for Folkestone can also be received in parts of Hythe. W
Sustainable transport
[edit | edit source]Several long distance footpaths cross the District, including the Saxon Shore Way and the North Downs Way; shorter walks include the "Elham Valley Walk" and the "Royal Military Canal Path". W
The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, 163 miles (262 km) in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the route runs significantly inland from the modern coastline.
Cycling
[edit | edit source]National Cycle Route 2 (or NCR 2) is a route of the United Kingdom National Cycle Network, running from Dover to St Austell. When complete, the route will be 581 km (361 miles) long.
Dover to Hastings: The route follows the Chalk and Channel Way along the cliff tops to Folkestone and crosses Romney Marsh to Lydd. From Rye it follows the coast into Hastings.
Biodiversity
[edit | edit source]- The Fifth Continent, Romney Marsh Landscape conservation scheme. link checked 17:04, 2 February 2022 (UTC)
Open spaces
[edit | edit source]East Cliff and Warren Country Park is formed of the East Cliffs of Folkestone, the sandy beaches of East Wear Bay and the land-slipped nature reserve land between the cliffs and the sea.
After the Country Park was set up, grazing animals were banned, this has allowed shrubs and trees to seed naturally across the site. Patches of wildflower meadow still exist and these are the favoured habitats of various rare insects. The Warren is an important habitat for many insects. Over 330 species of moth have been recorded visiting the site.
The White Cliffs Countryside Project, who are assisting by local volunteers to maintain the remaining areas of chalk grassland and meadow. They have created open grassy corridor habitats along the footpaths so that the wild flowers and insects can survive and access other parts of the important nature reserve.
The Saxon Shore Way and North Downs Way, (long distance trails lead through the park between Folkestone and Dover, via Capel-le-Ferne. Beside Wear Bay Road, on the northern fringes of the park, is Little Switzerland Camping Site; it is so named because of the mountainous-looking white cliffs nearby. The Tea Chalet is within the camp site. W
About Folkestone and Hythe
[edit | edit source]Folkestone and Hythe is a local government district in Kent, England. It lies in the south-east of the county, on the coast of the English Channel. The district was formed in 1974 and was originally named Shepway after one of the ancient lathes of Kent, which had covered a similar area. The district was renamed in 2018. The council is based in Folkestone, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Hawkinge, Hythe, Lydd and New Romney, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
The North Downs hills extend into the north of the district, parts of which fall within the designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty of the Kent Downs. Much of the south of the district forms the low-lying Romney Marsh, an area of land partly reclaimed from the sea. The district contains the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal, the main interchange for road vehicles at the UK end of the Channel Tunnel.
The neighbouring districts (anti-clockwise from north-east) are Dover, Canterbury, Ashford and Rother. The latter is in East Sussex, the rest are in Kent. To the south-east is the sea.
Near you
[edit | edit source]Ashford - Canterbury - Dover
See also
[edit | edit source]- Towards a more democratic and climate friendly way of meeting housing need across England
- London and South East England
- Saving water in South East England
| Authors | Phil Green |
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| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Philralph (2022–2026). "Community action/Folkestone and Hythe". Appropedia. Retrieved June 4, 2026. |



