Forth Valley Biodiversity Festival – August 2026

Across the Forth Valley, there are already many fantastic groups, projects and individuals looking after nature and biodiversity, with community gardens, wildlife surveys and habitat restoration projects happening all over the region. 

To celebrate, we’re hosting the Forth Valley Biodiversity Festival, which is a month-long programme happening this August which aims to support existing efforts and bring these groups together under a shared festival banner. August is the perfect time to run the first year of this festival, as pollinators, butterflies, dragonflies, bats and wildflowers will all be out on display!

Festival Events

The following events have been confirmed, with more being added to this page as we hear about them. Please click on the links for full details or contact climate@felscotland.org if you need more information:

Week beginning 27th July

• Wednesday 22nd July – 30th September, Exhibition: Ted Leeming: Our Place in Time with Macrobert Arts Centre and Stirling Photography Festival
• Saturday 1st, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Pop in and Chat with the Blooming Bairns at the Falkirk Producers Market
• Sunday 2nd, 9:30am, Marvellous Moths & Cool River Critters Drop-in Event at Alva Glen, by the Alva Glen Heritage Trust

Week beginning 3rd August

• Monday 3rd – Monday 31st, Nature Needs You! Citizen Science with Fintry Development Trust
• Tuesday 4th, 10:30am, Bug Survey at Stirling Old Bridge with TCV
• Tuesday 4th, 10:30am, Practical Biodiversity Action across Clackmannanshire
• Wednesday 5th, 10:30am, Wildlife Gardening for Beginners with Tullibody Community Garden
• Wednesday 5th, 10:30am, Practical Conservation with The Forth Valley Biodiversity Action Team and TCV
• Thursday 6th, 12:00pm, Wildflower Seed Collecting, Stirling Students’ Union

Week beginning 10th August

• Tuesday 11th, 2pm, Swift Box Making with Alloa Community Shed, includes talk from RSPB
• Wednesday 12th, 7:30pm, Film Screening of Agatha’s Almanac at Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling
• Thursday 13th, 11:00am – 5:00pm, Multiple Sessions for the Stirling University BioBlitz
• Saturday 15th, 8:00am, Moth Morning at RSPB Skinflats
• Sunday 16th, 1:00pm, Bantaskine Allotments Open Day, Falkirk
• Sunday 16th, 1:pm-3pm, Forest Bathing Full Session with Wild Pines

Week beginning 17th August

• Wednesday 19th, 6:30pm, Riverwoods Film Screening, Walk and Talk at Crianlarich Village Hall
• Wednesday 19th, 7pm-9pm, HOPE! Film Series with Polmont Community Hub
• Friday 21st, 10am, Tree Maintenance and Monitoring in the Ochil Hills with the University of Edinburgh – Friday Session
• Saturday 22nd, 10am, Tree Maintenance and Monitoring in the Ochil Hills with the University of Edinburgh – Saturday Session
• Saturday 22nd, 10am, Minibeast Hunt as part of Tilly Wildlife Weekend
• Saturday 22nd, 8pm, Myth-Busting Bats! as part of Tilly Wildlife Weekend
• Sunday 23rd, 10am, Mindfulness in Nature Taster Session by Wild Pines 
• Sunday 23rd, 10:30am Nature Photography Session as part of Tilly Wildlife Weekend
• Sunday 23rd, 2pm, Wildflower Web as part of Tilly Wildlife Weekend
• Sunday 23rd, 10am-1pm, Seasonal Foraging ‘Walk + Make’ with Wild and Herbal Homestead

Week beginning 24th August

• Tuesday 25th, 10:30am, Traditional Scything and Meadow Management Workshop by TCV
• Wednesday 26th, 7pm-9pm, HOPE! Film Series with Polmont Community Hub
• Saturday 29th, 9:30am, Orchard and Woodland Maintenance Session with Riverside Naturally
• Saturday 29th, 2pm-7pm, Polmont Fest with Polmont Community Hub
• Sunday 30th, 6:30pm-9:30pm, Film Screening – The North Drift with Polmont Community Hub

Week beginning 31st August & onwards

• Monday 31st August, 7:00pm, Biodiversity Book Club (online)
• Monday 7th September, 7:00pm, Biodiversity Book Club (online)
• Wednesday 9th September, 7pm-9pm, HOPE! Film Series with Polmont Community Hub

We have also uploaded these onto our FEL Events Calendar, but the calendar may only be visible on larger screens and not phone screens.

Host an Event

We’re keen to get as many people as possible involved in the festival and hosting events. Perhaps you work or volunteer on a nature reserve that could host a citizen science day, or you have a biodiversity-related skill that you’d like to share with your community. Maybe your event organisation skills could be put to use hosting a film screening, or you’d like to run a foraging or identification session.

Whatever you’d interested in, if your event helps people discover, enjoy or take action for nature, we’d love to hear from you!

If you know what you’d like to host, please complete our event registration form.

If you’re interested in running an event but need help with funding or resources, we’ve created a shared Funding and Opportunities Padlet: Climate Action Funds Bulletin Board 

There also might be opportunities to volunteer with planned events. Please contact us at the email below if you’d like to be involved!