Ottery got into the green sprit as more than 400 people attended a special exhibition on recycling with a talk from a world-famous environmentalist at the parish church.

Satish Kumar was the lead attraction at the free ‘Recycling & Environment Exhibition’ at Ottery St and delivered a passionate and informative talk to a captivated audience.

The former Buddhist monk has a wide range of knowledge about the environment from editorship of Resurgence, a magazine which promotes ecological sustainability, social justice and spiritual values.

But there was plenty of practical advice as well about on offer from a mixture of organisations, to teach people of all ages about recycling, renewable energy and the environment.

There was a children’s recycling themed craft competition, a display of locally produced food and cakes and ‘pedal power’, an activity which allowed people of all ages to generate electricity for various appliances by pedal power alone, which even the mayor got involved in.

Exhibition organisers Ann and John Masters felt the day had been a real success. They said: “Not only did exhibitors share top tips and information about how we can all take relatively easy steps to save energy, but Mr Kumar gave an awe inspiring speech about the relationship between man and the environment, something that resonated well with listeners.”

Local solicitors Gilbert Stephens sponsored the event, and Liz Govier from the office on Broad Street was glad to see the local community get behind such important issues and looked forward to being involved with other events in the future.

The winners of the recycling themed craft activity can be found on the www.gilbertstephens.co.uk/recycle along with details on how children can claim their prizes. For more information visit