World famous environmentalist comes to Ottery

One of the world’s leading environmental thinkers and speakers is visiting Ottery St Mary.

Green guru Satish Kumar, will be attending the ‘Environment Exhibition’ at Ottery Parish Church on Saturday, September 24.

Mr Kumar, editor of ‘Resurgence’ magazine, is a guest of Sustainable Ottery and will speak and take questions in the afternoon.

A successful author he came to a much wider audience when the TV programme, Earth Pilgrim, was shown on the BBC. Shot on Dartmoor, it explored the changing of the seasons and taught about ‘ecological humility’, as respect for the environment is one of his guiding principles.

Originally from India, Satish became a wandering Jain monk and spent many years in pilgrimage through his homeland. In 1962 he set out on a peace pilgrimage of 8,000 miles from the grave of Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi to Moscow, Paris, London and Washington over nuclear disarmament.

He now lives in Hartland in North Devon and is often travelling the world speaking to world leaders and policy makers on spiritualism in environmental policy.

Sustainable Ottery’s Helen Collinson will also talk about her work for Christian Aid and there will be a variety stalls and stands at the event, including generating electricity using your own pedal-power, experts in renewable energy, energy efficiency, recycling and sustainability, as well as refreshments and a children’s art competition from 10am until 4pm.

Organisers are also looking for people to donate old spectacles, mobile phones, stamps, cards, tools, computer equipment, cassettes and cassette players for recycling.