Eco-warrior or not, take a break from it all at Electric Picnic and head for Global Green

If you thought Electric Picnic 2019 couldn't get anymore joyous, colourful and inviting, well...you need to get yourselves to Global Green — the trendy Electric Picnic pop-up eco-village.

With masses of people gathering at Stradbally Estate for firm favourites like Billie Eilish, Dermot Kennedy and Hozier, as well as new and upcoming acts (em... you all need to listen to Cork native, Lyra!), Electric Picnic is proving itself to be the perfect little hub to grow a community. And not just a music community mind you. Inside Electric Picnic's Global Green area you'll find a whole host of stakeholders building an EP eco-community. Countless amounts of activists, artists, musicians, poets and foodies, have come together to share their best advice with the crowds, getting countless numbers of people involved in being kinder to our planet. (Hurrah!) We spoke to Mel White from Cultivate — the collective based in Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Tipperary. (This crew has coordinated the Global Green area too!)

Come play bemusement games at #GlobalGreen! pic.twitter.com/amM7n97xOg

— GlobalGreen@EP (@GlobalGreenatEp) August 30, 2019

"I've a couple of different hats on," says Mel. She's also a member of Extinction Rebellion, you see. Cultivate started from humble beginnings around 20 years ago in Dublin's Temple Bar. They're all about environmental education and so they host regular workshops and all kinds of courses throughout the year that benefit communities and our environment. Their talks cover a vast range of topics — think policy reform, science-based talks, inspiring chats on how we can make a world of difference, discussions on the value system they want to see for society and even talks that engage with parents about what aspects of climate change might be appropriate to share with kids. "We've been doing this stuff and saying it for years and then suddenly we have this mainstream audience that we’ve been looking for which is actually a really exciting time to try and engage more people.

#Blindboy of @Rubberbandits makes a #ClimateAction pledge at #EP19. Look out for the #GlobalGreen Field Agents #AgentOfChangeEP & make a pledge. Remember, individual action good, #CollectiveAction better! Join a campaign, pressure govts & industry, take #directaction @EPfestival pic.twitter.com/xJbe6RPONA

— GlobalGreen@EP (@GlobalGreenatEp) August 31, 2019

“I suppose the information is there for what we need to do, how we need to change our society and the changes we need to make in the world. People are now getting the message in a more mainstream way. We're getting a lot more people coming to talk to us. It's all about awareness. "I think a lot of people here at Global Green are building these new futures — everything from rustic to green tech is represented here." Representation is huge this year for Cultivate themselves too. Take Electric Picnic's Main Stage — it sees Billie Eilish, Hozier, Wild Youth, Florence and the Machine, AND messaging from Cultivate on those GIANT stage screens. Now, how's that for getting your eco message out to the masses? What's great about Cultivate (and the Global Green area in general) is that their message is to create a ground-based community, grow and consume local produce and build longlasting, strong communities in the process.

Ch-check in... #globalgreen #globalgreen19 #zerowaste #ClimateAction @EPfestival @GlobalGreenatEp pic.twitter.com/TQgoQq2kqi

— Cultivate (@cultivate_ie) August 30, 2019

"The basis of Cultivate come from Clockjordan eco-village bringing community practises from there. There'd be things like community-supported agriculture, sharing the responsibility with farmers." After you've moseyed about Electric Picnic's Global Green area, accumulated heaps of information about how easy it really is to be SO eco-friendly, don't forget about Cultivate's next big shindig. On September 21, at Cloughjordan, you'll find 'Apple Day'. Expect workshops, a speakeasy event in the evening, spoken word, locally grown food and more. For now at Electric Picnic 2019, though, get yourself to the Global Green area for not only a relaxing yet compelling hub inspiring talks, music, Full of Love Kombucha, Revel Coffee Caravan (we'll need that tomorrow!) and so much more.