Festival season is upon us and many Brits will be gearing up to enjoy the music, entertainments and fun at festivals around the country. So many festival goers love the chance to let their hair down, kick back and wallow in their favourite music. But have you ever thought about the environmental impact of the UK’s festivals?

Luckily, an organisation has done the thinking for you! A Greener Festival is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at helping festivals and other events around the world to become more environmentally friendly.

One of the most recent projects of A Greener Festival has been to plant 300 trees to create Festival Wood in a corner of the Dundreggan Estate near Loch Ness, Scotland.

Festival Wood is part of an initiative to “give something back to the great outdoors that we love to enjoy”.

Festivals such as T In The Park, Belladrum Tartan Heart, Bestival, Deer Shed, End Of The Road and Glastonbury have all contributed to the initiative, as has the Big Green Coach company, which provides coach travel to various festivals and live events.

Helen Wright, Claire O’Neill and Ben Challis of A Greener Festival recently made the trip to Scotland to plant the trees. Slotting in to an existing tree-planting programme run by Trees For Life, it’s hoped that hundreds more trees can be planted on the site later this year thanks to additional support from affiliated festivals.

Guide to getting festival ready

While we’d all love to imagine that festivals are bathed in warm sunshine, the reality is that they are usually wet and muddy.

Thanks to modern outdoor clothing it should be possible for you to keep most of the wet and mud on the outside.

Dressed for “whatever” weather: Make sure you have a waterproof jacket, extra layers (such as fleece jackets) and walking boots or wellies. If you have the space throw in waterproof trousers, a hat and gloves just in case it rains or the temperatures drop.

A-Tents-ion: Check your tent before you go to make sure it is waterproof and has all the poles and pegs. Modern kit means there is no need to rough it so pack an inflatable mattress and a warm sleeping bag as minimum.

Live it up: Camping essentials for the modern festival goer include a camping chair, a wind up torch, a solar phone charger, disposable BBQ, solar powered shower, champagne glasses. Er, or maybe not!

On your own back: It is unlikely that you’ll be able to park your car next door to the perfect camping spot so a rucksack is the obvious solution for carrying all your kit to your pitch. You can also use a smaller rucksack for carrying all your valuables around with you while at the festival.

Ears a final tip!: Take earplugs. Even after a long day at the festival it can still be a struggle to sleep, especially if your neighbour insists on snoring or playing music in their tent.