Two men from Cornwall are speaking up to raise awareness of the importance of community and the challenges facing our planet at a virtual festival run by the Eden Project next weekend, which explores how we can build a better future together.

Sharing a virtual stage at the Festival of Discovery with household names such as Sir David Attenborough, John Bishop and Ben Miller, Thurstan Crockett and Richard Good will be discussing their involvement in Band of Brothers, a charity working with young men involved in the criminal justice system.

Thurstan Crockett is South West Coordinator at the charity, and helped to set up its Cornwall branch six years ago. He’s gone on to mentor more than 50 young men and recruit 50 older men as mentors in a bid to promote healthy and mature masculinity, and a transition to an adulthood free of crime and full of connection, purpose and meaning.

Joining Thurstan is Richard Good, who has worked at the Eden Project for more than 20 years, and is now a strong supporter and participant in the work A Band of Brothers does, as well as founder of imaginalCollective, a social enterprise dedicated to meeting the challenges of the planet’s changes.

Thurstan said: “I was inspired to start my journey at A Band of Brothers out of my own crisis as a father and the incredible support I received from a group of men. I am passionate about

what I do because it’s incredibly healing for young men and it works - I have seen time and again the difference it makes and how important a healthy male role model is to a young man who is struggling - usually due to experiencing trauma early in his life.

“It’s so important to me to get out into the wild. I often lead mentoring or coaching sessions outside - because nature is our greatest ally and we need more balance between humanity and the natural world, which gives us so much as a species.”

The Festival of Discovery, taking place from 11 to 13 November and coinciding with COP26, is an exciting journey to explore a better future together for our planet at a three-day free event, jam-packed with speakers, panels and workshops.

The festival boasts a star-studded programme with something for all ages - from national treasure Sir David Attenborough discussing how to save the natural world with renowned academic E.O. Wilson, to actor and bestselling author Ben Miller sharing the inspiration for his magical children’s books, to Gardeners’ Question Time with BBC One’s Mark Lane and an uplifting dance work-out with influencer and personal trainer Tally Rye.

Attendees can expect expert panels on issues such as eco-gardening and slow fashion, as well as cook-alongs, upcycling workshops and even high energy work-outs and music to chill out to.

The Festival of Discovery is curated by the Eden Project Communities team, who are also responsible for the UK’s annual community celebration, The Big Lunch, made possible by The National Lottery, which saw 9 million people take part in 2021 and will be part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next year.

Tracey Robbins, Head of UK Delivery at Eden Project Communities, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be inviting Thurstan and Richard to the Festival of Discovery next weekend. Here at Eden Project Communities, we know that there are thousands of amazing people doing their bit to protect the planet by joining forces with their communities and seeing the amazing things that can happen when we work together. We can’t wait to hear some of their stories and hope that everyone attending will come away feeling inspired and motivated to get together to protect our planet.”

The Festival of Discovery will take place online on 11-13 November. Sessions are free and open to anyone via www.thefestivalofdiscovery.com, with new speakers being announced on social media via @edencommunities on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For more information, visual assets or to talk to a spokesperson contact: [email protected] / [email protected] Sign up now at www.thefestivalofdiscovery.com