VALENTINE’S Day went from red to green in Petersfield as hearts changed colour to reflect respect for the planet.
From February 10 to 15, Cloisters Café in The Square hosted a display of green hearts crafted by members of the five Women’s Institutes in the Petersfield Villages group, the Crossover Youth Centre in Liss and a variety of individuals.
A green heart is the symbol of the national Show The Love environmental campaign which was launched by The Climate Coalition in February 2018 and is backed by the Women’s Institute.
The charity aims to push MPs towards persuading the government to invest in green energy and supporters wear green hearts on St Valentine’s Day to show they care about the future of Earth.
Supporters Liz and Peter Bisset handed out green heart badges to members of the public in The Square and asked them to do something to reduce their carbon footprint.
They received 36 written pledges plus quite a few spoken ones.
These included walking and cycling more, driving and flying less, turning off lights, turning down heating, switching off office computers after work hours, growing vegetables organically without pesticides, eating less meat and dairy products, reducing food waste, buying less wrapped food, picking up litter and planting more trees.
Liz also encouraged people to find new uses for old things. Supporter Catriona Cockburn said: “Liz Bisset organised an excellent upcycling workshop on Saturday from 2pm to 6pm at St Peter’s Church Hall.
“It was a time of learning to make mittens, hats and slippers from felted jumpers.
“A great afternoon was had by all.”