Turn The Tide - is a registered Community Interest Company. We are run by volunteers and are not allowed to make a profit. We promote care for our marine environment, seaside locations and waterways, and also wellbeing. More widely, we embrace the concept of healthy planet, healthy people. We organised a one day festival for the first time on 2nd June 2022 in Dawlish as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. Following very positive feedback, we organised a second event on 29th May 2023. Our aim is to organise a similar main event annually, and other events and projects that complement our objectives. For information about the May 2023 event, see here.

Look out for news about 2024 - June 7th, 8th and 9th!

In partnership with Dawlish Town Council we put on three days of events in 2024 - all free to attend! 

Friday 7th a world premiere performance of Whose Wild World, from Troubadour Theatre.

Saturday 8th, World Oceans Day and the start of Great Big Green Week, centred around our core Turn the Tide commitments to address climate change, our coastal location and the environment.

Sunday 9th, a day celebrating community action, physical and mental well-being.

We involve schools, youth groups and libraries in creative, environmentally-themed activities throughout the year. We also engage with and consult other relevant organisations and invite commercial and community premises to hold events that contain a marine, coastal, environmental or wellbeing theme. 

Our Values for our annual festival:

That it is free to all members of the public to attend.

That it is fun.

The day has an educational element for both children and adults.

That it embraces both sustainable lifestyles and organisations and businesses which help promote environmentally attuned products and services.

It is non-political.

The event is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among all participants and eliminating discrimination.

About us/who we are –

Our first event would not have happened without the support of Dawlish Town Council and resources available through them. In order to run and safeguard future events, we formed Turn the Tide Teignbridge Community Interest Company (CIC). We are members of Community Action Groups Devon

Dave ran an organic smallholding in Cornwall in the 1970s. After a career in education, he now has more time to devote to his love of nature. A founder member of Dawlish Against Plastic and a volunteer Wildlife Warden with Action on Climate in Teignbridge, Dave is passionate about the environment and how it can impact positively or negatively on our wellbeing. In 2022, with Scott Williams, Dave organised the first Turn the Tide festival in Dawlish, which received very positive feedback.

Scott moved to the UK and settled in the South Hams with his parents as a child, and enjoyed watersports, geology, and catering. He did a Catering Management HND and worked in Hospitality before swapping his licensee as a Publican for Publishing. After creating magazines for kids, then editing a UK festivals scene website he took over the publication of Reconnect - the free Devon community magazine featuring nature, sustainability, arts, rewilding, energy, community and wellbeing. With his passionate interest in environmental activism, he became a volunteer Wildlife Warden with Action on Climate in Teignbridge. Together with Dave, Scott organised the first Turn the Tide. In June 2024, Scott was co-opted to be an independent councillor for Dawlish Town Council.

Vanessa joined the Turn the Tide team this year. She originally trained as a primary school teacher and has spent her entire career working with young people. She gradually moved towards specialising in special educational needs, particularly autism.

Vanessa has always been fascinated by nature and the environment and appreciates being able to spend free time outside in natural surroundings.

She applied to Surfers Against Sewage to be the community lead for Dawlish through their Plastic Free Communities programme and subsequently founded Dawlish Against Plastic with Dave Hutton in 2018.

Vanessa decided it was the right time to join Dave and Scott as they continue to fight for the local environment and win hearts and minds through education.

Get in touch here - info@turnthetidefestival.uk