H.ENERGY is back with its bid to make Herefordshire a greener county.

The annual county-wide festival will celebrate the latest in sustainable living, from locally sourced food to energy saving eco homes.

Almost 60 free events will take place over the three-day festival which runs from October 2 to October 4, although pre-festival events are already happening around the county.

Kate Gathercole, from New Leaf, the coordinator of h.Energy 2015, said: "This is a chance to find out more about the inspiring ideas, opportunities and technologies developing around Herefordshire. Most h.Energy events are free, and many are great fun for families – with lots of hands-on activities."

The event is sponsored by Oakwrights and Wye Valley Brewery, which has developed official h.Energy beer Dorothy Goodbody's Harvest Hop.

Another of the weekend’s highlights will be the Queenswood Autumn Festival on Saturday October 3 where there will be guided walks, family woodland activities, stalls and seasonal food.

Nationally respected British science writer and broadcaster Colin Tudge, founder of The College for Real Farming and Food Culture, will be joining an inspirational group of local speakers to present a series of talks as part of the event.

Other inspirational speakers making the trip to Herefordshire for this year’s h.Energy include Diana Morgan-Hill who will be exploring her personal story of change with Hay Festival’s Andy Fryers, respected economist and ‘master at joined-up progressive thinking' Andrew Simms, and Simon Fairlie, editor of The Land magazine.

There will also be woodland and community events, bus tours and cycle rides around local eco-homes, energy saving businesses showcasing new ideas, clothes swaps, repair cafés and local growing events.

"The ultimate objective of h.Energy is to demonstrate that using renewable local resources, avoiding waste and reducing our energy bills is just common sense," added Ms Gathercole.

"We also hope that the week will bring people together – to have fun and share information and ideas. Some say that our county story is already changing. This is an opportunity to celebrate Herefordshire’s inventive and generous local people who are leading the way on rural sustainability."

The full map of events is available online at herefordshirenewleaf.org.uk/h.Energy along with event details, directions and booking.