Cultura Circular was a capacity-building programme for arts and culture festivals across Latin America and the Caribbean, delivered by Julie’s Bicycle with support from the British Council Americas. This case study highlights the work of Festival del Bosque in Mexico from the programme’s 2025-2026 cohort.
Festival del Bosque – Edición AQÜIFERA
Held annually since 2022, Festival del Bosque takes place in Chapultepec Forest, the main green lung of Mexico City. This extensive space, spanning over 800 hectares across four sections, attracts more than 20 million visitors each year, including local residents and national and international tourists. In 2026, Festival del Bosque deepened their commitment to their sustainability operations by participating in the Cultura Circular programme supported by the British Council in partnership with Julie’s Bicycle (who delivered the capacity building element)
In this imposing setting, the festival is conceived as an interspecies celebration that honours the flora and fauna inhabiting it, highlighting their importance in human lives and cultural experiences. Its main purpose is to strengthen community ties in a free, inclusive, and accessible public space for recreation and environmental education. To achieve this, its programming develops themes and activities that “foster a sense of belonging, coexistence, and ownership” of this vital space from an environmental perspective. Its close alignment with global trends positions the event as a clear benchmark in environmental responsibility for large-scale events.
The most recent edition, AQÜIFERA (AQUIFER), focused on water as the custodian of memory, an element that “connects the past, the present, and what is to come.” The message guiding the content and experiences aimed to encourage deep reflection and a change in participants’ habits regarding the conservation and responsible use of this vital element.
The scale of the Festival in numbers
Among its achievements, the festival records the realisation of more than 260 activities and the participation of almost 380,000 people. In its penultimate edition, it reached more than three million people, achieving a digital impact of 12.5 million views on social media and 350 mentions in digital media.
The AQÜIFERA edition unfolded its programme across 22 venues, offering 368 activities, including workshops, conferences, panels, concerts, theatre performances, dance, storytelling, and immersive experiences.
As a space for environmental education—a fundamental pillar of the festival—the turnout was massive: 430,518 attendees participated in 141 playful and recreational workshops on the theme (over 900 sessions), 85 conferences, talks, and panels, 17 concerts, and 11 theatre and dance performances.
All of this was possible thanks to the collaborative work with more than 30 institutions (including companies, the academic sector, and civil society organisations), dozens of artists and cultural managers, and the committed support of 80 volunteers. It is also important to highlight that this year, part of the funds raised for the Festival was invested in maintaining the fountains in Chapultepec Forest.
Sustainability: from strategy to action
According to the testimony of its organisers, the festival adopted a preventive and strategic approach, integrated into a plan aimed at minimising negative impacts, maximising environmental benefits, and providing coherence to management from start to finish. Examples of this are the following actions:
- Training and Awareness: Specialised environmental training for the staff and volunteer body, designed to guide the public toward behavioural changes and harmonious coexistence with the forest – park. This included a robust waste-separation campaign implemented in the most-visited section on event days.
- Environmental Certification: Obtaining the “Certification of Responsibility for Environmental Balance,” resulting from the diagnosis, implementation, and evaluation of the waste management plan and the zero plastics policy, managed jointly with Earthgonomic México A.C.
- Support for the local economy and better gastronomic options: Within the framework of the activity “Night Picnic with Lanterns,” support was provided to producers of the conservation area (a programme that incentivises the preservation of agricultural lands in Mexico City) so they could commercialise their products without intermediaries. This favours fair, local trade and access to diverse, seasonal, and quality food. This action was complemented by a waste collection campaign, operated with two modules and six volunteers.
- Energy Efficiency: Use of the Chapultepec Forest’s own electrical energy system, which allowed for a significant reduction in the use of light plants (generators) at the different venues.
- Material Reduction: Replacement of physical sculptures and installations with playful animation activities. The performers used “rain sticks,” glass bowls, and bubbles (made with biodegradable soap and placed in paved areas, away from green spaces), which resulted in a considerable decrease in the use and disposal of materials.
- Sustainable Communication: Use of digital channels to avoid the printing of materials and the distribution of physical flyers.
- Alternative Mobility: Promotion of public transport use to access the first section of the forest (the one with the highest attendance), along with the temporary installation of ECOBICI stations (public use bicycles) in the second section.
Reaffirming the Festival’s purpose
The Forest Festival continues to face the challenges inherent in its purpose: to contribute comprehensively to the community’s social, environmental, and economic development. Its realisation is, in itself, a powerful public campaign for environmental education and awareness. Every activity is a vital opportunity to convey the forest’s importance as both a natural and a cultural space. This is fundamental for cultivating a more environmentally conscious and responsible citizenry.
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