Okehampton VR centre Immersion hosted a successful Loving Earth Project exhibition last week to raise awareness of climate change and the environment.

The exhibition, held during the May half-term, showcased 50 textile panels from the Loving Earth Project, books, and a VR underwater experience courtesy of the National Marine Aquarium.

Mark Wooding, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Central Devon, also attended as part of his election campaign to highlight the importance of tackling climate change for future generations.

He said: "They say elections are always 'about the economy …' but we need to look beyond that to the future we will leave our children and our children's children. There are some fantastic panels, some very sobering, others optimistic, all worth a visit. Given the election, I was particularly struck by one panel that urged people to vote. It recognises that it is by changing policy we can begin to address the climate crisis.

"We need to think long term and recognise that embracing 'green' technologies and renewable energy sources can give a real boost to the country's economy and benefit our planet. The exhibition deserves to get a lot of visitors."

The Loving Earth Project is a Quaker-led initiative that began in 2019 to coincide with the COP26 summit in Glasgow. As part of the project, people across the globe create textile panels portraying their thoughts and feelings surrounding climate change. Today, over 400 of them are on tour around the world, with 50 having their permanent home in Devon.