Kisapáti is going all-in on green this summer. The Restart in Conservation Festival runs July 3–4 at Vulkán Kert to mark the 7th birthday of 10 Million Trees (10 Millió Fa), turning the Tapolca Basin, at the foot of St. George Hill (Szent György-hegy), into a two-stage, three-day hub for climate thinkers, tree planters, and culture lovers. Expect sharp talks on the next steps of the green social shift, plus concerts, films, readings, fashion, and hands-on community action. The lineup features poet-slammer Zsófi Kemény, Anima Sound System’s Zsolt Prieger, Helena Varga, Géza Röhrig, János Bárth, and many more.
Address: 8284 Kisapáti, Petőfi Street (Petőfi utca). Info and inquiries available online. Accommodation and food-and-drink options are linked with the program details.
Every adult ticket comes with a tree named for the ticket holder in the Rebirth Miyawaki mini-forest. The site for this dense, native micro-forest will be prepared together during the festival; planting happens in autumn.
Who’s Speaking
Climate scientist Diána Ürge-Vorsatz and ecologist András Takács-Sánta, author of Beginning of the World (Világeleje), join voices with WWF forest program lead László Gálhidy; Budapest’s BKM Főkert leaders Péter Dezsényi and Zoltán Bajor; Keszthely mayor Gergely Tóth; nature filmmaker Balázs Szendőfi; activist László Kulcsár – Green Guerrilla (Zöld Gerilla); and representatives from the Watershed Movement (Vízválasztó Mozgalom), Water Keepers (Vízőrzők), Water Coalition (Vízkoalíció), and Balaton Uplands National Park.
What’s on the Agenda
Across July 3–4, expect deep dives into how we talk about the climate crisis, the future of water retention, renewing forest functions, and urban climate adaptation, including the much-hyped Miyawaki method for pocket forests.
Friday, July 3, leans into connections and icebreaking. The theme: The best questions are born over a spritzer. From 1:00 p.m., sessions explore Nature Conservation and the Psyche with Kati Réthy (healing gardens) and Tibor Weiner-Sennyei, the beekeeper-poet behind the Garden Hungary (Kertmagyarország) concept. Then Gen Z’s social role with Olga Körner (Planet, Bolygó), Balázs Csury (Liget Workshop, Liget Műhely), and organizer Mátyás Révai from the Ministry for Rural Development, moderated by human ecologist Emese Kovács-Bagoly. A heavyweight panel on movement-building follows with András Kádár (Jane Goodall Institute), László Gálhidy (WWF, 10 Million Trees), Csaba Lajtmann (Reflex Environmental Association), Zoltán Bajor (Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society, MME), and Ákos Klein (Barn Owl Protection Foundation), moderated by Franciska Hervai (10 Million Trees). The day closes with a candid question: Can we still speak hopefully about tackling climate breakdown? Ürge-Vorsatz and Takács-Sánta join Ákos Éger (National Society of Conservationists), moderated by writer-curator Iván András Bojár (10 Million Trees).
Culture, Nonstop
All day: Márton Kállai’s Methuselahs (Matuzsálemek) photo exhibition and the Romani Design exhibition and shop. Evening brings Zsófi Kemény’s live-music stand-up, a Barn Cinema (Pajtamozi) screening of a Balázs Szendőfi documentary, Bojár’s musical reading, János Bárth’s “scholar beat” and Tamás Cseh songs, then a late-night playlist by Dávid Hervai with METU short films on the screens.
Saturday: Understand Everything
Saturday, July 4, starts at 10:00 a.m. with Updates in Hungarian Nature Conservation; then Miyawakis—Forest Patches for City Gardens; The Basis of Everything: Water; Renewing Forest Functions—Propagation and Preservation; Urban Climate Adaptation Experiments—Options for Municipalities; and Expertise Meets Decision-Making: Is There Common Ground?
All day: Methuselahs photos, Romani Design pop-up, and a Muddy Nursery playhouse for kids. Rain Dances with the Water Keepers (Vízőrzők) pop up at random. Family programming includes Trilla Manó and the Pebble Company’s (Kavics Társulat) fairy-tale show; a deep dive into Romani Design’s socio-cultural mission; a Barn Cinema screening of Áron Gauder’s Four Souls of Coyote (Kojot négy lelke); Géza Röhrig reading from his upcoming novel; Zsolt Prieger and Bori Magyar’s The Legend of Antal Szerb (Szerb Antal legendája); and a Helena Varga concert before another Hervai playlist into the small hours.
Tickets and Perks
Adult 3-day: $41.60. Adult 1-day: $22.20. Family 3-day (max. 2 adults, any number of students and kids): $55.40. Family 1-day: $36.00. Student: $11.10 flat. Kids under 12: free. Supporter ticket: $138.40. Every adult ticket includes a named tree in the Miyawaki mini-forest.
Meet at Vulkán Kert, at the foot of St. George Hill (Szent György-hegy). July 3–4, Kisapáti.
