KELVINGROVE Art Gallery and Museum invited visitors to travel back in time to 1988 with the launch of an exhibition celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Glasgow Garden Festival.

Let Glasgow Flourish will run from April 20 to 30 with displays of memorabilia from the Garden Festival, as well as a look back at highlights such as Oor Wullie’s Garden and the Mctaggart and Mickel Broom Milk Bar.

It will also consider how the festival changed Glasgow’s attitude to greenspaces and look at how environmental issues could influence city design in the next 30 years.

Fiona Weir, from RSPB Scotland, said: “It’s amazing to think that it’s been 30 years since that hot hot summer of 1988, when over four million people came to Glasgow to visit the Garden Festival.

"It’s fantastic to look back and think about how much it changed for the city, not only how it was seen, but also how it started to see itself.

“This was a garden festival - though most people probably remember the roller coaster most of all - and thirty years on, it’s so rewarding to look around Glasgow and see how that green legacy remains, with gardens, parks and community greenspaces still playing such an important part in city life.

"It’s great to be a part of that ongoing story.”

A range of walks and themed activities for families also ran in Kelvingrove Museum and Park throughout the weekend, including face painting, seed bomb making and bag printing.

The exhibition is being run by RSPB Scotland and Glasgow City Council and launches this year’s Glasgow Wildlife Garden Festival, a summer of events and activities focused on the city’s wildlife and greenspaces.

The Glasgow Wildlife Garden Festival, now in its fifth year, involves more than 40 community groups, organisations and charities, which will be running a variety of events from now until September.

These include art installations, wildlife walks and workshops, community fetes, and citizen science activities, and will take place in all sizes of green spaces from community pocket gardens, stalled spaces, back courts, church yards, schools grounds and parks.

The main events will run in May and June, with each weekend focusing on a different area of Glasgow: east May 12 and 13, west ay, south May 26 and 27 and north June 2 and 3.

Councillor Anna Richardson, City Convener for Sustainability and Carbon Reduction at Glasgow City Council, said: “We are very excited to be working in partnership with the RSPB for this year’s special Wildlife Garden Festival.

"This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Glasgow Garden Festival and we want to do something special that would fit the occasion and engage communities across the city.

“There are a number of events from activities, talks and workshops taking place over the coming weeks and months, highlighting Glasgow’s natural assets.

"These events are a great way for people to learn about the nature that exists in our city’s parks and gardens, as well as encouraging them to do their bit to protect Glasgow’s varied and interesting natural resources.

“I really hope to see as many people as possible joining in the celebrations that are planned across the city over the next few months.”

The Glasgow Wildlife Garden Festival is a collaborative effort between RSPB Scotland, Glasgow City Council, community groups and gardens.

The festival is part of Giving Nature a Home in Glasgow, an RSPB Scotland initiative which aims to re-connect people with Glasgow’s urban green spaces and encourage everyone to create more homes for nature.

For more information, visit: www.glasgowwildfest.org