Gloucestershire in Pics: River blessing and lavender

The longest day of the year has come and gone, but summer still has plenty to offer in Gloucestershire.

This week saw an unusual spiritual blessing, and recognition for people working to change lives through sport and education.

The lavender fields are blooming and a group of volunteers marched through the night to clear litter off the Cotswold Way.

Blessing: This week held the Blessing of the River Avon in a call for renewed environmental responsibility and action on water pollution. The blessing of the river near Tewkesbury Abbey is both spiritual and symbolic and happens after a full outdoor procession through the town.

Recognition: Two of Cheltenham Town Community Trust's long-standing team members have been marking 10 years of dedicated service. Chantelle Goldsworthy, Head of Education and Ryan Godwin, Community Coach and Premier League Primary Stars Lead, are both celebrating 10 years of working in sport and education in the county.

Help needed: Cotswold Dogs and Cats Home have launched an appeal for donations for little Reef, who was born with a severely deformed front leg and now has a large umbilical hernia that needs surgery.

Purple haze: Cotswold Lavender is now open for viewing until 6 August. The fields opened earlier than usual this year as the lavender grew so fast.

Strike a pose: We couldn't resist including this picture that came in to our weather watcher inbox this week. This dog looks to be enjoying the sunshine in St Briavels.

Litter champions: Thousands of items of rubbish have been collected following an all-night litter pick along the Cotswold Way. Volunteers collected nearly 2,000 pieces of rubbish during the 14-hour, 26-mile walk on the night of the summer solstice.

Embracing nature: Students at National Star College near Cheltenham teamed up with ecologists to find and identify the species found on their 80-acre site. The students found that hedgehogs, rabbits, deer and foxes call the college's grounds home, as well as a huge variety of insects, including many butterflies.