Welcome to harvest time and September’s Update
If you’re fortunate enough to have fruit trees on an allotment or garden, this will be a busy time gathering in all those apples, pears and plums. If not you should find local, seasonal fruit at their best and at their most economic in our local green grocers. CASaV are running some apple pressing sessions so you can turn your lovely apples into juice – see below.
What’s Going On – news and events
CASaV Monthly Meeting Tuesday September 19th 7.30-9pm
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This month’s meeting will be on Tuesday September 19th at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley 7.30-8.30pm, all are welcome to join in our discussions about climate change and help plan our activities.
Apologies, we had to cancel last month’s meeting (August) at short notice but we hope you can make it along to this month’s get together at which we will have a chance to discuss the work of the various sub-groups.
Brighten Up Great Ayton group
Incredible edibles – There has been a fantastic crop of autumn raspberries in the community garden at Great Ayton Village Hall this year. Come and pick your own!
Herbs have also been doing well at the village hall and Great Ayton station.
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We’re now looking forward to picking the Discovery apples in Yatton House Community Garden – more details below.
Rake a meadow – come and get some exercise, without having to pay for gym membership, on the afternoon of Sunday 17th September. The Brighten Up Great Ayton (BUG) group, with support from botanist Martin Allen, will be raking and removing part of the summer’s growth in the floodplain meadow in Great Ayton. This will reduce the fertility to enable a wider variety of plants to grow.
If you would like to join the raking party in the meadow or are interested in helping the BUG group either on a regular or occasional basis then contact Caryn
Apple pressing
Have you got loads of apples on your trees, have cooked all the crumbles you can face and now wondering how to make the most of your harvest? CASaV have an electric apple scratter to chop up the apples and hydropress to cope with large quantities of apples at a time. We have planned two public apple pressing sessions this year:
- Friday 22nd September, Yatton House, Great Ayton between 1pm and 3pm.
- Sunday 5th November, Faceby between 10am and 3pm.
To book a slot, email CASaV or phone 0777 3048250. There is a suggested contribution of £5 per slot to cover costs and you will need to bring your own bottles.
New energy project
CASaV will be playing a small part in a new scheme to stimulate demand for energy efficiency measures in homes across North Yorkshire which has been awarded £1.2 million. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has given £900,000 and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund £300,000.
North Yorkshire County Council’s recent press release said:
“The Local Energy Advice Demonstrators (LEAD) project will be piloted in seven neighbourhoods around the towns of Stokesley, Harrogate, Pickering, Skipton and Selby. Led by ourselves, the scheme will focus on specific streets, villages and neighbourhoods where studies have highlighted priority areas and where interest in tackling climate change through retrofitted schemes has been shown.
Households in these pilot areas will be offered a free ‘whole house plan’ – a survey of their homes with advice on what would be needed to make them more energy efficient, such as new windows and doors, or cavity wall and loft insulation.
About 325 plans will be facilitated through the project, comprising in-house assessments, whole house plan development in collaboration with the householder, and elements of design work, leaving the resident with a clear plan of action and next steps to implement their retrofit project. This scheme, which will be delivered in partnership with Align Property Partners, climate action groups across the county and the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, is benefitting from cash from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero’s North-East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for North Yorkshire. Community groups are seen as the most vital partners, particularly those that have good awareness of the benefits of retrofitting, either for cost reduction or climate impact.”
Hopefully by the October Update we will have more to share about the part we will be playing.
By-election for the North Yorkshire County Council’s Hutton Rudby and Osmotherley division seat Thursday 28th September
Nominations for the Hutton Rudby and Osmotherley division seat have closed with voters going to the polls on Thursday, 28 September. Voting takes place on Thursday 28 September.
The candidates are:
- Lee Derrick – Yorkshire Party
- David Hugill – The Conservative Party Candidate
- Allan Shaw Mortimer – The Green Party candidate
- Duncan Ross Russell – Liberal Democrats
If you meet them out canvassing, ask them what they would do, if elected, to help address the climate and nature emergency at county level.
September’s Repair Cafe – Saturday 16th September 10-12 – Swainby Village Hall
This month’s Repair Cafe will be on Saturday, 16th September, 10-12 at Swainby Village Hall. One of our regulars Swainby Repair Volunteers is Magnificent Mike, picture above, Mender Maestro, who has performed mending miracles on all things ceramic, glass and almost anything glueable, most noteworthy being the three legged china horse, much loved by its owner, who was properly chuffed when Mike created a whole new leg to restore it to full stable condition.
As always the aims of the event are to reduce waste going to landfill or incineration and save the resources and energy of manufacturing new items which would otherwise contribute towards climate change alongside sharing repair skills and knowhow and encouraging people to think more sustainably about consumable items. Everyone is very welcome to bring along household items in need of repair – computers, mobile phones, electrical items, clothing & textiles, ceramics & glass, wooden items, all blades in need of sharpening including gardening tools – and our friendly pink T shirted repairers will aim to restore your items to working order or give advice if they can’t. All for free including refreshments, donations to cover costs welcomed.
Yatton House Community Garden open afternoon 22nd September
The garden is a great project that has been developed through the hard work and support of a number of partners including Brighten Up Great Ayton, Great Ayton Parish Council, CASaV and local Rotary Groups. Come and have a look at the progress made so far in the Yatton House Community Garden on Friday 22nd September between 1 and 4pm. Whilst there, sample some of the delicious apple juice freshly pressed from the Yatton House orchard apples. The Community Garden is being created in an old allotment for the enjoyment of residents and visitors to Great Ayton. So far, fruit bushes have been planted, herb and flower beds created and an area prepared for a sensory bed. If you are interested in bringing a group to the garden or volunteering contact admin@yattonhouse.org.uk, call in at Yatton House during working hours or go to Yatton House website .
Help our hedgerows – consultation until 20th September
Hedgerows are important ecological building blocks across our landscapes. They provide habitat, act as wildlife corridors, slow soil erosion and water run-off, support crop pollinators and sequester carbon.
DEFRA is running a consultation around the support provided to farmers for the maintenance of hedgerows. The consultation runs until 20th September. It would be great if as many of us as possible could complete the consultation.
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/legal-standards/consultation-on-protecting-hedgerows/
For peat’s sake – peatland visit being arranged
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Since 2009, the Yorkshire Peat Partnership (YPP) has been working to help restore Yorkshire’s internationally important peatlands. Sadly less than 20% of Yorkshire’s peatlands remain undamaged. Peatlands host specialist bird species such as curlews and rare plants such as cranberry and peat forming sphagnum mosses. Peatland habitats are also vital for water quality, carbon storage and to help slow down global warming. Without projects to help stop these habitats degrading we will lose a very precious resource.
The CASaV Nature group have been in contact with the YPP regarding a visit to the restored peatlands on the moors around Rosedale in December and they will confirm the date nearer the time but it would be great to have an idea who would be interested in visiting and learning more about the restored peat. Please contact Bridget Holmstrom.
Local farm visit later in September – contact to book a place
The CASaV Nature Group is also arranging a farm tour to look at environmental practices taking place there. A local farmer, based near Seamer, has very kindly offered to give this tour to a small number of people, later this month. If anyone is interested please let me know. Bridget Holmstrom
The Festival of Thrift, Billingham – 23rd & 24th September
The Waste Group is all about being thrifty, making things last and making the most from the least, so the Festival of Thrift has always been a great source of ideas for everything from food to transport, encouragement and just fun. It started in Darlington, then moved to Redcar and is now in Billingham.
In 2012 the first Festival of Thrift set out to “harness the movement of thrift by combining culture, sustainability and style” and in the process very much embracing our ethos of reduce, reuse, repair, recycle. So it was great when the Festival of Thrift got in touch with the Waste group to see if we would help with the 2023 Festival of Thrift on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September in Billingham.
We will be helping the Star and Shadow’s Fix It Cafe to carry out repairs during the festival in Billingham this year – please come along.
The Festival of Thrift is now moving to providing ongoing activities, not just the annual festivals and so we will be working with them to develop workshops to help others set up their own local repair cafes. The plan is for the first repair cafe to be associated with the Festival of Thrift will run out of their new hub in Stockton – watch this space for further details.
If you have never been to the Festival of Thrift before, you will find it like nothing you have visited before, difficult to describe, but a cross between a music festival, a country show and a maker’s show, without big bands or lots of animals, but with lots of peformances from poets to puppets, workshops from den building to making toilet cleaner, plus talks, food and stalls. You can find out all about what is going on at this year’s Festival on their website https://www.festivalofthrift.co.uk.
York Environment Week – 23rd September to 1st October
A bit further afield, the York Environment Week (YEW) 2023 is the fourth annual city-wide festival of over 60 events (8 online) aimed at showcasing and celebrating the work of environment groups active in York. You can find out all about what’s on at https://yorkenvironmentweek.org.uk
Oxfam’s Second Hand September
Take part in Oxfam’s Second Hand September and shop second hand to reduce waste, take a stance against climate change, and help create a fairer world.
What you wear has never been more important. The fashion industry is one of the worst offenders for greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, people who have done the least to cause the climate crisis are facing the very real consequences.
Shopping and donating second hand is one step we can take towards building a better, safer, fairer world.
More information here:
https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/second-hand-september/
What we’ve been up to:
Climate Action at Bilsdale Show
Members of the CASaV Waste and Food groups donned their high vis (and later waterproof!) jackets to engage the public at the Bilsdale Agricultural Show in August and the rain showers in the afternoon didn’t diminish their enthusiasm. We had been invited for a second year running to promote local action on climate change together with encouraging the public to use recycling facilities at the show and reduce waste.
Special note to Fred who entertained and informed all with his interactive recycling display.
We received this feedback from Jo, one of the show’s organisers: “It is fab to have you guys with us at the show and I hope you keep coming. Looking forward to our show next year, with you as ongoing partners. Please thank all of your team for their efforts and commitment.”
Nature Group’s Wonderful Wildflower Walk
On Wednesday August 23rd the Nature Group organised a Wildflower Walk starting from Ingleby Bank Foot, led by local botanist Anne Press. We saw over 40 different species of wildflowers. Around 12 people joined us on the walk.
On Sunday September 3rd there was an Open Air Environment Service held at All Saints church in Great Ayton.
Book of the month:
Each month the update will include a book suggestion recommended by one of our group as a good read on climate action, environment issues and living sustainably.
This month Simon, from the Waste Group, recommends ‘No Miracles Needed’ by Mark Z Jacobson. The world needs to turn away from fossil fuels and use clean, renewable sources of energy as soon as we can to avoid catastrophic climate damage. The author advocates that we can save the planet without resorting to ‘miracle’ technologies by repurposing the existing technologies that we already have to harness, store, and transmit energy from wind, water, and solar sources to ensure reliable electricity, heat supplies, and energy security.
If you have a book you would like to recommend to the group in the monthly update please contact Kate, details at the end of this update.
Updates from the groups
Food Group (site) – monthly zoom meetings, next meeting Monday September 11th at 6pm, please contact if you would like to join
News
A leaflet on eating sustainably including recipes has been produced to give out at CASAV events. It’s already been given out to much interest at the Bilsdale Agricultural Show and further leaflets will follow.
Stokesley U3A: Food, glorious food, veggie style!
Joan Sargeant has started a veggie food group with the U3A which now meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm in Stokesley Town Hall, next meeting 20th September.
This is a new group is for collaborative folks who are interested in sharing ideas, knowledge, recipes and enthusiasm for veggie style food. Maybe you already follow a vegetarian diet or you would like more ideas or information about it or maybe you’ve never tried it and you would like to give it a go. Whatever the reason, you are most welcome to be part of the group.
More information here:
https://u3asites.org.uk/stokesley/page/129414
Co-op Foodshare
CASaV’s partnership with our local Co-op stores is making sure surplus food does not go to waste but gets to those who need it most and continues under the fantastic leadership of Jenny Earle. Every evening, every week Jenny and her band of volunteers collect surplus from our local Co-op stores in Stokesley and Great Ayton and distribute it to local charities and groups for those most in need.
More volunteers to collect and distribute the surplus food are needed, even if you can only volunteer occasionally this is very useful for back up cover if one of the regular volunteers is unable to collect the food at short notice. Email us if you can spare an hour every now and then.
Waste Group (page) – monthly zoom meetings, next meeting Tuesday 12th September 7.00pm, please contact if you would like to join
Last month’s Repair Cafe took place on August 12th at Stokesley with many interesting and useful repairs taking place including a play parachute from a local toddler group! One of our new volunteer repairers, Adam, wrote about taking part in the event on his website, https://retrorepairsandrefurbs.com/2023/08/16/stokesley-villages-repair-cafe-12-08-2023/
We are always on the lookout for more volunteers so please get in touch if you are interested or want more information.
Our next Repair is on Saturday 16th September in Swainby Village Hall.
Further details here on our website.
The Refill App
The Refill App (https://www.refill.org.uk/) allows you tap into a global network of places to reduce, reuse and refill containers for drinks, food and household cleaning substances as well as getting free tap water for your reusable bottle. Anne Mannix and other CASAV members have been out and about encouraging local businesses to sign up to the refill scheme and appear on the app and there are now almost 20 locations nearby where you can refill your own containers, saving packaging and costs.
If you know any local businesses which would like to join the scheme, please get in touch.
Nature Group (page) – regular zoom meetings, please contact if you would like to join
The Nature Group arranges regular events to provide people of all ages with an opportunity to learn more about our local natural environment and find out ways in which they can help protect our endangered habitats at risk. These include wildlife walks more of which are planned in the coming months as well as site specific events like the farm tour and peatland visit mentioned above.
Energy Group
Community Retrofit Guide
The Centre for Sustainable Energy has just launched a free community retrofit guide which covers everything community groups need to get started on retrofit projects. Something our organisation could get involved in? Come along to our next monthly meeting to to discuss or email the group.
Signing off
If you have any news or any event / activity you would like promoting on next month’s (October) update including Book of the Month recommendations please email Kate Gibbon by the end of September.
Kate will also be helping promote activities via Facebook and Instagram so let her know if there is anything that you would like shared via our Facebook group or Instagram page if you are not a Facebook / Instagram user.
Hope to see you at the CASaV whole group meeting on Tuesday 19th September, 7.30 at the Globe, Stokesley
Kate Gibbon,
on behalf of the Climate Action Stokesley and Villages Steering Group Steering group:
Bridget Holmstrom, Caryn Loftus, Jack Turton, Ron Kirk and Simon Gibbon
Climate Action Stokesley and Villages 