Our May whole group meeting was on Tuesday 21st May, in The Globe Community Library, North Road, Stokesley, from 7:30 – 9:00 pm.
As well as hearing updates from the various sub-groups we had a discussion about the effect of recent weather on food production in the UK and the possible/probable consequences on food prices and food security planning.
Next month we are looking for help for Great Big Green Week.
Attendees: Anne, Ron, Mark, Pete, Jenny, Mike, Helen, Caryn, Derek, David, Wendy, Simon, Graham, Fred
Apologies: Kate, Rebecca
Group Updates
Energy
Wednesday 22nd May 6.00-7.30pm ‘The Energy Source Challenge in Rural Britain’ Talk,
Chapelgarth, Great Broughton
HUG2
Mike’s mother
Survey
Technical survey
Pay for replacement of night storage heater
5 night storage heaters – quote £10,000
Only £4,000 from grant
Electrics needed upgrading
YES
LEAD project
Friday 24 th May, stall on Stokesley Market
9am – 1pm
Mark away
Align should be there
Should be there with all their stuff
Anybody able to help
Tuesday 28th May 6.30pm Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD) Presentation,
Stokesley Town Hall
Mark present
Resources
For Powerpoints
Help from 6pm
Other partners will present
Help
Caryn
Pete
Helen
Mark
Bridget
David’s heat pump case study?
What happens if you haven’t got a EPC certificate
300 home surveys plus train up retrofit practioners
Impartial advice as to what is best to do
Project now launched
Letters gone out for 28th May event
Mark will follow up on people outside the included areas
Great Ayton 12th June 6.30pm
Help
Mark
Ron
David
Environment/nature
Living Leven
Meeting held
Helen able to attend part of it
Spencer and Derek attended
New person Ian – specifically on River Leven
1 year of fact finding / community engagement to produce document with plans for actions
Alison Douglas EA – citizen science
Water quality
WQ kits
Training
Regular testing
Phosphate, cond, temp, pH, ammonia
Biodiversity
Whole of catchment
River fly survey
Mud spotter survey tool – sediment runoff
Map of good and bad on river
Test above and below the sewage station
NWL saying more polluted than previously reported
NWL under pressure to clean up their act
Money between 2025 – 2030 for citizen science and extra staff to liase with farms
Increase bills
Judy
Powerpoint
Living Leven 2024-2030
Packages of work
March 2025 deadline identification of sites for major works by River Trust and parish councils
Money to make wildlife corridor from Ormesby Hall to Roseberry Topping
Farmers and Esk Valley Railway interested in being involved
Funding submissions
5 themes – mitigation, land managment soil health, industrial contamination, effluent from temporary accomodation, septic tanks, wet land creation, hedgerows, water monitor, clean up events, Leven wayside footpath
Broken down to sites where they will do physical works / surveys / farm management changes / natural flow management / minimise sedimentation
Invasive species
Plan for systematic approach
No Mow May
3 areas in Stokesley
Bumble bees energy system is very fragile – what happens in June
Esk Valley Commuinity – ARK to nature
Great Ayton flood plain meadow only cut in September
Hutton Rudby has a plan for a small area – complaints about dandelions blowing around
Monitor lots of things feeding on dandelions
Biodiversity net gain – legal duty to increase on public land
Leeds relaxed mowing schedule
Bugs Matter
40% reduction in Swifts in 10 years
Lots of weed killing in Great Ayton / Stokesley
Dales River Trust / EA – wildlife corridor from Cod Beck to the Swale
Discussion on the effect of recent weather on food production in the UK and the possible/probable consequences on food prices and food security planning.
Most rainfall in last 18months since records began
1800mm fallen
Food prices increase on top of 25% likely to be 22%
Reduced yields due to temp below 40degrees everywhere
Food security – open letter into D&S this is an issue and what are you going to do about it
We are in climate crisis
Not looking at mitigation – basically adapt to it
Will effect not just the south also the north
Woke – I can remember periods of rain
George Monbiot – meets an extremist
How do we talk to these people
Spencer’s direct experience – 40 acres
Winter wheat – contractors went in 24 hours before another field – one field 5 acres missing due to puddled rain – other field has lost 20 acres – 1st field germinated, otherwise grain rots
Look out of train windows East Coast mainline all stuble fields, nobody has managed to get in and plant it
Prices will be that much higher next year
Rishi should look down from his helicopter and see stuble fields
Google satellite images at different times of year
Will Smith?
Food prices will go up not just due to this but also Ukraine
Currently wheat up from £160 to £200 per tonne
US and Canada predicted to have a good harvest
Food
Thursday 30 th May 7.00pm Food group meeting by Zoom
Working with Quorn
2 people from Quorn at Food summit in Middlesbrough
Would like to do something with us
Charity stall doesn’t work
Cookery demonstration?
After CASaV event
Stokesley Show
6 vats around the world just in case of famine
How much land does Quorn take up
CO2 90% less than beef, 60% less than chicken
Better for health
Radio which is the best milk
More or less?
statistics one
Sliced Bread
Alternative milks
Transport
20mph
Problems with take up
EV charging point
Waste
Monday 3rd June 7.30pm ‘A Rubbish Talk’, Osmotherley Village Hall
Our Waste Our Resource – A waste strategy for England
Only £1 of aluminium reclcying from Fred per year
Zero carbon
NY Climate Coalition – new Climate Action Co-ordinator
NYCC will have a coordinator for 2 days a week – Ed Lee
More organised face
Interaction with mayor etc.
Hope to get permanent funding
NYCC either charity or CIC
Reach other groups currently not connected
NY Mayoral election
Spoke to David Skaif, Felicty, Keith, Paul
FoE hustings event
Carl Les/Greg White
Climate Strategy
No real reason as to why metrics were missing
Departmental climate pathways are still awaited
Not remit of head of department but of a sub-ordinate
Big Green Week (8 th -16 th June)
Publicity, materials and organisation for following events:
Saturday 8th June 10-12 Repair Cafe & ‘Mend in Public’ event, the Globe & town centre,
Stokesley
Saturday 8th June 9.30 & 11.30 Flower Field Tour, Ingelby Greenhow
Saturday 8th June 1.00-4.00pm CASaV stall at the Village Fair, Great Ayton
Jenny, Caryn, message to people in Great Ayton
Saturday 8th – Saturday 15th June Environment / Climate Action Displays at the Globe Stokesley, the Discovery Centre Great Ayton, the Hub Hutton Rudby, Labman Seamer
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Wednesday 12th June 6.30pm Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD) Presentation, Discovery Centre, Great Ayton
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Friday 14th June 9-12 CASaV Information Stall including LEAD promotion, Stokesley Market
Dispaly moving around – Helen
3rd Tuesday 18th June
Communication Next Time
Climate Action Stokesley and Villages 