CASaV Update – January 2025

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Welcome to January’s Update from Climate Action Stokesley & Villages

Wishing you a very Happy New Year and thank you for your role in taking urgent action globally and locally on climate breakdown and biodiversity loss.

This month we have a wealth of ideas and activities to help you if you’ve made New Year’s resolutions to do more for biodiversity (tree planting), to learn a new sustainable craft (Osmotherley Mending Group), to learn hands on gardening skills (Yatton House Community Garden working party), to make your possessions last longer (Repair Cafe), to get out and meet more like minded people (all of our events!)

Action all!!

Please complete the online survey exploring the impact of our group

– closing date January 10th

As we start 2025 planning ahead for a year of events, activities and actions by CASaV, it is a useful time to assess if we are meeting our goals of making a tangible impact. Having been in existence for just over five years we have commissioned an assessment of our impact in the local community so far. This will be conducted by CaVCA (Coast and Vale Community Action) with funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund North Yorkshire. The findings will help us shape the actions we take over the coming years to tackle and adapt to climate change locally.

Please help us by completing this short online questionnaire – CASaV Impact Survey

The survey has 10 main questions and should only take up to five minutes to complete. The survey is anonymous and the data collected will be used only for the purpose of assessing the impact of Climate Action and Stokesley and Villages.

The survey will close on Friday 10th January.

As part of the study David Stone, from CaVCA, will also be undertaking some individual interviews with stakeholders and holding a focus group of CASaV members in December/January. He will then produce a report for us in February

Diary dates

(details of all events below in Newsletter section)

  • Tuesday 21st January 19.30 – 21.00 Whole Group Meeting, the Globe Community Library, Stokesley
  • Wednesday 1st – Friday 31st January ‘Veganuary’
  • Tuesday 7th January – Friday 14th February Big Schools’ Birdwatch
  • Tuesdays 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th January 14.00 – 16.00 Osmotherley Mending Group, Quaker Meeting House, Osmotherley
  • Sunday 12th January 10.00 – 12.00, 13.00 – 15.00 Tree Planting, Faceby
  • Tuesday 14th January 19.00 Waste Group (incl Repair Cafe) Meeting & Wassail Gathering in Swainby (see Waste Group section below)
  • Tuesday 14th January 13.30 – 15.00 Yatton House Community Garden Working Party
  • Wednesday 15th January 19.30 Environment Climate Osmotherley Group meeting, Methodist Chapel, Osmotherley
  • Thursday 16th January 15.30 Nature Group meeting, the Globe Community Library (see Nature Group section below)
  • Saturday 18th January 10.00-12.00 Repair Cafe, Swainby Village Hall
  • Friday 24th – Sunday 26th January Big Garden Birdwatch
  • Thursday 30th January 19.00 Food Group Meeting by zoom (see Food Group section below)

Newsletter

Our online newsletter / magazine focuses on our group’s values and purpose, summed up by our motto ‘Think global, act local’, beginning with global / national / county issues including ways in which you can influence policy, followed by local news and activities you can participate in that develop our relationship with the environment and fight climate change and biodiversity loss.  

“Think global”

Veganuary

Veganuary has inspired and supported millions of people to try vegan since 2014 – with participants from almost every country in the world.

At CASaV we are interested in the impact veganism can have in reducing the impact of climate change for example:

  • Reducing carbon footprint: A vegan diet can reduce an individual’s annual carbon footprint by up to 2.1 tons.
  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: A vegan diet can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are a major contributor to climate change:

For more information see here: veganuary

Tuesday 7th January – Friday 14th February Big Schools’ Birdwatch

Getting out in nature is good for our well-being and gathering data on the state of nature is good for the well-being of the planet. Big Schools’ Birdwatch is a great way to do both. If you are a school pupil, or are connected to any of our local schools – junior and secondary – find out how you can join thousands of other schools to find out which birds visit your school grounds. More information here: big-schools-birdwatch

Friday 24th – Sunday 26th January Big Garden Birdwatch

Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people who care about wildlife take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring.

The information gathered is essential for monitoring biodiversity. Across the UK, over 600,000 people took part in Big Garden Birdwatch 2024, counting 9.7 million birds. House Sparrows took the top spot, but counts of these birds are down by 60% compared to the first Birdwatch in 1979.

It is hugely concerning that we’ve lost 38 million birds from UK skies in the last 60 years. With birds facing so many challenges, it’s more important than ever to get involved in the Birdwatch. Every bird you do – or don’t – count will give us a valuable insight into how garden birds are faring.

Find out how to take part here:

big-garden-birdwatch

Global Plastics Treaty 2024 UN Negotiations – outcome

Plastics are key materials in innovation and for helping us reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change. Our everyday lives rely on plastics, but any plastic waste in the environment is unacceptable. While plastics have had a history of innovation, particularly in supporting areas like healthcare and food preservation, plastic pollution is a growing crisis.

The Global Plastics Treaty is a legally binding instrument that aims to address the negative effects of plastic pollution on the environment and human health.The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) took place in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 25 November to 1 December 2024.

The talks aimed to finalise a Global Plastics Treaty but concluded without a formal decision.

A resumed meeting will now be held at a later date. This means that member states did not meet the ambition under the UNEA 5.2 mandate to deliver a treaty before the end of 2024.

Talks are continuing but while we wait for global and national decisions we can take action ourselves locally and individually – see the Plastics Free Communities information in the Waste section below.

“Act Local”

This month’s local activities and ideas from our focus groups (Nature, Food, Waste, Energy, Transport) to address biodiversity loss and fight climate breakdown

Tuesday 21st January 19.30 Whole Group Meeting

Globe Community Library, Stokesley

We start 2025 with planning for another year of our whole group’s activities and actions at our whole group meeting on Tuesday 21st January at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley from 19.30 until 21.00.

All welcome to come together to share thoughts on all things climate change and biodiversity loss, updates from the sub groups.

We’re a friendly bunch and we welcome everyone!

New Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission website and video

The new website for the Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission is now live. This is the new home for the Commissions research, projects, news, events, case studies and publications, as well as an overview of how the Commission is working to tackle the climate and nature crises. There’s also lots of information about how you can get involved in the Commission and how you can play your part.

The new website makes finding out about the 60 actions in the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Action Plan easy, with an interactive preview showing specific actions for different sectors, as well as case studies of work already happening.

Take a look at the online Climate Action Plan here: climate-action-plan

Tuesday 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th January 14.00 – 16.00 Osmotherley Mending Group – Osmotherley Quakers Meeting House

The weekly creative and sustainable community activity organised by ECO (Environment Climate Osmotherley) starts again for the new year. Meet for coffee, cake & conversation with knitting, crochet, darning & sewing, an opportunity to share your skills with experienced & novice friends. Check the ECO group on social media for any updates.

Sunday 12th January 10.00 – 12.00 & 13.00 – 15.00 Tree Planting Day, Faceby

Planting trees can have a significant impact on climate change and biodiversity, including:

Climate change – Trees are effective at capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. This carbon is stored in the leaves, roots, and soil of the tree, and can remain locked up for centuries. Trees can also help reduce flooding by reducing the amount of rainwater that enters watercourses.

Biodiversity – Planting trees can help re-establish biodiversity by creating habitats and corridors that help wildlife spread.

To help improve local biodiversity, the Loftus family are holding a tree planting day on Sunday 12th January, aiming to plant 200 native trees round some new ponds in Faceby, all are invited to help. Tree planting will be taking place in the morning from 10am – 12 noon in the afternoon from 1pm – 3pm, weather permitting.

To keep everyone warm there will be homemade soup and bread provided at lunchtime!

If you would like to help please contact Caryn for details

Tuesday 14th January 13.30 – 15.00 Yatton House Community Garden Working Party

(Image: winter catkins at Yatton House Community Garden)

The monthly working party in the Yatton House Community Garden will be on Tuesday 14th January (2nd Tuesday of the month) from 1:30 – 3:00 pm.  

Following a visit to Marwood C of E Infant School in Great Ayton, we will be looking at the ideas the children have suggested for the garden. Cleveland Mountain Rescue are kindly donating some of the proceeds from their Santa Sleigh Tour of the village towards making the children’s ideas a reality.

All welcome to come and help or just sit and watch.

Saturday 18th January 10.00-12.00 Repair Cafe, Swainby Village Hall

Start the new year with good intentions to reduce waste going to landfill or incineration and protect the earth’s natural resources whilst saving yourself the cost of buying new and keeping your treasured belongings in use for longer by coming along to our January Repair Cafe casav.uk/repaircafe on Saturday 18th January 10 – 12 at Swainby Village Hall.

As always, our pink T shirted repair volunteers will be eager to fix your household items – clothing & textiles, electrical appliances, wooden furniture, toys & bikes, laptops & mobile phones, blades needing sharpening – as well as giving you hands on demonstrations to encourage us all to extend the life of things we own.

As usual, through coming to the Repair Cafe you can save yourself money, the earth’s resources and prevent climate damaging gases from waste going to incineration or landfill. On average, we manage to fix 70% of items, give advice on possible repair steps for 20% and how best to recycle the 10% that are sadly beyond repair (statistics). But 100% of attendees are offered free refreshments of tea, coffee or juice as well as cakes and biscuits and a great opportunity to chat with friendly, like minded people.

This month’s free refreshments include Fair Trade beverages and home made sweet treats (including vegan!) made with Fair Trade ingredients, kindly donated by Stokesley Co-op.

New repair and reception volunteers always welcome – come along, have a cuppa and a chat or email Simon Gibbon.

Ideas & news from the groups

1. Nature Group

Nature Group meeting: Thursday 16th January 15.30, Globe Community Library, Stokesley Contact Bridget for information

The next Nature group meeting will be held in the Globe Library on Thursday 16th January at 3.30pm. Come and join us to find out what we are doing locally for biodiversity and spreading the climate action message.

Heather burning: Community Earth Project

The Community Earth Project (CEP) based in the Esk Valley on the North York Moors is trying to collect data across the North York Moors for particulate matter (PM) levels during heather burning events. PMs are known carcinogens as are associated chemicals in smoke from burning organic matter. CEP is installing  sensors which will contribute to the sensor.community database of global air quality measurement and hopefully will be used to increase awareness of the health issues caused by moor burning. You can see the local measurements here.

CEP is looking for people who would be prepared to ‘host’ a PM sensor to monitor this year’s burning season. For more information contact cep.nature.recovery@gmail.com

2. Ideas from the groups: Food Group

Meetings bimonthly, next meeting Thursday 30 January 7pm at 19.00 by zoom contact Wendy for a link to join

Growing Your own: January Tips of the Month

Try and resist the temptation to sow seeds early. The seedlings may need to be planted out before soil and air temperatures are suitable.

But you can get growing microgreens inside on your window sill –  microgreens are vegetables that are harvested when they are about one to three inches tall, soon after the first adult leaves have developed. They are high in nutrients and a great way to grow your own fresh food in winter.

Choose the right seed – Mustard greens and other brassicas, like broccoli and kale, are good choices for winter microgreens because they are robust and don’t need much light.

Prepare the seeds – Soaking seeds overnight can speed up germination, but it’s not required.

Prepare the container – Use a small seed tray or a recycled food tub. Sterilize the tray by soaking it in water with a little bleach for five minutes.

Plant the seeds – Sow the seeds thickly, with a space between each seed equal to the size of the seed.

Provide the right conditions – Place the container in a warm windowsill to germinate.

Love Food, Hate Waste

Love Food, Hate Waste are looking for your food saving success stories to shout about. If you have savvy shopping habits – like writing an epic shopping list or only buying loose fruits and veggies, they would love to hear from you: lovefoodhatewaste

Foodshare: surplus food prevented from going to waste and helping those in need

Foodshare is a joint initiative by the Food and Waste groups and is organised by Jenny. EVERY evening at 9pm a Volunteer collects surplus food from the Ayton Coop and Premier supermarket and both Stokesley Coops and takes it to various distribution centres (often in Middlesbrough) such as Nitelight (for homeless) for use/distribution amongst those in need. This is fresh food such as fruit, veg and bread, NOT the tins and dried food that are needed by Food Banks.

Foodshare collects 40 – 60 kilos of food each day with a value of approx £250. This is £78,000 worth in a year!

Jenny is always keen to recruit more volunteers to support the foodshare so if you feel this is something with which you could help, please contact Jenny here Jenny Earle.

January Seasonal Eating

Eating food in season (local as far as possible) can have substantial positive impact on climate breakdown by reducing high-energy input from artificial heating or lighting needed to produce crops out of the natural growing season.

Seasonal eating

How to eat seasonally

Fruit and vegetables in season in January include

apples, beetroot, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chicory, horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, parsnips, pears, potatoes, salsify, shallots, swede, turnips

3. Ideas from the groups: Waste

This month’s Waste Group (including Repair Cafe) Meeting / Wassail Gathering Tuesday 14th January December 7.00pm CASaV in Swainby – contact Simon Gibbon for address and to let us know you are coming

After the Christmas rush is over, the Waste Group / Repair Cafe is having their January meeting as a Wassail Gathering in Swainby. All are warmly welcomed to raise a glass of fortified apple wassail, feast on sweet and savoury nibbles and reflect on all things waste reduction and repair cafes.

Please let Simon know if you are able to come.

One Change for 2025

As 2025 starts we are all thinking about things we can do differently. On 1st January the Daily Difference email from the Carbon Almanac Network had some simple ideas, which I have added some links to CASaV resources and local/UK groups. Good to see that reducing waste is strongly represented in their list directly, but of course many of the other actions also act to reduce waste, less fossil fuels means less CO2 waste.

One change, as you think about your goals for the year ahead, consider one change you can make that supports climate change efforts. Some thought starters:

A Plastic Free Community for Stokesley & Villages?

At our November meeting Edith Reeve told us all about the Plastic Free Communities (PFC) network, created by Surfers Against Sewage to tackle plastic pollution at source – from beaches and green spaces right back to the brands and businesses that create it – read about it here.

Would you be interested in helping to set up a Plastic Free Community in Stokesley & Villages (Great Ayton, Hutton Rudby, Great Broughton & Kirby, Seamer, Swainby, Osmotherley, Picton, Rountons) to support individuals, businesses, schools and organisations work towards reducing single use plastics? If so contact Kate

Waste group events in December:

Christmas Repair Cafe & festive meal out!

December’s Christmas Repair Cafe at the Globe, Stokesley was very well attended with over 60 items in need of repair dealt with by our ever ready pink T-shirted volunteer repairing heroes and the majority were fixed to the delight and gratitude of their owners who were also treated to vegan mince pies and mulled juice.

After all their hard work the volunteers relaxed with a slap up vegan Christmas meal at the Station Coffee & Kitchen in Stokesley.

4. Ideas from the groups: Environment & Climate Osmotherley (ECO) Group

Wednesday 15th January 19.30 Environment Climate Osmotherley Group meeting, Methodist Chapel, Osmotherley

The Environment Climate Osmotherley Group continues to thrive with new events and activities to engage and inspire the local community to take steps to fight climate change and biodiversity loss.

Tuesdays 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th January 14.00 – 16.00 Osmotherley Mending Group, Quaker Meeting House, Osmotherley

The weekly Mending Group has been bringing together skilled enthusiasts and enthusiastic beginners with darning, felting and knitting skills being shared and perfected, saving resources from going to waste and making loved items last longer.

Signing off

If you have any news or any event / activity you would like promoting on next month’s (February‘s) update please email Kate Gibbon by the end of January

Kate also helps promote activities via Facebook and Instagram so let her know if there is anything that you would like shared via our Facebook page and Instagram if you are not a Facebook / Instagram user.

Don’t forget to complete our online impact survey by January 10th!

Link here: CASaV online survey

Hope to see you at the whole group CASaV Christmas meeting on Tuesday 21st January 19.30 at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley

Wishing you a very Happy New Year!

Kate Gibbon,

on behalf of the Climate Action Stokesley and Villages Steering Group Steering group:

Bridget Holmstrom, Caryn Loftus, Ron Kirk, Barry Warrington and Simon Gibbon

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