Everyone was welcome to our monthly whole group meeting in the relaxed surroundings of the Globe Library, Stokesley, 7:30pm. The garden / allotment produce sharing table at the library was available again so we encourage people with a glut of veg or fruit to share, to bring these along or to help yourself to the fresh, local produce. We had a talk from employees of Labman about their allotment initiative and heard updates from the subgroups and plans for activities for the autumn and beyond.
Attendees: Fred, Caroline, Jenny, Kate, Pete, Joanna, Jill, Conrad, Jonny, Olivia, Barry, Derek, Helen, Bridget, David, Wendy, Simon.
1. Welcome and Introductions The group welcomed attendees, noting it was good to see everyone despite it being August.
2. Growing Food Initiatives The initial focus of the meeting was on growing food as a sustainable practice.
• Labman Allotments: Joanna reminded the group about the Labman allotments, and Olivia provided an introduction to Labman.
◦ Labman is an engineering company based in Stokesley with nearly 200 employees, specialising in custom automation for various industries (biologics, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food, …).
◦ Joanna recently joined the steering group, aiming to increase the company’s involvement with Climate Action Stokesley and Villages.
◦ Sustainability and community engagement are strong elements of Labman’s culture. They implement extensive recycling, reuse packaging, and have built efficient HVAC systems.
◦ Labman has allotments and fruit trees on site, promoting staff wellness through growing food. Produce is shared among staff, from directors to cleaners.
◦ They are developing a new pond for water collection due to recent flooding concerns.
◦ Labman encourages staff to reduce food miles by growing their own food.
• Individual Growing Stories: Members shared their experiences.
◦ One member discussed difficulties with planting figs and the need to cut back overgrown plants.
◦ Another member, mentioned their success with perennials, specifically spiky plants, which are doing well this year.
◦ The likely loss of allotments in Great Ayton was lamented, highlighting the scarcity of allotments in the local area.
3. Upcoming Activities and Volunteer Needs The group reviewed upcoming events and the need for volunteers.
• Show Stalls:
◦ Billsdale Show: Scheduled for 30th August. Volunteers have come forward, but more are always welcome. The primary goal at these events is to engage with people and change opinions.
◦ Kildale Show: Scheduled for 6th September. Similar to Billsdale, volunteers are needed.
◦ The Billsdale Show now includes an environmental statement, stating a commitment to “tread as lightly as we can”.
◦ Stokesley Show: The group was previously refused a stall, possibly due to their waste/recycling message conflicting with the show’s waste contract. The group is reliant on a committee member to champion their involvement in such events.
◦ Action: Members were encouraged to suggest items for the stall.
• Community Action Day: Taking place on 5th September. This event will focus on providing information (e.g., energy saving, plant/food releases) rather than active campaigning. Discussion is welcome, but it is not deemed an appropriate venue for campaigns like “Profit Over Planet”.
• Summer in the Square: Scheduled for 13th September in the Town Hall square (between the toilets and town hall). Barry’s music group will be performing.
◦ The group plans to support the event by bringing climate games, such as a recycling game and a plant game.
◦ Action: Volunteers are needed to help with this event.
• Festival of Thrift: Taking place on 20th and 21st September in Billingham Town Centre.
◦ Middlesbrough Repair Cafe will likely be running an event there.
◦ Saltburn Repair Cafe is organising a lunchtime meet-up for repair cafe volunteers on the Town Green at 12:00.
• Repair Cafes: Scheduled for 20th September in Swain and 11th October locally.
4. Campaigns and Communication
• Friends of the Earth Affiliation: The group is supported by, but not formally a Friends of the Earth group, as it was initially felt the FoE name might “scare the horses”. The term “action” in the group’s name is now ironically considered “dangerous”.
• “Profit Over Planet” Campaign: Helen and Joanna were involved in this neutral campaign from Friends of the Earth, which advocates against deforestation for oil palms.
◦ Campaigning in the library led to a complaint from someone who feared receiving a letter from Rishi Sunak.
◦ Action: The importance of circulating emails more widely to inform members of activities was highlighted.
◦ It was noted that mixing campaigning issues with activities like Repair Cafes can be difficult.
5. Environmental Issues: Waste and Nature
• Nature Recovery Strategy: The strategy is not very active, and there is concern about the lack of baseline data for the audit process, which is supposed to happen every three years.
• River Waste: A discussion on the amount of waste in rivers and its potential impact on wildlife, such as seals in the Tees, took place.
◦ The effectiveness of international conventions and national regulations was questioned, noting compromises at each stage that dilute scientific logic.
• Allerton Park Incinerator: This remains an ongoing concern.
◦ Green councillors from North Yorkshire highlighted that the incinerator has breached its environmental permits 69 times over four years.
◦ It was also fined for not meeting its recycling rate target (aiming for 3%, achieving around 1%).
◦ There was a discussion regarding whether the incinerator stops operations immediately when a breach occurs and its capacity to cope with waste backups.
◦ The need to focus on waste reduction rather than relying on incineration was stressed.
• New Recycling Bins: The local area will receive an additional bin specifically for glass, replacing the previous method of putting glass in the glass box.
◦ North Yorkshire has a contract with Allerton Waste Park until 2043 that includes food waste for biogas, meaning local residents will not be getting food waste collection bins. This is seen as a “slightly bizarre” dispensation.
◦ Action: Members were encouraged to continue campaigning with MPs and councillors for better waste systems that go beyond mere revenue streams.
• Soft Plastics: Supermarkets are increasingly taking back soft plastics for recycling, an example of extended producer responsibility. However, the recycling of polyethylene often results in “downcycling” to lower-value products.
• Recycling at Stalls: The aim at show stalls is to raise awareness about recycling, even if items like dirty pizza boxes cannot be recycled at the event itself, encouraging people to think about their waste.
• Sustainable Banking: Briefly mentioned as an area of interest.
• Politics and Recycling: A comment from a council leader about improving recycling by 7% was discussed, with the sentiment that “politics wins over common sense”. Observations were made that while some local councillors are very knowledgeable about climate change, their actions are often constrained by their perception of the electorate’s views.
6. Transport Initiatives
• Bike Bus: Barry presented an initiative to start a bike bus in Guisborough.
◦ Consideration is being given to 20 mph speed limits in certain areas, with data currently being analysed for suitable spots.
◦ The focus is on one specific school, with a target start date of 19th September. The intention is to gather as many names as possible to present to the school for planning.
◦ This initiative is intended to be parent-led, as schools already have many responsibilities. Parents will volunteer as guides, often making noise and playing music.
◦ The bike bus can boost children’s confidence and conveys a message of sustainability. A classic route from public housing to the primary school is being considered.
◦ The group is making connections with a successful bike bus programme in Glasgow, which has full local authority support and even uses a handheld gadget to change traffic. Glasgow runs webinars and hosted an international meeting of bike buses in Barcelona, indicating its growing popularity.
◦ Action: Gather names for the bike bus initiative by 19th September.
7. Any Other Business
• Apples: A query was raised about what to do with apples. The suggestion was made to take them to an apple press, and there was a firm stance against burning them.
8. Close of Meeting The meeting concluded after 9:00 PM, with a final message against burning, particularly on the moors.
Climate Action Stokesley and Villages 