Welcome to August’s Update from Climate Action Stokesley & Villages
Supporting local action for a sustainable, greener and more resilient Stokesley & surrounding villages
August is a great time to get outside and relax in a garden setting, embracing the calmness and wonder of nature and feeling more connected to our beautiful but fragile environment. In our local area we are blessed with several community gardens you can access for free (including some with free garden produce to take away) and also volunteer at to learn new skills and meet like minded people. Have a look at the News section for a feature.
Diary 1: CASaV & local
Saturday 8/8 10-12 August Repair (& Reuse) Cafe – theme ‘Return to Study / the Office’, Stokesley Community Library
Tuesday 11/8 13.30 – 15.30 Yatton House Community Garden Working Party by Brighten Up Great Ayton
Tuesday 11/8 19.00 Rethinking Resources group meeting by zoom
Thursday 20/8 15.00 Nature group meeting Stokesley Community Library
Saturday 29/8 Bilsdale Agricultural show Climate Action information & engagement stall (volunteers needed – contact simongibbon)
NB No Whole group meeting this month – see below for next month’s meeting
Diary 2: Regional, National & Global (follow links)
Now – 9/8 Big Butterfly Count https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/
Monday 10 – Sunday 16/8 National Allotment Week The National Allotment Society
Looking ahead to September – info & dates for your diary
6/9 10.00- 16.00 Autumn harvest – gather fruit & nuts in Osmotherley
Free harvest courtesy of Robert Thorniley-Walker. Details in September’s Update.
14/9 17.00 Stokesley Mending Circle, Stokesley Town Hall
The Mending Circle are taking a summer break in August but will return in September so watch out for details in September’s Update.
15/9 19.30-21.00 Whole group meeting, Stokesley Community Library
Following our AGM in July there will be no whole group meeting in August. Minutes & summary of the AGM will be available in September along with details of September’s meeting.
19/9 10.00-12.00 Repair (Reuse & Recreate) Cafe – return to study & the office theme, Swainby Village Hall
All your household repairing plus give & take study & office supplies plus crafting your own notebook / journal
Newsletter
Saturday 8/8 10.00 – 12.00 Stokesley Repair (& Reuse) Cafe with focus on returning to learning, study & the office – focus on fixing office furniture & electronic & electrical equipment with a give & take table of stationery, study equipment & study books
As always, our friendly pink T-shirted volunteers will be here to fix your beloved household items – electrical appliances, toys & bikes, wooden furniture, clothing & textiles, clocks, glass & ceramics, electronic items including laptops and phones as well as sharpening household & garden blades.
This month we are looking ahead to after the holidays with many returning to learning or starting a new study interest. For our Reuse Table we invite you to bring in unwanted / surplus revision guides, study text books and factual / interest books as well stationery (pens, pencils, paper, folders, plastic wallets) so they can be given a second life by those who need them to keep useful items in circulation and out of landfill whilst conserving our planet’s limited resources.
NB No crafting this month but next month (September) the same study /learning/office theme continues and includes a Recreate Corner where you can craft your own small notebooks / journals using resources saved from waste.
Bring the whole family to get your household items fixed plus pick up items you need and relax with delicious home baked cakes and drinks. Everything is free although donations to cover costs are welcome. This is a great opportunity to meet with friendly, like minded people and learn new repair skills. New volunteers are always welcome – come along, have a cuppa and a chat or email Simon Gibbon. If you are not sure come and / or bring an item to be repaired to get a feel for the Repair Cafe.
Tuesday 11/8 13.30 – 15.30 Yatton House Community Garden Working Party with Brighten Up Great Ayton (BUG)
Members of the BUG group will be working in the garden on Tuesday 11th August, 13.30-15.00 so please pop in to say hello, give a hand and go away with some produce. The Discovery apples were starting to look good at the last working party and will probably be ready to pick. July’s board shows there are lots of butterflies enjoying the flowers in the butterfly bed and their caterpillars have enjoyed the nettles and brambles on the edge of the garden.
Saturday 29/8 9.00 – 16.00 Bilsdale Show – CASaV sustainable future information stall including hands on activities and support for recycling
The Bilsdale Agricultural Show is a very popular annual event highlighting the local farming community alongside family-friendly entertainment. This year for the first time the North York Moors Association is sponsoring their new ‘Agri-Environmental’ class, with exhibitors showing work carried out on farms to improve biodiversity. If you would like to enter, or know anyone else who might, their schedule is at https://www.bilsdaleshow.co.uk/produce
Our group is encouraged to see this new development and we are also delighted to have been invited back for our third year to have a sustainability living information and activities stall where we will be asking visitors to time travel to a greener, more sustainable future. We need volunteers to come for a morning or afternoon shift or all day if you can – please contact simongibbon
News, campaigns & subgroup updates
Visit a community garden this summer – it may grow on you!
Community gardens combat climate change by reducing food miles, sequestering carbon and mitigating the urban heat island effect. They also divert organic waste from landfills through composting and foster local, climate-resilient food systems while acting as educational hubs for sustainable living.
Fresh air, gentle movement, being surrounded by nature – and, crucially, sharing it with others – all play a part in improving mental health and wellbeing.
As well as the Yatton House Community Garden in Great Ayton, https://yattonhouse.org.uk/community-garden co-run by our sub group Brighten Up Great Ayton (see above) there are many cultivated green spaces locally where you can spend time connecting to the growing world, learning about cultivation and becoming involved as a volunteer if you wish.
The Edible Forest Garden, Middlesbrough – a community-led permaculture and nature project located at Grimston Walk, Berwick Hills TS3 7BY. Uses a natural woodland ecosystem to grow fruit trees, berries, herbs, and perennial vegetables. Weekly hands on events all year for all ages. Edible Forest garden
The Secret Garden, Northallerton – a space where both people and wildlife can flourish just off the High Street. They share sustainably grown fruit and veg with volunteers and the food bank northallerton-secret-garden
Ripon Walled Garden – once the Bishops Palace Kitchen Garden now a 4-acre community charity site that supports adults with learning disabilities while offering a peaceful public space- Ripon Walled Garden
How to Fall in Love with the Future: What if Middlesbrough
On 11th July Rob Hopkins the founder of the Transition Towns movement, took us to a 2036 for a day. Rather than focusing on small steps, this approach took us directly to where we wanted to go, offering a different way of thinking about changing the world.
Imagine stepping through a doorway into Middlesbrough in the year 2036—not a flawless, unattainable utopia, but a vibrant, living city born from the community doing absolutely everything in its power to thrive. In this reimagined future, the air smells delicious, the deafening roar of traffic has been replaced by birdsong, and the streets have been actively reclaimed for children’s play and community connection. Instead of being demolished, redundant multi-story car parks and department stores have been creatively repurposed into thriving social hubs and modern Sure Start centres, surrounded by lush, depaved school grounds that easily absorb summer heat. It is a place where locals gather for joyful community harvests where no cash changes hands, school children design their own rooftop rainforests, and an innovative “mycelium economy” builds everything from houses to clothes out of mushroom roots.
This vivid picture of tomorrow isn’t just an exercise in daydreaming; it is the vital first step in making it a reality. By pushing past our cynical “yes, but” instincts and embracing a bold “yes, and” culture of radical optimism, we can begin to cultivate “longing on a large scale,” which is the true catalyst for historical change. The workshop highlighted that our brains use the exact same neurological pathways to remember the past as they do to imagine the future, meaning that by actively picturing these thriving, sustainable communities, we are literally planting “memories of the future” into our minds. We do not have to wait for permission or for the perfect political climate; we already possess the power, the imagination, and the tools to start building a healthier, greener, and deeply connected world today.
Swifts
Common swifts are amazing summer visitors to the UK, known for their screaming parties, life in the air, and incredible migration. They arrive from Africa in May and leave by August so watch out for them now before they leave at the end of the month.
Have a look at this heart warming film about a woman, Louise Bentley who cares for swifts via the website theothertaylorswift password is swiftsanctaury123.
Butterflies
You may have noticed a lot of Painted Lady butterflies following recent hot spells. Here is a photo taken by group member Geoff Jaques. Martin Partridge, Yorkshire Branch Chair Butterfly Conservation, shared a link ( Poster_Cardui_EN.pdf ) to this beautiful poster from Catalan showing the amazing journey the butterflies take. We have recently added some Bird’s-foot Trefoil plants grown by a member of Friends of Great Ayton Station from seed provided by the North York Moors National Park, to Great Ayton Station Wild Space and the Great Ayton Floodplain meadow. This is the food plant of the Common Blue butterfly.
If you want to find out more about our local butterflies there are useful links on our Butterflies page. Please take part in the Big Butterfly Count 17th July – 9th August
Ideas and news from the groups: Brighten Up Great Ayton (BUG)
Caryn Loftus writes: I’d like to introduce Sarah Marsden, whom some of you have met at the Yatton House Community Garden, Village Hall tidy up and CASaV Nature sub-group. Sarah has agreed to help me run the Brighten Up Great Ayton group (a CASaV sub-group), which is great news. We are hoping that we will now be able to promote the work of the group a bit more and attract some more volunteers.
Sarah and I have met with Cllrs James Healy Dufosse-Belton and David Mason from Great Ayton Parish Council’s Open Spaces group to discuss the next steps for our work in the village. We will be drawing up a plan and will share it once finalised.
Village Hall garden and other areas of the village
Over the summer, we will be getting back on top of the Village Hall garden as different jobs arise such as keeping the fire exit path clear. After the holiday period we will come up with a plan for the Cook Family Memorial garden.
Ideas & news from the groups: Rethinking Resources (Not the Time to Waste) including Repair (Reuse & Recreate) Cafe
This subgroup focuses on Rethinking Resources: rethinking & reducing consumption; repairing, repurposing and recycling materials that might otherwise go to landfill or incineration. Please join us at this month’s zoom meeting on Tuesday 11/8 19.00 – 20.30: contact email Simon Gibbon for a zoom link
Combined Repair Cafe at the Festival of Thrift
Throughout the Festival of Thrift weekend 5-6th July for the first time our Repair Cafe volunteers joined forces with other volunteers from five other local repair cafes – Richmond, Thirsk, Northallerton, Middlesbrough & Saltburn – to provide a dynamic, informative, inspiring event.
Over 40 volunteers gave their time to repair (including emergency fixing of festival performers shoes & clothing!), meet & greet visitors, share skills and passion for fixing the planet, one repair at a time.
Over 1000 people visited to have their items repaired, to discuss repairing and sustainable living as a force for good for the planet and find out how to set up their own community repair cafe. The festival organisers were highly complimentary about our event and requested us all to return to next year.
Choose to Reuse!
With the Earth Overshoot date for 2026 now passed (when the combined global demand for ecological resources this year exceeds what Earth can regenerate i.e. we are now ‘borrowing’ from next year’s resources) it’s important to reuse what we (or our community) already have before we purchase new, reducing the demand to manufacture new. The average household possesses a staggering amount of unused items, with studies estimating that between 20 and 80% of items in homes are never or rarely used, whilst due to the cost of living crisis more and more families are struggling to afford basic household necessities. Since January this year our successful monthly Repair Cafes have included opportunities to reuse unwanted household items and recreate with resources which might otherwise go to waste, giving them a second life. Items are given freely and all go to good homes where they put back into use. In January surplus craft supplies were recirculated, in March & April dozens of items of gardening equipment & books were brought in and snapped up by keen gardeners. May’s theme was cookery & the kitchen with free tomato plants given away (thanks Pete!) and dozens of kitchen items including recipe books finding new homes. In June and July we did the same for toys, bikes, outside games & travel books and now in August and September we have a ‘Back to School / College / Office’ special to reuse unwanted folders, plastic wallets, stationery, office supplies and text books. Moving into the autumn we have been asked to have a crafting materials ‘swap shop’ including fabric, yarn, arts materials and woodworking materials. We would love to hear from you about other categories of household items and resources we can give a second life to, please email kate@casav.uk
Ideas & news from the groups: Nature Group
This subgroup focuses on discovering more about and supporting biodiversity and our living environment. Face to face meeting Thursday 20/8 15.00 at Stokesley Community Library, Stokesley. Contact Bridget Holmstrom for more information.
Himalayan Balsam Management
This project has been set up to control the invasive species Himalayan balsam which is destroying biodiversity on the river Leven and tributaries from its source in Kildale to Crathorne. People are already working to reduce the extent of balsam on the river but there are significant areas of balsam for example between Great Ayton and Stokesley that need to be worked on.
Himalayan Balsam Management in Floodplain Meadow
Members of Brifgten Up Great Ayton (BUG) have cleared the flowering Himalayan Balsam from the back of the Floodplain Meadow and along the riverbank at Leven Court opposite the meadow. Thank you to Tees Rivers Trust for the loan of the waders. The group also cleared the patch in Waterfall Park.
If you would like to get involved, contact the Nature group balsam@casav.uk.
Cod Beck Project 2026
The Nature Group is working on a larger project at the Cod Beck Reservoir and events held throughout 2026 may include bat walks, butterfly and moth walks, and fungus forays. We will be giving a training session on using the iNaturalist app with the help of representatives from the wider Cod Beck Discovery Project. More details will be given on Facebook and through the Balsam group. If you want to find out more please contact codbeck@casav.uk
Ideas & news from the groups: Food Group
This subgroup focuses on food & its impact on climate change – from growing your own and eating seasonally to reducing food going to waste. Meetings held bimonthly on zoom, next meeting online will in September, date TBC contact Wendy Smith for more information.
Foodshare – nightly food redistribution
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 to those in need. This is fresh food such as fruit, veg and bread, NOT tins and dried food that are needed by Food Banks.
Our group collects 40-60 kilos of food every day with a value of approx £250, worth £78,000 every year.
What can I do now? 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.
Growing your own – good for you and the planet
Growing your own not only benefits you physically, it’s also good for your mental health too, read more here why-gardening-is-good-for-your-mental-health
Wendy continues to stock the Seed Share at Stokesley Community Library – pop in to pick up free flower and vegetable seeds. There is also a Seed Share / Swap at the Discovery Centre, Great Ayton. Still time to sow directing into the ground but water well!
Wendy’s grow your own tip of the month:
Peas and beans are very easy to harvest for next year’s seed as well as this week’s meal. Just leave some on the plant until the pods are dry ( can be easiest to mark off a few plants for this). Pod and allow peas/beans to dry further. Plants from these will grow much better than commercial seed. I am still growing on broad beans from seed given to me by a fellow allotment holder 30 years ago.
Our green fingered friends at Sow Northern also arrange seed swaps across the area so find one near you now! sownorthern.co.uk/seed-swap
Ideas & news from the groups: Energy
This subgroup focuses on using sustainable energy sources & energy saving in the home
News on Solar Panels for your home starting this month!
Plug-in solar panels will become legally available for UK households to buy and use starting from 27/8 this year, following a major government law change . High-street retailers and major chains are preparing to stock the systems, which allow flat owners and renters to generate electricity via a standard three-pin wall socket. Systems are legally limited to a maximum peak output of 800 watts per home to prevent household wiring from overheating. Government and industry estimates show a typical 800W kit could save households roughly £70 to £110 a year on electricity bills. Major high-street names and suppliers—such as Lidl, Iceland, and EcoFlow—have been in active discussions or planning to bring compliant kits to the market. Users must still submit a quick notification to their local District Network Operator (DNO) under the G98 code before plugging them in. Safety information here: plug-in-solar-panels-for-uk-homes/
Help Us warm Up Our Community!
Do you have an eye for detail and a passion for planet-friendly living? Climate Action Stokesley and Villages (CASaV) is launching an exciting new project to help our community beat the chill and lower their energy bills. We are planning to apply for a National Lottery “Awards for All” grant to fund a thermal imaging camera, allowing us to show residents exactly where their homes are leaking heat. By identifying these “cold spots,” we can provide practical advice on making local homes cosier, cheaper to run, and much greener.
Before we hit “send” on our grant application, we need you!
We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join our Energy sub-group to help coordinate and carry out these surveys. You don’t need to be an energy expert or a tech wizard—we are going to be learning from other areas’ local groups, who will provide all the training you need to use the camera and interpret the results. Whether you can spare a few hours a month to visit homes or prefer to help with the behind-the-scenes organising, your contribution will make a tangible difference in our community’s fight against climate change. If you can help please email energy@casav.uk
Powering Stokesley and Villages: Now is the Time for Community Energy!
Recently, CASaV attended the “Seeing is Believing” community energy event hosted by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. The event brought together experts and local groups to showcase how ordinary communities are taking control of their local energy systems—and the main takeaway is that there has never been a better time for us to launch our own local energy initiatives.
Why Now? The national momentum behind community energy is growing at an unprecedented rate. Through the recently announced Local Power Plan, the government has pledged £1 billion to support over 1,000 local and community energy projects. Additionally, there is now an abundance of tailored support, one-to-one expert surgeries, and grant funding specifically designed to help community groups get their ideas off the ground.
Successfully setting up community energy projects allows us to generate clean, renewable power, but it also does so much more. It keeps financial benefits circulating within our local economy, builds community resilience, and significantly lowers energy bills for vital community buildings.
What Are Our Next Steps? We already have great local ambitions. We want to acquire thermal imaging cameras to help residents identify heat loss in their homes, and we are eager to get solar panels installed on the roofs of our local schools. While we have faced some roadblocks in the past—such as navigating school trusts and Church of England approvals—the event opened new doors. We have connections to specialised net-zero officers and successful sustainability groups from nearby areas who are ready to help us break through these specific barriers.
The key lesson from the event is that we don’t need to start with anything big. Other highly successful community groups started with something as small as two solar panels on an allotment. Starting small builds confidence, allows us to test our ideas, and proves to future funders that we can deliver.
Get Involved! We are looking for enthusiastic community members to help us turn these energy ideas into reality. Whether you have professional experience in planning or finance, a bit of spare time to help with community engagement, or simply a passion for making Stokesley and our villages greener and more resilient, we need you.
Let’s harness this momentum together. Please get in touch with CASaV today to find out how you can get involved in shaping our local energy future! energy@casav.uk
Ideas & news from the groups: Environment & Climate Osmotherley (ECO) Group
Environment Climate Osmotherley (ECO) meets regularly and holds events which raise awareness and address local environmental issues such as becoming a Dark Skies Village and increasing local biodiversity.
Contact Becci Wright for more information
Signing off
If you have any content, news or any event / activity you would like promoting on next month’s (September’s) update please email Kate Gibbon no later than Sunday 23/8
Hope to see you at all our August events
NB next Whole Group meeting Tuesday 15/9 19.30 at Stokesley Community Library
Kate Gibbon, on behalf of the Climate Action Stokesley and Villages Steering Group Steering group:
Bridget Holmstrom, Caryn Loftus, Ron Kirk, Barry Warrington, Helen Almond, Simon Gibbon