CASaV Update – March 2025

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

Thank you for your role in taking urgent action globally and locally on climate breakdown and biodiversity loss.

As the hours of daylight increase and the soil warmer a great way to reduce our carbon footprint is through growing our own so this month get your garden tools sharpened, pick up some free seeds and get info on making your own compost at the March Repair Cafe as well as learning how to prune fruit trees and shrubs alongside others at Yatton House Community Garden working party. For other ideas about getting outside and protecting nature come to the Citizen Science & Protecting Nature talk at Faceby Village Hall.

Diary dates

(details of all events below in Newsletter section)

  • Tuesday 18th March 19.30 – 21.00 Whole Group Meeting, the Globe Community Library, Stokesley
  • Sunday 9th March Sow Northern Potato Day, Norton
  • Tuesday 11th March 13.30 – 15.00 Yatton House Community Garden Working Party – Pruning
  • Tuesday 11th March 19.00 Waste Group (incl Repair Cafe) Zoom Meeting (see Waste / Circularity Group section below)
  • Wednesday 12th March 19.30 Protecting Nature through Citizen Science: illustrated and interactive talk, Faceby Village Hall
  • Saturday 15th March 10.00 – 12.00 Repair Cafe & Focus on sowing & growing seed swap, Swainby Village Hall
  • Monday 17th – Sunday 23rd March Food Waste Action Week
  • Tuesday 18th March Global Recycling Day
  • Thursday 20th March World Rewilding Day
  • Thursday 20th March 15.30 Nature Group meeting, the Globe Community Library (see Nature Group section below)
  • Thursday March 20th 19.00 Food Group Zoom Meeting (see Food Group section below)
  • Saturday 22nd Earth Hour 20.30 – 21.30 Lights Off & 60 minutes anytime to Do Something Positive for the Planet
  • Monday 24th March – Friday 4th April Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel Active Transport Week
  • Saturday 29th March 10.30 – 13.00 ‘Rescue Me’ Recycling Game, Great Ayton Discovery Centre
  • Sunday 30th March UN Day of Zero Waste (see Waste / Circularity section below)
  • Tuesday 1st April  10:00 – 12 noon and 13:00 – 15:00 Yatton House Community Garden Additional Gardening Working Party – special feature for school children

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”

Monday 17th – Sunday 23rd March Food Waste Action Week

Food waste is responsible for 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions as well as contributing to biodiversity loss. Furthermore, food waste uses up almost a third of the world’s agricultural land.

This year, the UK’s biggest annual food waste reduction campaign will run from 17 –23 March 2025 focusing on getting people across the UK talking about why buying loose fruit and vegetables is better.  

Why? Because there is strong evidence that having the opportunity to buy loose fruit and vegetables means people buy only what they need, and less food ends up in the bin. Research has shown for example that if all apples, bananas and potatoes were sold loose, we could save 60,000 tonnes of food waste by enabling people to buy closer to their needs.

What can I do now?

Supermarkets like Tesco, Lidl and the Co-op have signed up to support this campaign so look out for their reduced packaging but why not make the most of the loose fruit and vegetables in minimal packaging at our great local markets, farmers’ markets and farm shops?

More info: save-food/food-waste-action-week

Better still – grow your own! The freshest fruit and veggies with NO packaging. See the Food Group section below on growing your own, swap / pick up free seeds at the Discovery Centre Great Ayton & the Globe, Stokesley and come to the Seed Swap and Composting Info display at this month’s Repair Cafe (see Waste / Circularity group section below).

Tuesday 18th March Global Recycling Day

Every year, billions of tons of natural resources – e.g. metal ores, fossil fuels – are taken out of the ground and in the not too distant future they will all run out. That’s why we must think again about what we throw away – seeing not waste, but valuable resources.

Recycling is a key part of the circular economy, helping to protect our natural resources. Each year the ‘Seventh Resource’ (recyclables) saves over 700 million tonnes in CO2 emissions and this is projected to increase to 1 billion tons by 2030. There is no doubt recycling is on the front line in the war to save the future of our planet and humanity.

Recycling is recognised in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and  we are already seeing many individuals, governments and organisations taking direct action to support the global green agenda.

What can I do now?

See info on local recycling opportunities in the Waste / Circularity sub group section below and take your family to the ‘Rescue Me’ Recycling Game at the Discovery Centre, Great Ayton on Saturday 29th March 10.30 – 13.00. Also come along to repurposing events like the Clothes Swap and Give or Take household items event.

Thursday 20th March World Rewilding Day

Each year on World Rewilding Day people across the globe join together to celebrate rewilding’s vision for nature recovery. This global event harnesses the momentum of the multitude of people around the world who are on their rewilding journey, or simply believe in its power for change.

As a member of the Global Rewilding Alliance, Rewilding Britain helped establish the event at the signing of the‘Global Rewilding Charter’ in March 2021. The first-ever World Rewilding Day was launched to coincide with the start of the United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration – to demonstrate that rewilding is central to achieving the important goals of this decade.

What can I do now?

Start rewilding if you can! Whether you have a garden, a smallholding, access to a lot of land, or simply would like to support rewilding in your community by being part of a local network, there is something for everyone. More info here: rewildingbritain.org.uk/get-involved/act/world-rewilding-day

If you are concerned how your neighbours will view your rewilding efforts, you can join the BLUE campaign which encourages us to put out a blue heart to start a conversation and show it is an intentional act.  bluecampaignhub

Or support Wild Card with one of their rewilding campaigns; a current campaign is focusing on encouraging the Church Of England, one of the country’s biggest landowners, to rewild more of their land. More info here: wildcard.land/campaigns/rewild-the-church

Saturday 22nd Earth Hour 20.30 – 21.30 Switch Off Lights, 60 minutes anytime Do Something Positive for the Planet

Earth Hour started in 2007, Earth Hour with a “lights off” moment, with individuals, businesses and government organisations around the world switching off their lights to show support for the planet and raise awareness of the environmental issues affecting it.

What can I do now?

The organisers are asking supporters to switch off their lights 20.30 – 21.30 local time but also give an hour for Earth anytime during the daylight, spending 60 minutes doing something – anything – positive for our planet. This could be planting native flowers to support pollinators, cooking a sustainable meal to conserve water and reduce emissions, or removing litter from a local outdoor space, every hour counts toward a collective promise to protect our planet for generations to come. More info

earthhour

24th March – 4th April Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel Active Transport Week

Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel inspires pupils to make active journeys to school, improve air quality in their neighbourhood and discover how these changes benefit their world. Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel is open to all primary and secondary schools in the UK, including SEN/ASN/ALN schools. It is free to take part and there are daily prizes to be won. On each day of the challenge, schools compete to see who can get the highest percentage of their pupils walking, using a wheelchair, scooting or cycling to school. Your school’s best five days will determine your final position, but you can log journeys on all ten days if you wish.

What can I do now?

If you are involved with a local school consider discussing the Big Walk and Wheel with school leaders to see if they would like to be involved. More info here: bigwalkandwheel

“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 18th March 19.30 Whole Group Meeting

Globe Community Library, Stokesley

Our next whole group meeting will be on Tuesday 18th March, starting at 19:30 in The Globe Community Library, North Road, Stokesley.

During the meeting, as well as updates from our subgroups, we will consider the findings of the evaluation of our activities since we started in 2019 and discuss the recommendations to inform our future activities as well as planning current activities. Thank you to all those that completed the survey, were interviewed or took part in the focus group which informed the final report.

Wednesday 12th March 19.30 Protecting Nature through Citizen Science: illustrated and interactive talk,

Faceby Village Hall

Spending time connecting with nature and also doing something worthwhile have both been shown to be very good for our total wellbeing. ‘Citizen Science’ is taking part in local, national and global environmental projects aimed at gathering essential data to contribute towards our collective knowledge about the state of nature and biodiversity and how it is changing with the impact of climate change and other factors.

What can I do now?

All are welcome (all ages!) to an illustrated and interactive talk on this subject at Faceby Village Hall on Wednesday 12th March 19.30 – 21.00. With hands on activities including identifying butterflies and birds, counting walruses and seeing how insect populations have dramatically reduced over the years, entrance is £5 which includes refreshments. All funds towards Faceby Village Hall.

Saturday 15th March 10.00-12.00 ‘Gardens Special’ Repair Cafe at Swainby Village Hall with focus on Sowing and Growing with seed swap and composting info

Our Repair cafe has GROWN from humble beginnings nearly three years ago into being a BUMPER CREAM OF THE CROP by repairing more items annually than any other Repair cafe in the UK (of those which log repairs).

To keep us BLOOMING, bring along your treasured household items in need of repair on Saturday 15th March at Swainby Village Hall. Our pink T-shirted volunteers will endeavour to fix your items, saving you the cost of buying new and protecting the climate and the earth’s natural resources by reducing waste going to landfill or incineration and reducing the need to manufacture new.

Household items for repair can include: clothing & textiles, electrical appliances, wooden furniture, toys & bikes, laptops & mobile phones, blades needing sharpening – particularly your GARDENING TOOLS – LAWN MOWER BLADES, SECATEURS & SHEARS.

Alongside the repairing we will have a FREE SEED SWAP where you can bring along any spare seeds you are not using this year and swap them for seeds you’d like to grow. Fruit, vegetables and flower seeds all welcome and don’t worry if you don’t have any spare seeds, we will have some for you to take away for free. We will also have info and advice on sowing and growing including how to MAKE YOUR OWN COMPOST.

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 and learn new repair skills.

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.

What can I do now?

Come along with your item to be repaired and become an important part of the circularity movement! New repair and reception volunteers always welcome – come along, have a cuppa and a chat or email Simon Gibbon.

Tuesday 11th March 13.30 – 15.00 Yatton House Community Garden Working Party

Unfortunately the weather was too cold and wet to safely prune fruit trees at our last planned working party in February. The forecast is looking a bit warmer now so we’ll try again on Tuesday 11th March between 1:30 and 3:00pm

If you are not sure how to prune fruit trees, come and learn about the 3 Ds and an X and have a go!

We will be having an additional working party on Tuesday 1st April from 10:00 – 12 noon and 1:00 – 3:00pm when we will be installing new features requested by children from Marwood Infant School and funded by a donation from Cleveland Mountain Rescue.

Meet in the car park at Yatton House, Guisborough Road, Great Ayton

Ideas & news from the groups

1. Waste / Circularity (including Repair Cafe)

This subgroup focuses on reducing waste through circularity: repairing, repurposing and recycling materials that might otherwise go to landfill or incineration.

Please join us at this month’s meeting: Tuesday 11th March 7.00pm by zoom – contact email Simon for a link

Circularity – what and why?

Circularity is all about reusing and eliminating waste, through making the best use of resources and preventing things being disposed in landfill or incineration. We can keep our materials in use (and so reduce the need to manufacture new) through reuse, repair and recycling. The benefits of this are that it can help tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution as well as saving us money and saving the earth’s limited resources for future generations.

Local Recycling News

Good news at last for local recycling of medication / vitamin blister pack recycling. As blister packs are composite (plastic and metal) they are complex and expensive to recycle so cannot be put into our roadside recycling bins and although Superdrug pharmacies do take them for recycling the nearest to our area are quite a distance at Harrogate, Bridlington or Chester-le-Street. Boots the chemists recently announced that they are now rolling out a scheme nationwide after successfully trialling in the southeast for about a year. Blister pack recycling boxes are now in more local stores at Northallerton, Guisborough and Middlesbrough.

What can I do now?

If you have a Boots Advantage card you can also get points (you need to download an app, log your packets and spend £5 minimum in store) but you can forgo collecting points and just deposit packets as long as they are completely empty of any tablets. The materials will be sent to mygroup which separates the metal and plastic using a specialised process and all the material is repurposed – the aluminium metal is infinitely recyclable and used in manufacturing items such as drinks cans and the plastic is processed into a construction material a variety of uses including children’s playgrounds. Nothing goes to landfill and nothing is incinerated. More info boots-recycling-scheme/blister-pack-recycling

While you’re dropping off your blister packs for repurposing you can also recycle your empty and clean beauty, health, wellness and dental products, from any brand, that can’t be recycled in our roadside blue recycling bins.

Saturday 29th March 10.30 – 13.00 ‘Rescue Me’ Recycling Game, Great Ayton Discovery Centre

An interactive board game designed to inspire children across North Yorkshire to become recycling champions has been launched and a special event has been arranged at the Discovery Centre in Great Ayton on Saturday 29th March 10.30 – 13.00 for all ages to attend to learn about the importance of recycling and how everyone can contribute.

March 30th UN day of Zero Waste  

The International Day of Zero Waste, observed annually on 30 March since 2023, highlights both the importance of bolstering waste management globally and the need to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, values at the heart of the Waste / Circularity group.

This year we are even more on the zeitgeist as the theme is “Towards zero waste in fashion and textiles”, focusing on the urgent need to take action to reduce the waste impact from the fashion and textile sector and promote sustainability and circularity. To that end….

Clothing circularity: New to You Clothes Swap Event – equipment & volunteers & participants needed

The climate impact of clothing is significant, with the fashion industry considered one of the most polluting industries globally, contributing heavily to greenhouse gas emissions through its production processes, material sourcing, and waste generation, primarily due to the high water usage, energy consumption in manufacturing, and reliance on synthetic materials like polyester which are derived from fossil fuels.

Not only this, but “fast fashion” encourages frequent clothing purchases and quick disposal whilst garment workers are often exploited with low pay, unsafe working conditions, and long hours. Fast fashion’s affordability and new trends can make consumers value clothing less so instead of taking care of our clothing and repairing any damage to extend the life of our clothing we end up buying more and more that will sit in our wardrobes and never see the light of day.  

What can I do now?

– Support sustainable and ethical fashion brands and choose high-quality clothing that lasts longer.

– Recycle or repurpose clothing when it’s no longer needed.

Most of us have far more clothing stuffed in our wardrobes that we no longer wear or in some cases have never worn after an impulse buy.

Jane and Jo, Repair Cafe textiles specialists, are hoping to address this locally and are currently planning a new to you good quality clothing swap event on 27th September to coincide with Sustainable Fashion Week (27th September to 5th October) where our local community can have a wardrobe refresh by exchanging the clothes they no longer wear for ‘new to you’ clothes they would like to wear.

If you have any spare clothes rails or would like to volunteer to help or would like more information to participate please contact clothesswap@casav.uk

Household goods circularity: Give or Take Event – volunteers and ideas needed

As above for clothing, most of us have cupboards, under beds and garages full of household ‘stuff’ – kitchen equipment, bedding & other household textiles, books & magazines, ornaments, DVDs, CDs, toys, hobby equipment – that we never use and / or have duplicates of (just how many saucepans do you really use / need?).

At the same time there are many in the local community who need these household items but cannot afford them, particularly in this cost of living crisis as bills continue to rise

‘Give or Take’ events – where people who have unused surplus household items have a good clear out and people who need household items pick up things they need for free – have been running across the country for a while with some excellent ones running regularly in nearby Ryedale.

Waste / Circularity group members are planning Give or Take an event around Great Big Green Week in June based in Stokesley for the local community to give a new life to their surplus, unused but usable household items and for others who can make good use of them. Any items left over will be offered to local charities and community groups or collected and recycled by North Yorkshire Council.

What can I do now?

We need volunteers to help plan and run the event (meeting soon) so if you can help or have household goods you want to repurpose please contact giveandtake@casav.uk

Waste group events in February: Repair Cafe

February’s Repair Cafe at the Globe, Stokesley was very well attended and our busiest yet with over 80 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 warmed up with cosy beverages and tasty treats.

In addition, to celebrate Climate Coalition’s Show the Love month, some of the Repair Cafe sewing team took fabric that might otherwise have gone to waste and turned it into over 50 glorious sustainable shopping bags (using a morsbags design  – each bag lasts 500 times longer than a plastic shopping bag). Each bag contained a range of sustainable treats such as wildflower and pea seeds, food waste prevention kitchen gadgets from the North Yorkshire Rotters and organic Fair Trade tea bags and all were given away for free to those attending the Repair Cafe to spread the sustainable living message.

2. Nature Group

This subgroup focuses on discovering more about and supporting biodiversity and our living environment. Please join us at our next meeting: Thursday 20th March 15.30, Globe Community Library, Stokesley Contact Bridget for information

Environment / Biodiversity News and Actions

1. Land Use Consultation

DEFRA is currently holding a consultation, ending on April 25th on a vision for land use in England and how to deliver it. This consultation will inform the development of a Land Use Framework.

What can I do now?

Make your voice count! The consultation is available on line but can be submitted by post if so desired. There are 24 questions and there is no need to answer all at once as it can be saved. It is probably worth looking at the accompanying analytical annex and other supporting documents.

land-use-framework/land-use-consultation/

2. COP 16

COP 16 – the Convention on Biological Diversity reconvened on February 25th as many questions were not addressed during the conference held in November last year. Key discussions points include ‘resource mobilization, financial mechanism, and ensuring that the Kunming and Montreal targets are translated into meaningful action.

The UK has delivered a pledge for nature to the conference, unfortunately 85% of other nations have not yet done so.

Image
The commitment is to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030.

More info here uk-nature-pledge-at-cop16-in-rome

What can I do now?

Knowledge is power, keep informed! Carbon Brief is holding a free webinar for anyone who may be interested in finding out more.

COPwebinar/register

Dark Skies: Biofluorescent Night Walk

The North York Moors National Park is running a Biofluorescent Night Walk event on the 8th March starting in Glaisdale. Biofluorescence is a unique phenomenon where certain organisms emit light in different colours than the ones they absorb, and this guided walk will enable you to discover this captivating natural phenomenon up close.

With UV torches provided, you can venture into the darkness to witness a stunning display of biofluorescent organisms in their natural habitat. From fungi to insects and plants, you can encounter a diverse array of species that come alive with vibrant hues of green, blue, red, purple, orange, and more, revealing Nature’s hidden spectacles.

This guided walk is suitable for anyone aged 8 years and above, all children must be accompanied by an adult. There are two sessions – at 18.30 and 20.00 – and they cost £20.  

biofluorescent-night-walk-north-york-moors

Pollution of the River Tees & impact on marine life presentation, February

Over 40 people including fishermen whose livelihoods have been impacted by the 2021 crab die-off and marine conservationists concerned about the almost complete wipe out of all the new seal pups in Teesmouth this year attended this fascinating talk at the Globe Stokesley before our whole group meeting in February.

What can I do now?

If you were unable to attend the event you can hear the presentation and see the slides here https://northeastfc.uk/

February tree and hedge planting

Thank you to all those who helped plant trees in Faceby and at East Angrove Farm. Over 3,200 trees and hedgerow plants have now been planted. We’ve been asked to given an extra shout out to Nige and Rod who put in the graft of about 20 people each.

What can I do now?

If you are part of a community charity or school you can get information on grants for tree planting here: treecouncil.org.uk

If you are a farmer or landowner you can get up to 100% funding to plant trees info here: plant-trees/trees-for-landowners-and-farmers/

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.

At January’s whole group meeting Mike Ford from CEP updated the group on the project’s progress. Data from sensors across the North York Moors is now being submitted which will be analysed. Mike noted that he is now talking with local MPs and raising awareness of the issue more widely.

What can I do now?

CEP is still 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

3. 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. Please join us on Thursday 20th March at 19.00 for a zoom meeting contact Wendy for a link to join

Growing Your own: March Tips of the Month

What are the benefits of growing your own?

Environmental benefits: You can avoid pesticides and herbicides, which pollute the air and water, you can practice water conservation, you reduce food miles, you help pollinators by providing food for them.

Health benefits: you can eat more fruits and vegetables, and include them in healthy meals, homegrown vegetables are more nutritious and taste better because they are free of artificial additives.

Economic benefits: you can save money on food by growing your own vegetables and be more self-sufficient in case of food shortages or price increases.

What can I do now?

In March, you can start seeds, plant vegetables, apply compost, prune perennials, and weed your garden.

Outside: Sow cool-season crops like lettuce, spinach, radishes, and peas directly into the garden once the soil starts to warm up. Broad beans can be sown from now but French and Runner beans need a warm soil so best kept until early May. Chard and beetroot sown before late April are more likely to bolt (go to seed this year).

Inside: Make a butterfly garden: Plant a butterfly garden in a window box with your children.

Seeds! Seeds! Seeds!

This year there won’t be our annual seed stall in Stokesley market but rest assured, you can still try growing new plants for FREE by calling into The Globe Community Library in Stokesley or the Discovery Centre in Great Ayton and also at this month’s Repair Cafe and choosing from the selection in the seed share boxes. Donations of spare seeds welcome.

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!

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.

Sow Nothern: Potato day Sunday March 9th 10-12 Norton

The fantastic community growing group Sow Northern are holding a Potato day on Sunday 9 March, 10am to 12pm at The Moline Cross, NortonTS20 1PE. They’ll have lots of lovely varieties of seed potatoes to choose from.

What can I do now?

Come along, get your seed potatoes, have a cuppa and chat to other growers. They’ll also have a seed swap, so bring along any seeds you’re not going to grow, and swap them for ones you will. They’ll also have infomation about seed saving and can offer advice on that too.

March 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 March include

Fruit: Rhubarb

Vegetables: Artichoke, Beetroot, Cabbage, Carrots, Chicory, Leeks, Parsnip, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Radishes, Sorrel, Spring Greens, Spring Onions, Watercress

Recipe of the month: Rhubarb Vodka

Make the most of our local Yorkshire rhubarb by making some delicious rhubarbvodka

4. Ideas 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 Rebecca for more information

Signing off

If you have any news or any event / activity you would like promoting on next month’s (April’s) update please email Kate Gibbon by Friday 28th March

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.

Hope to see you at the  whole group CASaV meeting on Tuesday 18th March 19.30 at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley

Kate Gibbon,

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

Bridget HolmstromCaryn LoftusRon KirkBarry Warrington Simon Gibbon

CASaV monthly meeting & Talk on River Tees Pollution and Environment – Tuesday 18th February 2025

On Tuesday 18th February at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley from 19.30 until 21.00 we will be holding our February monthly meeting including a talk from one of our members Simon Gibbon also part of the North East Marine Research Group – Pollution of the River Tees & its potential impact on Marine Life. The talk will focus on the lower Tees and its coast, explaining what happens in and along the river, and how industry, dredging and development pose environmental risks, likely to affect marine life from crabs to seals. Hear how the river has changed over the last 200 years and how this has affected its marine life, in the past and now.

After the talk we will update on the activities of our sub-groups and discuss plans for future activities.

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!

CASaV Update – February 2025

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

Thank you for your role in taking urgent action globally and locally on climate breakdown and biodiversity loss.

This month we’re celebrating the Climate Coalition’s ‘Show the Love’ with a host of activities and events where you can explore beautiful environments with free entry to protected wetlands (World Wetlands Day), learn about pollution in our local environment (River Tees Talk and Meeting), do your bit for biodiversity by helping plant new hedgerows (hedgerow planting at East Angrove), get close to nature and pick up new gardening skills (Yatton House Community Garden pruning skills activity), share and learn yarn and textile crafts and mending (Osmotherley Mending Group) and extend the life of your cherished possessions (Repair Cafe) where you can also get yourself a FREE Show the Love goody bag full of sustainable living treats and ideas to protect the planet you love.

Diary dates

details of all events below in Newsletter section)

  • Tuesday 18th February 19.30 – 21.00 River Tees Pollution & Marine Die Off Talk & Whole Group Meeting, the Globe Community Library, Stokesley
  • 1st – 28th February Climate Coalition’s Show the Love month
  • Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd 10.00 – 13.00 Hedgerow planting at Great Ayton, volunteers needed
  • Sunday 2nd February World Wetlands Day
  • Wednesday 5th February 19.30 ECO (Environment Climate Osmotherley) Meeting, Osmotherley Methodist Chapel
  • Saturday 8th February 10.00 – 12.00 Repair Cafe & Show the Love goody bag giveaway, Globe Community Library, Stokesley
  • Tuesday 11th February 13.30 – 15.00 Yatton House Community Garden Working Party – learn pruning skills
  • Tuesday 11th February 19.00 Waste Group (incl Repair Cafe) Zoom Meeting (see Waste Group section below)
  • Friday 14th February – Sunday 2nd March North York Moors Park Dark Skies Festival, various locations
  • Thursday 20th February 15.30 Nature Group meeting, the Globe Community Library (see Nature Group section below)
  • Monday 3rd March World Wildlife Day

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”

1st-28th February The Climate Coalition’s ‘Show the Love’ month

For ten years, The Climate Coalition (which also organises the Great Big Green Week) has united communities behind the power of green hearts every February. Show The Love has grown public support for climate action through local events, heartfelt conversations and green heart craftivism in every corner of the country.

Groups and individuals across the UK who are already taking action for the people and places they love are encouraged to showcase their activities and stories to others, to government and to other national and local decision makers through the ‘Show the Love’ campaign.

The Climate Coalition believes stories are powerful; they believe every action people take together is a story that can inspire others and spark more actions. Starting this month they plan to bring these stories of hopeful action together to demonstrate to politicians that we are a nation of green hearts.

To celebrate ‘Show the Love’ month our February Repair Cafe will be making and giving away fabric goody bags full of treats and ideas for more sustainable living – see February Repair Cafe info below.

World Wetlands Day Feb 2nd

Photo from Jenny Earle of wetlands in Dubai taken this year

Wetlands are super powered, flood-busting, nature-boosting, carbon-sinking and mood-lifting habitats, that burst with life. World Wetlands Day, established in 1971, is celebrated on the second day of February every year. This day aims to highlight the significance and positive influence that wetlands have on the world, not only for people but for the planet. Community protectors and environmental enthusiasts all come together on this day to celebrate their love for for these valuable but threatened environments.

In the UK the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) are inviting nature-lovers to enjoy a free visit to their protected wetlands anytime from Friday 31st January – Friday 7th February. Claim your free ticket here: world-wetlands-day

Our nearest WWT centre is at Washington WWT, County Durham.

Other beautiful and nature filled local wetlands include RSPB Saltholme rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/saltholme and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Ripon City Wetlands ripon-city-wetlands

Monday 3rd March World Wildlife Day

To raise awareness of endangered species and what we all can do, the UN is celebrating World Wildlife Day (WWD) on March 3, marking the day in 2013 the group signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The WWD 2025 Theme is Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet. For more information and events see wildlifeday

Growth vs Post Growth – a way forward

Noting the WWD theme of finance and investment (see above) it is interesting that the current Chancellor has said that the need for growth is a higher priority than working towards net zero.

This approach is very troubling for many people who are concerned about climate change and biodiversity loss. An alternative approach advocated by Hans Stegeman, Chief Economist for Triodos Bank is the concept of ‘post growth’ who has written an article on this with suggestions of practical steps to take: post-growth-in-action-insights-from-triodos-banks-chief-economist

In the article Hans says “It can feel overwhelming to know where to start when it comes to taking action in our everyday lives, especially when the problem can seem so huge and out of our hands at times”

Below he outlines some steps you can start to take to advocate for a post-growth transition.  

  • Check what your pension is funding
  • Reduce how much you’re consuming
  • Vote for people whose values align
  • Invest in your local community
  • Focus on what is possible today

In the Invest in Your Local Community section the article suggests: “Community can be a powerful tool for sharing knowledge and creating grassroots initiatives that support people and the planet. Supporting your local repair shop, youth group, community garden and more can be an empowering way of adopting a post-growth mindset into your everyday life.”

A great reminder of the benefit of the activities that CASaV is undertaking – read on!

“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 18th February 19.30 Pollution of the River Tees & impact on marine life talk followed by whole group meeting, Globe Community Library, Stokesley

The first of this year’s bi-monthly talks is titled The Lower Tees and its Coast – The Risks that Industry, Dredging and Development Pose to Crabs and Seals”, followed by our whole group meeting on Tuesday 18th February at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley from 19.30 until 21.00.

Simon Gibbon, retired industrial research chemist and current environmental researcher will deliver the talk. Simon started looking at the Tees after the mass crab die-off in autumn 2021, as a retired industrial chemist he has had to learn about how the river works in all senses (industry/nature) in order to be able to start to understand the challenges which the environment and industry face. From an environmental viewpoint his talk will tell us about what goes on in the lower Tees and along its banks, talk about recent studies into the high seal mortality and explain why perhaps the official explanation of the crab die-off needs further investigation.The river Tees as an industrial / post-industrial river is not unique to the UK, Europe and even globally, so these parallels will be highlighted as well.

All are warmly invited to this fascinating and important environmental talk, staying for the general meeting afterwards is optional although all are very welcome to share thoughts on all things climate change and biodiversity loss with updates from the sub groups.

Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd February 10.00 – 13.00 Hedgerow planting at East Angrove Farm, Great Ayton

Hedgerows are vital features in our landscape and are more than an essential refuge and corridor for wildlife. Small but mighty, they also clean our air, capture carbon and reduce flooding. Three new long hedgerows of predominantly hawthorn and blackthorn are planned at East Angrove Farm, near Great Ayton and volunteers to help with planting are now being urgently sought.

If you can spare three hours on either (or both!) Saturday and Sunday 1st & 2nd February please email Hello@howardcourt.co.uk

It would be helpful if volunteers bring gardening gloves, a spade and water to drink – free hot drinks, cake and biscuits will be provided.

Saturday 8th February 10.00-12.00 Repair Cafe & Show the Love goody bag giveaway, the Globe Community Library, Stokesley

Valentine’s month’s Repair Cafe celebrates LOVE!

Show the LOVE for your treasured household items in need of repair by bringing them to be fixed by our (Valentine’s) pink T-shirted volunteers.

Feel the LOVE for the climate and the earth’s natural resources by reducing waste going to landfill or incineration and reducing the need to manufacture new

We will share the LOVE with you by giving all visitors to the Repair Cafe a handmade fabric goody bag (upcycling fabric which would otherwise go to waste) filled with treats and ideas for more sustainable living.

Household items for repair can include: clothing & textiles, electrical appliances, wooden furniture, toys & bikes, laptops & mobile phones, blades needing sharpening.

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.

Tuesday 11th February 13.30 – 15.00 Yatton House Community Garden Working Party

The focus of this month’s working party will be pruning the apple and pear trees in the Yatton House orchard, weather permitting. Meet in the car park at Yatton House, Guisborough Road, Great Ayton at 1:30pm. It would be great to have as much help as possible. If you are not sure how to prune fruit trees, come and learn about the 3 Ds and an X and have a go!

The North York Moors Park is celebrating the 10th anniversary Dark Skies Festival between 14th February and 2nd March. The North York Moors National Park has been a Dark Skies International Reserve since 2020, one of only 21 across the planet. There are plenty of events happening and they can be found on the North York Moors website. Looking forward to some clear nights (it will be cold so wrap up well)

14th February – 2nd March Dark Skies Festival: North York Moors events, various locations

The North York Moors Park is celebrating the 10th anniversary Dark Skies Festival between 14th February and 2nd March. The North York Moors National Park has been a Dark Skies International Reserve since 2020, one of only 21 across the planet. There are plenty of events happening and they can be found on the North York Moors website. Looking forward to some clear nights (it will be cold so wrap up well)

darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/north-york-moors-events

Ideas & news from the groups

1. Nature Group

Nature Group meeting: Thursday 20th February 15.30, Globe Community Library, Stokesley Contact Bridget for information

The next Nature group meeting will be held face to face in the Globe Library on Thursday 20th February at 3.30pm. Come and join us to find out what we are doing locally for biodiversity and spreading the climate action message.

Planting Trees in January

Thank you to all those that braved the cold to help plant trees in Faceby. We got at least 130 native trees planted and the others are heeled in ready to be planted as time allows.

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.

At January’s whole group meeting Mike Ford from CEP updated the group on the project’s progress. Data from sensors across the North York Moors is now being submitted which will be analysed. Mike noted that he is now talking with local MPs and raising awareness of the issue more widely.

CEP is still 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

Ban driven grouse shooting petition

One of the reasons heather is being burned is to facilitate grouse shooting. Some environmental organisations have concerns about driven grouse shooting in which several dozen shooters wait in a line for the birds to be chased over their heads by a line of ‘beaters’ who walk through the moorland flushing out the birds in the direction of the shooters. A collaboration of concerned environmental groups have created a petition to ban driven grouse shooting because of these concerns:

– the scale of (legal) killing of Red Grouse – around 500,000 birds in an average year

– the scale of (legal) killing of Carrion Crows, Foxes, Stoats etc to ‘protect’ Red Grouse for a few weeks so that they can be shot in the shooting season

– the scale of illegal killing of birds of prey such as Golden and White-tailed Eagles, Peregrine Falcons and Hen Harriers and mammals such as Badgers and Hedgehogs

– the use of lead shot as the ammunition of choice which affects the environment and contaminates any Red Grouse which enter the human food chain

– damage to protected upland habitats through burning and drainage to attempt to engineer a heather monoculture for Red Grouse for shooting

NB This petition is not about banning individuals from shooting game.

If you feel strongly about this, consider signing the active petition started in January which has already reached nearly 50,000 signatures. If it reaches 100,000 the matter will be debated in parliament. Driven Grouse Shooting Ban Petition

2. Ideas from the groups: Food Group

Meetings bimonthly, next meeting March (date tbc) by zoom contact Wendy for a link to join

Growing Your own: February Tips of the Month

Be extra vigilant checking your stored home grown fruit and vegetables (onions, squash, roots, apples etc) this month. The short growing season last year means they may have been less mature when harvested so keep less well.

Finish winter pruning of fruit trees and plant new fruit trees, bushes, canes and vines if the soil isn’t waterlogged or frozen.

As long as the ground isn’t frozen, you can prepare seedbeds this month. If it’s a new plot, test your soil before the season starts. It’s also your last chance to winter prune fruit.

Chit early seed potato tubers as soon as you have them.

From mid-February onwards sow tomato, chilli, cucumber and aubergine seed for greenhouse growing.

Plant out garlic and shallots in light soils only; heavy soils need longer to warm up.

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.

February 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 February include

UK-grown Apples, Beetroot, Brussels Sprouts, Carrots, Celeriac, Chicory, Jerusalem Artichokes, Kale, Leeks, Mushrooms, Onions, Parsnips, Pears, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Red Cabbage, Salsify, Savoy Cabbage, Spring Greens, Spring Onions, Squash, Swedes, and White Cabbage.

Go Bananas!

Although we aim to eat locally and seasonally, the UK isn’t well suited for growing bananas but we’d hate to go without this tasty treat. Jenny from the Food Group notes that she has just received some wonderful organic bananas from crowdfarming

This company distributes organic produce, which is as local as possible and fairly traded.  

Do you know the ethical and environmental record of your bananas? Ethical consumer has done the hard work for us so you can easily find out.

ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/shopping-guide/bananas

3. Ideas from the groups: Waste

This month’s Waste Group (including Repair Cafe) Meeting Tuesday 11th February 7.00pm by zoom – contact Simon Gibbon for a link

A Small Step Forward in Reducing Waste

After a long wait (first proposed in 2018 with a start date of 2021) finally the deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers will start on 1st October 2027. The law has now been passed with  England, Scotland and Northern Ireland working in unison but Wales will make their own plan.

After many delays, in December 2024 the government advertised for an organisation to run the scheme – the Deposit Managements Organisation (DMO) – and this will be appointed in April 2025. So it is now only a matter of getting the details right – what’s in and what’s out (bottles, cans, glass, etc), who does what (retailers, drinks producers, suppliers), how the scheme is measured and enforced.

So after 7 years of waiting, only two and a half to go!

Meanwhile…..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

Refurbished tech helps the planet

Backmarket is a buy and sell used (aka preloved!) platform with a difference – it specialises in refurbished electronic goods and their tagline is “We believe in a world that does more with what we already have.” As well as being able to pick a ‘new to you’ laptop they also provide lots of useful  tips on how to make your gadgets last longer e.g. how to charge your phone to extend the life of your battery.

https://www.backmarket.co.uk/

Waste group events in January: Repair Cafe

January’s Repair Cafe at the Swainby Village Hall was well attended with nearly 50 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 warmed up with cosy beverages and tasty treats.

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

Wednesday 5th February 19.30 ECO (Environment Climate Osmotherley) Meeting, Osmotherley Methodist Chapel

All welcome to our monthly meeting to plan and discuss events and activities, meet at Osmotherley Methodist Chapel.

Signing off

If you have any news or any event / activity you would like promoting on next month’s (March’s) update please email Kate Gibbon by Monday February 25th

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.

Hope to see you at the River Tees pollution and marine die-off talk & whole group CASaV meeting on Tuesday 18th February 19.30 at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley

Kate Gibbon,

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

Bridget HolmstromCaryn LoftusRon KirkBarry Warrington and Simon Gibbon

CASaV monthly meeting – Tuesday 21st January 2025

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!

Tree planting day

The Loftus family would like some help, on Sunday 12th January, to plant 200 native trees round some new ponds in Faceby to help improve the biodiversity of the area.
Tree planting will be taking place in the morning from 10am – 12 noon and 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 us for details.

CASaV Update – January 2025

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 HolmstromCaryn LoftusRon KirkBarry Warrington and Simon Gibbon

Help measure the impact of our group

As a year of numerous events, activities and actions by CASaV comes to a close, 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.

CASaV Christmas Gathering – 19th December 2024

We celebrate another year of our whole group’s activities and actions with a Christmas gathering on Tuesday 19th December with a spread of pooled festive nibbles and mulled drinks at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley from 19.30 until 21.00.

All welcome to come together to share food and thoughts on all things climate change and biodiversity loss, updates from the sub groups and looking ahead to 2025.

We’re a friendly bunch and we welcome everyone!

CASaV Update – December 2024


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

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

Action all!!

Please complete the online survey exploring the impact of our group

As a year of numerous events, activities and actions by CASaV comes to a close, 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 17th December 19.30 – 21.00 Whole Group Christmas Gathering, the Globe Community Library, Stokesley

Tuesday 3rd December 10.00 – 12.00 Osmotherley Mending Group, St Peter’s Church, Osmotherley

Tuesday 3rd December 19.00 Waste Group Meeting (incl Repair Cafe) by zoom (see Waste Group section below)

Friday 6th December 9.00 – 13.00 Sustainable Christmas Stall at Stokesley Market

Tuesday 10th December 10.00 – 12.00 Osmotherley Mending Group, Quaker Meeting House, Osmotherley

Tuesday 10th December 13.30 – 15.00 Yatton House Community Garden Working Party Wednesday 11th December 19.30 Environment Climate Osmotherley (ECO) monthly meeting & festive drinks at the Golden Lion

Saturday 14th December 10.00-12.00 Christmas Repair Cafe, the Globe Community Library, Stokesley

Thursday 19th December 15.30 Nature Group meeting (with mince pies), the Globe Community Library (see Nature Group section below)

Tuesday 14th January 19.00 Waste Group Meeting (incl Repair Cafe) & Wassail Gathering, Church Lane, Swainby (see Waste Group section below)

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”

United for Warm Homes Community Scarf

United for Warm Homes is a national campaign concerned that millions in the UK will struggle to pay their energy bills this winter because of soaring prices and after years of government inaction which has has left millions of homes damp, cold and expensive to heat.

United for Warm Homes campaigns to raise awareness of the long-lasting solutions to not only cut our bills and keep our homes warm but critically to reduce carbon emissions.

Last year CASaV members and people who came to last December’s Repair Cafe created this United for Warm Homes community quilt as an act of craftivism and we presented it to the chair of North Yorkshire Council (see below).

This winter, the campaign is to make scarves or use existing scarves and decorate them with messages from our communities to show our MPs and local decision makers why we need urgent action on warm homes.  At the end of the winter, the aim is to bring all the scarves together in Westminster to demand the government commits to an urgent, ambitious and fair Warm Homes Plan.  

At our Sustainable Christmas market stall and Christmas Repair Cafe (see below) we will invite people to create a fabric or paper patch to attach to our scarves. They can add images representing how they feel about the energy crisis, handwritten messages sharing their experiences of cold homes or demands for action from the government.  

Overview of UN Biodiversity COP 16

The UN Biodiversity Summit happens every other year rather than annually, and aims to ensure global action happens to stop and reverse the frightening global rate of biodiversity loss. Early November saw the end of the Biodiversity COP 16, here is an overview and a link to more information from the RSPB

https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/what-happened-at-cop

Three key successes from Biodiversity COP16 that we are celebrating:

Empowerment of indigenous people and local communities:

In a historic milestone, a new special advisory body was agreed. The voices and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and local communities will be cemented as an integral part of decision-making on nature conservation; this is a crucial step to build equity in global decision-making processes. In the words of the representative from the Global Youth Biodiversity Network, ‘global biodiversity policy will now be stronger and wiser’.  

A new mechanism to safeguard nature’s genetic resources:

In another momentous outcome for COP, parties agreed on a new global mechanism that will see money flowing from those that are benefiting from the use of biodiversity (like pharmaceutical companies) to those who are protecting it – especially Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Strong progress on links between nature and climate:

This COP saw the recognition of the need to tackle the climate and nature crisis in tandem. In the negotiation rooms, at the ministerial level, and over the course of many events, the case was made clear that climate action must support biodiversity, and vice versa.

Three key areas that have fallen short:

National planning is too slow:

COP16 was intended to be a demonstration of how global promises would be turned into action at home, but the level of urgency required was still yet to materialise.

60% of countries have now put forward their national targets, indicating what they will aim to do nationally to put their global promises into action. However, only about a quarter have put forward plans to show how they are going to practically meet those targets.

We need governments – including from the UK – to return from Cali with a refreshed sense of hope and urgency, ready to get stuck into action. We need to see the implementation of delivery plans that meet the scale of the challenge. In the UK, that means backing up their ambitious National Targets with detailed, robust and financed delivery plans.

Lack of decisions on future finance:

Finance was a fundamental element of this COP, dominating hours of negotiations. Huge time pressures at the end of the COP meant that countries did not manage to take a decision on a strategy for future finance for nature. It is urgent that a solution is reached on global financing for nature, otherwise our ambitions will continue to remain simply aspirational.

Final agreement on monitoring process is still pending:

Time pressures, and political discussions about financing, also meant that an updated version of the monitoring framework (the set of indicators that every country will use to track progress) was not agreed. It’s essential that this is finalised urgently, to help guide countries to take action that is measurable, and to enable governments to be held accountable towards meeting their targets.

COP29 happened, so what?

COP29 UN Summit on Climate Change has now taken place in Baku, Azerbaijan. COPs are where the world agrees how all the countries are going to act to tackle climate change.

For CASaV the big takeaway from COP29 is that governments aren’t going to do it all for us.  We have to keep acting locally and continuing to make it clear to our politicians and our business leaders that we want them to step up to take real actions to protect climate and nature.

The one line summary is COP29 was all about finance – with progress on funding for developing countries and agreement on an international carbon market.  Other areas made less progress than hoped for, partly due to the struggle to reach the finance agreements.

While the outcomes of COP29 were at the lower end of what was hoped for, we should not give up on COPs. Almost every country in the world attends COPs showing that while they may not all be willing to do what is necessary to reverse climate change and biodiversity loss, they want to be part of the process and they do not want to be seen to be not taking part. So while COP29 did not achieve all that was hoped it is a step on our road to a better world and maintains the hope that future COPs will make more significant progress as Rio did in 1992, Paris in 2015 and even Glasgow in 2021 did with the first serious inclusion of fossil fuels. COP29 could be the COP where the need to tackle finance finally became clear and will hopefully result in even more progress at COP30 in Brazil in 2025.

You can read more about COP29 on our zero carbon page – COP29 – A summary.

Global Plastics Treaty 2024 UN Negotiations

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.Plastics must be sustainable.

Negotiations are currently ongoing at the UN to establish an International Plastics Treaty with a goal is to end plastic pollution by 2040 through a circular economy where all plastics are responsibly managed during production, use, and end-of-life, enabling a climate-neutral plastics industry. More info here – Global Plastics Treaty

Whatever governments decide, individual actions can make a substantial difference for example in developing Plastic Free Communities (see Waste Group 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 17th December 19.30 Whole Group Christmas Gathering, Globe Community Library, Stokesley

We celebrate another year of our whole group’s activities and actions with a Christmas gathering on Tuesday 19th December with a spread of pooled festive nibbles and mulled drinks at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley from 19.30 until 21.00.

All welcome to come together to share food and thoughts on all things climate change and biodiversity loss, updates from the sub groups and looking ahead to 2025.

We’re a friendly bunch and we welcome everyone!

Osmotherley Mending Group – Tuesday 3rd December 10.00 – 12.00 Mending Group, St Peter’s Church, Osmotherley & Tuesday 10th December 10.00 – 12.00, Osmotherley Quakers Meeting House

A new weekly group activity organised by ECO (Environment Climate Osmotherley). Meet for coffee, cake & conversation with knitting, crotchet & sewing, an opportunity to share your skills with experienced & novice friends.

Friday 6th December 9am – 1pm Sustainable Christmas Stall & Draft Excluder Giveaway at Stokesley Market

At Christmas many of us spend and consume a little more than usual. We do this to indulge ourselves and to celebrate the festive season, brightening up the bleak midwinter period.

But with increasing waste issues, and the climate change emergency, it is more important than ever to celebrate Christmas in a way that doesn’t cost the Earth.

The Waste Group are holding CASaV’s annual Sustainable Christmas stall at the Stokesley Friday Market on 6th December to help our local community enjoy their Christmas more sustainably with information and activities including:

  • Draft excluder giveaway – help yourself to a FREE (limited numbers, come early!) handcrafted draft excluder to keep your home warm, cut heating bills and reduce climate impact
  • Display on looking after hedgehogs this winter
  • Add messages to our United For Warm Homes Community Scarves
  • Reducing waste by reducing, reusing and recycling including advice from Tracey Flint, North Yorkshire Council’s recycling guru
  • Making upcycled Christmas cards and gift tags
  • Sustainable Christmas recipe leaflets
  • Upcycled & compostable wrapping ideas

Tuesday 10th December 13.30 – 15.00 Yatton House Community Garden Working Party

As well as the monthly Yatton House Community Garden working party on Tuesday 10th December 1:30 – 3:00pm, the garden is now open weekdays unless raining so call in and enjoy sitting in the restful space.

The monthly working party in the Yatton House Community Garden on Tuesday 10th December (2nd Tuesday of the month) from 1:30 – 3:00 pm. Jobs for December in the community garden include tidying up after the first frosts of the year. All welcome to come and help or just sit and watch.

Photo from Yatton House Facebook page.

Saturday 14th December 10.00-12.00 Christmas Repair Cafe

We can fix Christmas! Our end of year December Repair Cafe casav.uk/repaircafe will be on Saturday 14th December 10 – 12 at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley.

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 by mending them when they get damaged or wear out, saving money from not buying new, saving resources used to make new and also reducing carbon emissions in manufacturing.

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, facilitated by Eileen Driver.

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

Festive Nature Group meeting with mince pies!: Thursday 19th December 15.30, Globe Community Library, Stokesley Contact Bridget for information

The next Nature group meeting will be held in the Globe Library on Thursday 19th December at 3.30pm Mince Pies will be available. Come and join us to find out what we are doing.

Hedgehogs

October’s CASaV meeting had a great talk from the Cleveland Hedgehog Preservation Society. We learnt a great many things including hedgehogs prefer oak leaves for nesting, they have multiple different locations to spend the daylight hours and they can also share their hibernation nests with other hedgehogs.  

If you find a hedgehog that needs help you can try Smoggy Hogs based in Middlesbrough. Here is their Facebook Page.  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1405156287011431

However if you do find a hedgehog in need of help then Smoggy Hogs give the following advice

If you do find a hog in need please place in a high sided box with some newspaper or blanket or towel with some water available. Do not give milk or bread as this is very harmful.

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

The Food Group would like to wish you all a sustainable, fairly traded Christmas

Fair Trade, Climate Justice and really great coffee

Small-scale farmers who did the least to cause the climate crisis are feeling it’s worst effects right now. Lives and livelihoods are being lost due to extreme weather, pushing families and whole communities to the brink. The highest-earning 1 percent are responsible for the same level of emissions as the lowest earning 5 billion people in the world. (Oxfam, Climate Inequality report, 2023).

Fairtrade farmers are taking action already – Many small-scale farmers and workers in countries most affected by climate change are often experts in adapting to climate change. But unfair trade means they don’t have the money to invest in sustainable farming techniques that can secure a fairer, greener future for people, planet and the world’s food supply.

Did you know that every time you choose to buy Fairtrade coffee, you are contributing to real change, driven by coffee farmers and workers?

It isn’t just about great taste, it’s about the ability for farmers like Marlene, a coffee farmer in Colombia, to transform their lives and support their communities.

Watch a video about Marlene here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVLQmtCTb9Q

Using the power of Fairtrade, Marlene is investing in sustainable farming practices, tackling deforestation and producing more great quality coffee.

How well do you know Coffee?

Pour yourself a cup of Fairtrade coffee and take our coffee quiz to test your knowledge! You might discover new insights about the coffee you enjoy and the farmers who grow it.

https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/fairtrade-coffee-quiz/

Enjoy your Christmas dinner (sustainably)

For ideas for sustainable festive eating have a look here: top-tips-for-a-sustainable-christmas-dinner

Everyone loves chocolate at Christmas and you may want to choose Fair Trade dark chocolate as it is more environmentally friendly than less sustainable milk chocolate info here
chocolate-environmentally-friendly

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.

December 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 December include:

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

3. Ideas from the groups: Waste

This month’s Waste Group (including Repair Cafe) Meeting Tuesday 3rd December 7.00pm CASaV by zoom – contact Simon Gibbon for a link to join

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

At our December meeting we will be focusing on all things sustainable Christmas including our CASaV Sustainable Christmas Stall on 6th December and thoughts from CASaV’s “Enjoy the festive season and protect the climate” leaflet.

South Gare – A Landscape Created from Waste

Haul Away is a short musical film created by North East Opera (NEO) which uses South Gare to highlight our role in nature and our responsibility for nature. South Gare sits at the mouth of the Tees and was constructed in the 19th century from blast furnace slag. Nature has come in and softened it with sand and dunes, birds have made it their own. The River Tees has historically been full of waste (pollution), while nature is back in the river, its existence is often tenuous as shown by the mass mortality of crabs in the river and along the coast, and the mortality of seal pups born in the Tees. The premiere of Haul Away is at the Redcar Regent Cinema at 4pm on Monday 9th December – trailer – more info.

Waste group events in November:

November Repair Cafe

November’s Repair Cafe in Swainby was particularly busy and saw 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 free Fair Trade cuppas and biccies.

Tuesday 14th January 19.00 Waste Group Meeting (incl Repair Cafe) & Wassail Gathering, Church Lane, Swainby

After the Christmas rush is over, the Waste Group is having their January meeting as a Wassail Gathering at Church Lane, Swainby. All are warmly welcomed to sup a fortified apple wassail, feast on sweet and savoury nibbles and reflect on all things waste reduction and repair cafes.

Please let Simon or Kate know if you are able to come.

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

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.

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.

Last week on an appropriately starry night, the ‘Dark Skies and why they matter’ talk was very well attended and enjoyed by all with great interest shown in developing Osmotherley as a designated Dark Skies Village.  

Wednesday 11th December 19.30 there will be the Environment Climate Osmotherley (ECO) monthly meeting & festive drinks at the Golden Lion, Osmotherley

Signing off

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

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!

Link here: CASaV online survey

Hope to see you at the whole group CASaV Christmas meeting on Tuesday 17th December 19.30 at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley

Wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Kate Gibbon,

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

Bridget HolmstromCaryn LoftusRon KirkBarry Warrington and Simon Gibbon