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

Thank you for playing your part in taking urgent action globally and locally on climate breakdown.

This month we continue to focus on our values and purpose, summed up by our motto ‘Think global, act local’, with the update now beginning with global / national 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.  

Think global

COP28: 30th November – 12th December

World leaders are set to discuss tackling climate change at a big UN summit in Dubai.

It follows a year of extreme weather events in which many climate records have been broken.

COP28 is the 28th annual United Nations (UN) climate meeting where governments will discuss how to limit and prepare for future climate change.

The summit is being held in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 30 November until 12 December 2023.

COP stands for “Conference of the Parties”, where the “parties” are the countries that signed up to the original UN climate agreement in 1992.

It is hoped COP28 will help keep alive the goal of limiting long-term global temperature rises to 1.5°C. This was agreed by nearly 200 countries in Paris in 2015.

The 1.5°C target is crucial to avoid the most damaging impacts of climate change, according to the UN’s climate body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Long-term warming currently stands at about 1.1°C or 1.2°C compared with pre-industrial times – the period before humans started burning fossil fuels at scale.

However, the world is on track for about 2.5°C of warming by 2100 even with current pledges to tackle emissions. The window for keeping the 1.5°C limit in reach is “rapidly narrowing”, the UN says.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be taking part, and unlike last year Buckingham Palace has confirmed that King Charles will also attend. He will deliver an opening address to delegates on 1 December.

Environmental charities, community groups, think tanks, businesses and faith groups will also take part.

More information here: RainforestAllianceCOPinfo

Your voice matters at COP28! You can call on the UK government to show leadership on climate action at COP28 through a number of petitions including  

WaterAid who are calling on the UK government to:

1. Invest one third of the UK’s international climate finance budget towards locally-led adaptation projects that will bring a year round supply of clean water to those most in need.  

2. Call on donor governments to invest further in WASH resilience as a cost-effective way to empower vulnerable communities to adapt to climate change, lift themselves out of poverty and save lives.  

3. Show leadership at COP28, by promoting water, sanitation and hygiene adaptation programmes.

Repair and Reuse Declaration

Our Stokesley and Villages Repair Cafe is a signatory of the Repair and Reuse Declaration which was launched on International Repair Day on Saturday 21st October. By signing the declaration we have declared that we are working to increase repair and reuse through our repair cafes. The declaration is asking that government and companies make repair and reuse normal, by: “Making repair more affordable, through tax reductions and repair vouchers; Expanding the UK’s right to repair regulations to cover all consumer products, strengthen design standards and remove barriers to repair for everyone; Introducing a repair index to help the public choose more repairable and durable products; Introducing requirements and targets for reuse and repair to be prioritised over recycling and providing investment to make this a reality. This should be a key part of amended extended producer responsibility rules; Supporting a new generation of repairers through repair training, accreditation and apprenticeships.”

Now you can help:

• By asking your MP to sign the declaration too and work in parliament to ensure that legislation is passed which helps and does not hinder repair and reuse.
• By making sure you repair and reuse your product and when you need to buy products choose products which can be repaired and reused.

More information here:

UK Repair and Reuse Declaration

Light pollution & biodiversity loss

We are all too familiar with the pollution in our rivers and in the atmosphere but how many of us consider the damage being done to wildlife and indeed to us through light pollution. It has been estimated that 83 percent of the world’s people live under light-polluted skies and that 23 percent of the world’s land area is affected by skyglow. Artificial light upsets natural body rhythms in both humans and animals. Nocturnal light interrupts sleep and confuses the circadian rhythm—the internal, twenty-four-hour clock that guides day and night activities and affects physiological processes in nearly all living organisms. Light pollution lowers melatonin production, which leads to sleep deprivation, fatigue, headaches, stress, anxiety, and other health problems. It seem there is also a connection between reduced melatonin levels and cancer. It is important to note that preventing light pollution does not mean that there should be no light. Rather there should be the right light in the right place at the right time.

Wild life suffers as well.  Migration patterns, wake-sleep habits, and habitat formation can be impacted because of light pollution and creatures such sea turtles and birds that are guided by moonlight during migration get confused, lose their way, and often die. Insects, a primary food source for birds and other animals, are drawn to artificial lights and are instantly killed upon contact with light sources.   Light pollution has a very adverse affect on moths. Their decline in numbers has been significant and it is also important to note that moths are responsible for around one third of all pollination.

However, we are very fortunate that we have a dark sky park here on the North York Moors, one of only 21 across the planet. Events are taking place throughout the year culminating in the Dark Skies Festival in February.   We have the opportunity to see the grandeur of the dark skies just on our door step. Don’t forget to wrap up warmly though.

North York Moors Dark Skies

The Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) organises an annual ‘Star Count’ to monitor how light pollution is impacting on dark skies essential for wildlife in England. You can see this year’s results here, how to donate to support their work and how to take part as a citizen scientist next February CPREDarkSkies

NHS & Net Zero

4-5% of all carbon emissions in the UK are produced by the NHS. In response to this, in October 2020, the NHS became the world’s first health service to commit to reaching carbon net zero, acknowledging their responsibility to address the profound and growing threat to health posed by climate change. The “Delivering a Net Zero Health Service” report sets out a clear ambition and two evidence-based targets. After one year from setting out these targets, the NHS reduced its emissions equivalent to powering 1.1 million homes annually and they are working on more.

For example in May 2022, a team at Solihull Hospital performed the world’s first net zero carbon operation. It involved a range of colleagues making several changes to their standard practice, including those set out in the table below:

• using reusable gowns, drapes, and scrub caps
• giving medications through the veins for general anaesthesia rather than anaesthetic gases, which have a strong greenhouse effect
• implementing a plan for minimising electricity use, including heating and lighting
  recycling of single-use equipment used in surgery, working with industry partners
• recycling of “clean” paper and plastic waste
• using individually packed equipment, and only opening items as they were required
• one consultant surgeon jogged to hospital, and the other cycled.

One of our CASaV members Jenny Earle is involved in GPNET-0, an NHS study addressing the following:

To understand how general practice is implementing decarbonisation actions to help achieve a net zero NHS.

To generate recommendations on how to support and accelerate the implementation and sustainability of actions to decarbonise general practice to help achieve a net zero NHS.

For more information on this project: GPNet-0

Jenny will update us with more information as the study progresses.

The South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has committed to becoming net zero carbon by 2040 with regards to emissions it controls directly and wants to achieve an 80% reduction by 2032 at the latest. An Eco Shop which prevents surplus food going to waste has been established and a fleet of electric cars is available for use by staff. The Trust’s Sustainability Manager has been in touch with our Waste Group about our Repair Cafe activities and we hope to support their activities in encouraging staff to repair and reuse to prevent waste as soon as we can. They have a Clothes Swap Shop arranged for 23rd November, if anyone is interested in supporting this by demonstrating clothing repairs, please contact.

Act Local

What’s Going On: this month’s local activities to promote care for our environment and fight climate breakdown

CASaV Monthly Meeting Stokesley Globe

Tuesday 21st November 7.30-9pm

Following our last meeting, we have completed the first stage of the application process for funding from the North Yorkshire Council’s Shared Prosperity Fund, for a place-based decarbonisation plan for Stokesley to complement the Local Area Energy case study that has already been undertaken. We would then hope that the plan for Stokesley can be used to create similar plans for the rest of our area.
Our next whole group meeting will be on Tuesday 21st November, in The Globe Community Library, North Road Stokesley, from 7:30 – 9:00 pm. As well as hearing updates from the various sub-groups we will focus on the next steps in the United for Warm Homes campaign following the day of action on Saturday 18th November. See below for further details of the campaign.

United for Warm Homes Day of Action November 18th:  

Community Quilt Project

United for Warm Homes is calling for:

1. Urgent support for people dealing with sky-high energy bills. Millions of people are struggling with soaring bills and the rising cost of living. The average energy bill has skyrocketed since 2021, leaving people facing impossible choices between staying warm and putting food on the table. Far more help is needed – through price guarantees, targeted extra payments, and fair energy pricing. The government must ensure everyone can afford the energy they need to keep their homes warm.  
2. A new emergency programme to insulate our heat-leaking homes. Upgrading our homes with insulation is the cheapest and easiest way to permanently reduce our bills and cut emissions. We’re calling on the government to roll out a rapid, street-by-street insulation programme, coordinated by councils. This should start with the neighbourhoods hardest hit by the crisis and be provided free of charge in areas where people are living on low incomes. This must be followed with deeper measures to upgrade our homes to ensure they are cheaper and greener to heat by 2030.  
3. An energy system powered by cheap, green renewables. To end the need for expensive and polluting gas in the long term, we must move to a homegrown, renewable energy system. This will require fitting millions of homes with modern electric-powered heat pumps and a rapid expansion of onshore wind and solar power across the UK, as well as our vast offshore renewable resources.   

On Saturday 18 November 2023 there is a nationwide Day of Action, calling for lower energy bills and warm homes for all, putting pressure on politicians to act, by showing that communities are united for warm homes.

Locally we are creating a United for Warm Homes community quilt to present to our MP /PM Rishi Sunak.

Please take part in this by making a 15cm x 15cm fabric square with a design that captures any of the three issues above. You can embroider, applique, collage your design or draw with a felt tip and bring it along to our monthly Repair Cafe on this date (Saturday 18th November 10-12 at Swainby Village Hall where we will sew all the squares together to complete the quilt. Some ideas for your square shown below:

If you’d like to contribute a square but are unable to attend the November Repair Cafe contact Kate Gibbon for collection / postal address.

More information here: United For Warm Homes

November’s Repair Cafe – Saturday 18th November 10-12

Swainby Village Hall

Waste collection, treatment, disposal and material recovery in the United Kingdom produced 3.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2021. Our Repair Cafes aim to help cut waste by repairing and restoring to use items that would have otherwise gone to landfill or incineration, whilst also saving the energy and resources that would have gone into manufacturing new items alongside sharing repair skills and knowhow and encouraging people to think more sustainably about consumable items.

This month’s Repair Cafe will be on Saturday, 18th November, 10-12 at Swainby Village Hall.

Everyone is very welcome to bring along household items in need of repair – computers, mobile phones, electrical items, clothing & textiles, ceramics & glass, wooden items, all blades in need of sharpening including gardening tools – and our friendly pink T shirted repairers will aim to restore your items to working order or give advice if they can’t. All for free including refreshments, donations to cover costs welcomed.

There will also be opportunity here to take part in the United for Warm Homes Community Quilt (see above) by making a square highlighting relief for fuel poverty, insulating homes and green energy which will be presented to our MP / PM Rishi Sunak.

Upcycled Christmas Decorations Workshops:

Great Ayton Discovery Centre Wednesday 22nd November 3-5pm

Stokesley Globe Community Library Saturday 25th November 10-12

We all want to enjoy Christmas but it’s one of the most wasteful (not to mention expensive) times of the year, creating a rise in the volume of waste materials being produced and disposed – decorations, wrapping paper, cards etc –  most of which unfortunately, is sent to landfill or incineration where it produces environment damaging emissions.

Beautiful, unique and lasting decorations can be easily hand made and upcycled from materials which might otherwise go to waste. We are holding two free Upcycled Christmas Tree Decoration workshops locally:

1) The Discovery Centre, Great Ayton Wednesday 22nd November 3-5pm

2) The Globe, Stokesley Saturday 25th November 10-12

Both are free to attend, all materials will be provided and are suitable for all ages but we recommend that children aged under 12 are accompanied by an adult. Please spread the word and encourage all to come along!

The materials we will be using will be old / surplus CDs, buttons, fabric, cardboard, knitting wool. Although we do have some supplies if you do have some of these resources that you would like to donate please contact Bridget Holstrom or Kate Gibbon

The workshops are timed to prepare some upcycled decorations for our Climate Action Christmas Tree – see below!

Climate Action Tree at the Christmas Tree Festival at Stokesley Parish Church: December 1st – 5th January

The CASaV Nature Group has secured a ‘tree slot’ at the Stokesley Parish Church Christmas Tree Festival in order to raise awareness of the impact of climate breakdown on the living environment and promote sustainability at Christmas.

There will have a Preview Evening for all the trees from different organisations in the area on Friday December 1st at 7pm. Tickets for this event are available at The Yorkshire Store in Stokesley or from Sue Wardle suewdl5555@aol.com or leave a message on 07909901240. The cost of the preview evening is £5 and will include Wine and Canapes.

Please pop in either at the preview evening or anytime December 2nd to January 5th and support our Climate Action Tree!

Find out how peat bogs fight climate change:

site visit 16th January 2024

What’s climate change got to do with peat bogs? Peat bogs play a crucial role in the carbon cycle. Peat bogs in good condition have the potential to offer a significant nature-based solution to tackling climate change as they are capable of absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide known as “carbon sinks”.

Since 2009, the Yorkshire Peat Partnership (YPP) has been working to help restore Yorkshire’s internationally important peatlands. Sadly more than 80% of Yorkshire’s peatlands are in poor condition. Without projects to help stop these habitats degrading we will lose a very precious resource.

The CASaV Nature group have been in contact with the YPP and organised a visit to the restored peatlands on the moors around Rosedale on Tuesday 16th January.

Bridget Holmstrom, Nature Group lead says: ‘We should be able to see them working on the site and the methods used. If anyone would like to join us please let me know. It will be a very interesting session and hopefully the weather will be kind to us’. Contact Bridget Holmstrom for more information or to book a place.

Reduce – Reuse – Recycle: current local actions you can take to prevent waste and benefit our community

Whether household waste goes to landfill or incineration climate damaging carbon gases are produced. Here are some current local options for your unwanted or waste items that will not only cut carbon emissions but in some cases benefit those in our local community. It’s a big win / win.

Warm winter clothing – coats, jackets, hats, scarves, gloves (until 12th November)

Be quick as this project is only running until Sunday November 12th. Warm winter outer clothing is being collected – at Stokesley Leisure Centre, the Hub Hutton Rudby, Great Ayton Methodist Church, Larchfield Community – then will be distributed to charities supporting vulnerable people including the homeless all over Teesside.

Crisp packets into waterproof and warm sleeping bags!

Metallised crisp packets, as with all composite packaging are very difficult to recycle and usually go to landfill or incineration. However, they can be upcycled into valuable waterproof and warm emergency sleeping bags for homeless and vulnerable people. Nite Light CIC in Middlesbrough, where our Food Group take surplus food to weekly (see below), is appealing for your metallised (i.e. foil on the inside) crisp packets.

There is a collection point in the Globe, Stokesley or you can take directly to Nite Light at units 3 & 4 North Street, Southbank, Middlesbrough (just opposite Asda Southbank).

Affordable toys for Christmas and funds for local hospice

Christmas is coming – save and repurpose your foil cases and stamps

Louise Coidan is repurposing your used metal foil and stamps for good causes. She has asked people to collect as much as they can and drop off to her home at Baysdale House, 1 School Lane, Gt Ayton TS9 6SH, either through the letter box or in a bag on her back gate. The stamps will go to Teesside Hospice and the foil will go Great Ayton Methodist Church to raise funds for Ukrainians.

Medication blister packets – postal recycling by Aldi / Terracycle

Medication / tablet blister packs are complex to recycle as they are composites of plastic and metal and can only be recycled at specialist facilities such as Terracycle which comes at a cost. Superdrug Pharmacies (closest are at Harrogate, Bridlington and Chester-le-Street) are now only able to take personal amounts from individuals so there are no longer community collecting pointing at our local libraries.

Aldi is now sponsoring free postal recycling via Terracycle. You just register online and you will receive (per person / email address) two postal labels per month to send up to 60 packets in an A4 sized envelope (repurposed of course!).

More information here: Blister Pack Recycling

Ideally this packaging would be recycled at production source i.e. by the pharmaceutical companies but this requires a voluntary change of practice by the companies or government legislation. You can sign a petition for this here:

Pharmaceutical Company Recycling Petition

Recycling for Good Causes: household items needed!

The CASaV Waste Group are collecting unwanted items which will raise funds for MacMillan Cancer Support via the Recycling for Good Causes scheme whilst saving them from going to waste in landfill.

The scheme has provided us with a large collecting bag and free collection of a minimum of 10kg of items, with funds going to support people affected by cancer.

Items we are collecting are:

Jewellery and watches

Any currency UK or foreign of any age / unchangeable currency (banknotes and coins)

Mobile phones, video / film / digital cameras, computer games and accessories, MP3 players, ipods, tablets, computers of any age or condition

Stamps (loose /single stamps, first day covers, presentation packs)

Please have a look through your household and if you have any of these items going spare, please bring them along to the Repair Cafes on November 18th in Swainby and December 9th in Stokesley and the bag will also be available at the next CASaV monthly meeting on November 21st.

More information here: Recycling For Good Causes

Recycling Reminder: Soft Plastics

Co-op stores have just released a summary of how they recycle / process soft plastics to encourage us to recycle more. Along with most other larger supermarkets in Teesside, our local Co-op stores in Stokesley and Great Ayton have drop off collection points for soft plastics (defined as those which don’t bounce back when you scrunch them up).

Last month’s events & updates from the sub groups

This season’s apple pressing

Thank you to all those who helped make this a successful season for apple pressing. A total of approximately 725 litres of juice was pressed at the various events that took place. This equates to nearly 2,000 kg of apples along with some pears used to create lovely juice and cider rather than potentially being left to rot. And all the spent apple pulp was usefully turned into local farm animal feed!

Yatton House Community Garden

Thank you if you chose 

Yatton House Community Garden as your local Co-op cause last year: a total of £7,220.56 was raised. This will be used towards developing the next stages of the garden such as the sensory area, more flower beds for pollinators and seating. This project is a great way of bringing different groups, including CASaV, together with the common aim of creating a garden to:• Provide a safe and accessible community garden and space for groups and individuals.
• Provide a space which is fully inclusive by ensuring accessibility and safety are central to the design.
• Bring different sections of the community together.
• Promote awareness of mental health and loneliness.
• Champion environmental impact and climate change through wildlife, biodiversity, and the growing of sustainable organic fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Deliver educational experiences.

Northallerton Eco Festival

CASaV were pleased to be invited to have an organisation promotion stall and clothing repairs demonstrations at the first Northallerton Eco Festival arranged by Climate Action Northallerton alongside partners from One Northallerton One Planet and Northallerton Incredible Edible. There was an emphasis on promoting a Northallerton Repair Cafe and several people signed up to start this.

Nature Group

– meets regularly by zoom, next meeting 7pm Thursday 30^th November (see separate email for joining details)

Sustainable Farming Walk and Talk

Robert Campbell kindly took a group around his farm on 25th October to show how he is trialling more sustainable approaches to farming. Participants found it illuminating and enjoyable.

Wildlife gardening to encourage biodiversity leaflet

The Nature Group has produced a concise guide to encouraging greater biodiversity in your garden, available to download from our website or pick up the leaflet at one of our events.

Waste Group

(page) – monthly zoom meetings, next meeting Tuesday 14th November 7.00pm, please contact if you would like to join

Green Libraries Week 2nd – 6th October

The Waste group was active in Green Libraries Week in October, running a mini ‘Pop up’ Repair Cafe and a Make Your Own Draught Excluder Workshop.

October’s Repair Cafe

Last month’s Repair Cafe took place at the Globe, Stokesley on Saturday 14th October. Alongside the dozens of household items brought in for repair and advice we also had two visitors keen to see how our Repair Cafe operates.  A freelance journalist, who is writing an article on repair cafes was blown away by the amount of activity happening, the range of things being repaired and the whole feel of such a constructive community. Also a member of the budding Saltburn Repair Cafe came to take photographs as part of their planning for their own Repair Cafe in February next year.

This year to date the Stokesley and Villages Repair Cafe is in the top three of the most recorded repairs carried out of all the UK repair cafes that share a public record of their repairs:https://dashboard.repairmonitor.org/?cafe=401&country=gb&year=2023

Allerton Waste Recovery Park Visits

Last year the Waste Group organised several popular visits to the Allerton Waste Recovery Park to see at first hand how our black bin waste is dealt with, including incineration. Due to demand, further visits are now being arranged, if you are interested please email or contact Bridget Holmstrom.

Food Group

(site) – monthly zoom meetings, next meeting Monday 27th November at 18.00, please contact if you would like to join

Support for organic farming

At the October meeting the Riverford ‘Fair to Farmers’ petition was discussed. This collective of organic farms is hoping to persuade supermarkets to commit to five sourcing principles which would help prevent food going to waste and a better deal for small farmers. More information and how to sign the petition here: Get Fair About Farming

Co-op Foodshare

Every night, every week the Food Group organises volunteers to collect surplus food from our local Co-op stores and resdistributes it locally to those in need, not only reducing food waste which produces carbon gases affecting our climate but also providing a benefit to the community.

New volunteers are always welcome, please contact.

Stokesley U3A: Food, glorious food, veggie style!

This veggie food group meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm in Stokesley Town Hall, next meeting Wednesday 15th November. The group is for collaborative folks who are interested in sharing ideas,knowledge,recipes and enthusiasm for veggie style food.

Sustainable eating: autumn recipes leaflet

The Food Group has produced another sustainable eating leaflet, focusing on seasonal growing your own, avoiding waste and low energy cooking including how to use up any windfall fruit in a tasty vegan traybake. Download the leaflet via our website or pick up a copy at one of our events.

Signing off

If you have any news or any event / activity you would like promoting on next month’s (December) update including Book of the Month and Podcast of the Month recommendations please email Kate Gibbon by the end of November.

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

Hope to see you at the CASaV whole group meeting on Tuesday 21st November, 7.30 at the Globe, Stokesley

Kate Gibbon,

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

Bridget Holmstrom, Caryn Loftus, Jack Turton, Ron Kirk and Simon Gibbon

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

Thank you for playing your part in taking urgent action globally and locally on climate breakdown.

This month we are refocusing on our values and purpose, summed up by our motto ‘Think global, act local’, so the update will now start with global / national 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.  

Think global

Latest report shows the planet is far off track to meet its climate goals

A new multi-agency report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) clearly shows that the planet is far off track from meeting its climate goals. This undermines global efforts to tackle hunger, poverty and ill-health, improve access to clean water and energy and many other aspects of sustainable development.

Read the full report here : https://public.wmo.int/en/resources/united-in-science-2023

North Yorkshire Climate Coalition response to the Prime Minister’s net zero row-back

In the face of overwhelming evidence that even with existing climate action plans averting climate breakdown may be unavoidable, on Wednesday, 20th September Rishi Sunak, our local MP as well as our PM made a series of net zero policy announcements, claiming these are to reduce the costs to ‘ordinary working people’ of the planned transition to a low carbon economy. However, his plans raise serious concerns about how we can tackle the imminent climate breakdown.

The North Yorkshire Climate Coalition, comprising of county wide environmental and climate action groups including our own, have released a statement highlighting these concerns and the dangers of back tracking on climate action commitments.  

More information here including the complete response sent to Mr Sunak.

https://www.nyclimatecoalition.org/response-net-zero-rowback

Friends of the Earth Petition

In response to the PM’s plan to weaken the existing climate action plans, Friends of the Earth have created a petition to call on the government to create a better plan to cut emissions fast enough to protect people and the planet from climate breakdown. Set up a few days ago, it has already gained nearly 65,000 signatures, you can add your signature via the link below.

https://action.friendsoftheearth.uk/petition/tell-government-fix-its-weak-climate-plans

Raise your voice – other petitions calling for greater climate action

Save the Children have also started a petition calling on UK Government to protect children through the climate crisis.

https://action.savethechildren.org.uk/page/130893/data/1

WaterAid is asking our government to invest one third of our international climate finance budget in locally-led adaptation projects that will bring a year-round supply of clean water to those most in need – and to persuade other governments to make similar commitments.

https://www.wateraid.org/uk/our-climate-fight

Use your vote to cut UK carbon emissions

Your vote at the next general election could have real impact on long-term reduction in UK climate emissions.

VoteClimate is a new campaign which aims to rank the political parties’ manifestos according to which, if fully implemented over 5 years, will lead to the greatest impact on reducing carbon emissions, based on expert analysis.

You can sign a petition to support this campaign here:

https://chng.it/wsZWZBThNR

More information here:

https://voteclimate.uk/

H2Teesside

The Development Consent Order for H2Teesside requires a statutory public consultation. So, BP are currently consulting about building a 1.2GW blue hydrogen from natural gas plant on the site of the old Redcar blast furnace. The plant will result in production of 1.2GW of blue hydrogen and over 3.6milion tonnes of CO2 per year (from well to hydrogen). Nearly 3million tonnes of CO2 will be captured and stored per year, with 700 thousand tonnes being uncaptured/released into the atmosphere.

While hydrogen will be important for decarbonising some activities, its importance is likely limited to heavy industry, such as steel making and cement manufacture, plus possibly the use of green hydrogen for energy storage and heavy transport. The need to manufacture hydrogen makes it energetically inefficient compared to renewable energy at best 50%, as energy is consumed in its production and wasted in its conversion back to energy. Hydrogen was previously slated as the solution for home heating, cars and trains, but now heat pumps with efficiencies of 300% make hydrogen at 50% an unrealistically expensive solution. Battery electric cars with minimum ranges of 200 miles negate the need for hydrogen.  The German national rail company despite having invested heavily in regional hydrogen trains is now converting these lines to electricity as the costs of both hydrogen and the engineering required were uneconomic when compared to the costs of electrification.

There is no question that hydrogen will be important in our shift away from fossil fuels, and that green hydrogen made from electrolysing water with renewable energy has almost zero CO2 emissions, but building blue hydrogen now will mean H2Teesside will be releasing at least 700thousand tonnes of CO2 in 2053, and making the UK’s goal of Net Zero by 2050 more challenging.

H2Teesside is seen as helping the transition to green hydrogen, surely it would be better to prioritise insulation, home heating efficiency, renewable energy, energy storage and green hydrogen now. H2Teesside will receive considerable public finance, which could otherwise be spent on more rapid routes to decarbonisation of the UK.

You can find more information here, H2Teesside, or go to one of the public consultation events:

Thursday 5th October 15:00 – 19:00 Inspire2Learn, South Bank, TS6 9AE

Friday 6th October 15:00 – 19:00 St Aidan’s Church Hall, Billingham, TS23 2DF

Thursday 12th October 15:00 – 19:00 TunedIn, Redcar, TS10 5BJ

Up in smoke – too many incinerators will mean less recycling and waste reduction

A new report published on 26th September 2023 by the UK Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) shows that if waste reduction targets are met English incineration capacity would exceed available feedstock by 2.6 million tonnes in 2027, with this overcapacity growing to 7.4 million tonnes by 2042, even if no additional incinerators are built.

The study shows how expansion in England would increase incineration overcapacity at local, regional and national levels, harming current and future efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Most of what is incinerated is material that could and should have been recycled (including paper, card, plastic, and food).

Limiting incinerator feedstock to genuinely residual waste would free up more than half the current capacity, undermining the rationale for building new incinerators.

There are 51 operational incinerators in England and 12 sites under construction with a combined total of 19 million tonnes of incineration capacity.

According to report author Josh Dowen: “The more incinerators that are built, the greater the pressure to feed them, and the greater the threat to the top tiers of the waste hierarchy. As our report shows, incineration overcapacity is not a distant threat but a current concern that should act as a wakeup call for those who have yet to realise that ever increasing incineration capacity is incompatible with the environmental and economic imperative to move towards a more circular economy.”

Responding to the report’s findings UKWIN National Coordinator Shlomo Dowen said: “The expansion of incineration in England has got to stop. Wales introduced a halt to new incinerators in 2021 and Scotland did the same in 2022. For years we have seen incineration increase, with more and more incinerators burning material that should have been recycled or composted. If England is to increase recycling we must stop building new burners and start diverting recyclate away from incinerators”.

A legally binding commitment to halve the amount of England’s residual waste going to incineration or to landfill by 2042 came into force on 30 January 2023 under the Environmental Targets (Residual Waste) (England) Regulations 2023.

More information here: https://ukwin.org.uk/

This month’s Discussion Point: Should we have seven bins?

On 20th September Rishi Sunak announced that he would not be forcing households to have seven bins for roadside waste / recycling; whilst this had never been official policy it would have made a lot of sense.

If the rate of recycling (amount of raw material that comes from post-consumer products) is to increase then there are broadly two factors to consider: how much people individually recycle and the quality of that recycling. Seven bins may put people off, as the prime minister suggested, but this number of bins would mean that there was less contamination of recycling streams and thus more of the recycled materials could be made into raw material for new products. For example having two bins for paper and card, one for food contaminated paper and card and another for all other paper and card, would result in more paper and card being recycled, as currently small amounts of food contamination on a few items means that all of a consignment is composted or anaerobically digested rather than being repulped.

If we are now not going to have seven bins then the other alternative is to encourage manufacturers to only use materials which are/can be efficiently recycled. This is the role of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), basically getting the polluter to pay, so a manufacturer has to pay tax based on how much post-consumer recycling of the materials they use happens. The manufacturers then have an incentive either to use materials that currently have a high quality of current recycling or put in place systems to increase the level of recycling of materials they use.

Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) work in a different way by simply reducing the amount of material that needs collecting for recycling and ideally by allowing a container to be reused rather than remanufactured.

In 2018 the government published “Our waste, our resources: a strategy for England” which ambitions with plans to implement action to tackle food waste, consistency of waste collection, EPR and DRS. However, successful industry lobbying has meant that these schemes have suffered from successive push-backs of the date of implementation.

So without EPR, DRS or 7 bins, it is not obvious how we can improve our recycling rates and reduce the impact that our waste of materials has.

Some thoughts – what would you be willing to do to help improve recycling?
a) have seven roadside collection bins / containers
b) return packaging to collection points
c) pay more
Or/and would you like the producers to own the problem?
a) deposit return schemes
b) reusable packaging
c) higher taxes for producers who use unrecyclable materials

Act local

What’s Going On – upcoming activities to promote care for our environment and fight climate breakdown locally

CASaV Monthly Meeting Tuesday 17th October 7.30-9pm

This month’s meeting will be on Tuesday October 17th at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley 7.30-9 pm, all are welcome to join in our discussions about climate breakdown and help plan our events and activities.

Green libraries week 2nd-6th October

Libraries Week is an annual showcase and celebration of the best that libraries have to offer. Each year a theme is chosen to focus on one many of the innovative activities that libraries are doing to support their communities.

This year, Libraries Week becomes Green Libraries Week. Between the 2nd and 8th October, the work going on in libraries across the UK focused on sustainability and climate change will be highlighted. More information here: https://librariesweek.org.uk/

The Globe Community Library, Stokesley is a regular venue for our Repair Cafe every other month (next one will be 14th October) and will also be hosting eco events during Green Libraries Week:

1. Pop Up Repair Cafe Thursday 5th October 10-12

A smaller version of our larger Repair Cafe, skilled volunteers will be on hand to repair (or give advice where they can’t) your broken household items – electrical, furniture, ceramics, clothing – to save you the cost of buying new, save resources of manufacturing new and preventing waste going to landfill or incineration which creates more carbon emissions. All for free but donations to cover costs welcome.

2. Free Upcycled Draught Excluder Workshop Friday 6th October 11am -1pm

As the temperature drops and the heating bills rise, all are welcome to a free draught excluder workshop where our sewing volunteers will help you make your own draught excluder for doors and windows from upcycling fabric. All materials provided but you can bring along a favourite old jumper or jeans to upcycle if you’d like!

3. Crisp packets into waterproof and warm sleeping bags!

Metallised crisp packets, as with all composite packaging are very difficult to recycle and usually go to landfill or incineration. However, they can be upcycled into valuable waterproof and warm emergency sleeping bags for homeless and vulnerable people. Nite Light CIC in Middlesbrough, where our Food Group take surplus food to weekly (see below), is appealing for your metallised (i.e. foil on the inside) crisp packets.

By the end of Green Libraries Week there should be a collection point in the Globe, Stokesley or you can take directly to Nite Light at units 3 & 4 North Street, Southbank, Middlesbrough (just opposite Asda Southbank).

October’s Repair Cafe – Saturday 14th October 10-12

The Globe, Stokesley

Waste collection, treatment, disposal and material recovery in the United Kingdom produced 3.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2021. Our Repair Cafes aim to help cut waste by repairing and restoring to use items that would have otherwise gone to landfill or incineration, whilst also saving the energy and resources that would have gone into manufacturing new items alongside sharing repair skills and knowhow and encouraging people to think more sustainably about consumable items.

This month’s Repair Cafe will be on Saturday, 14th October, 10-12 at the Globe Community Library.

Everyone is very welcome to bring along household items in need of repair – computers, mobile phones, electrical items, clothing & textiles, ceramics & glass, wooden items, all blades in need of sharpening including gardening tools – and our friendly pink T shirted repairers will aim to restore your items to working order or give advice if they can’t. All for free including refreshments, donations to cover costs welcomed.

International Repair Day Saturday 21st October

A week after our Repair Cafe is International Repair Day so look out for other events happening around the UK and the launch of the UK Repair and Reuse Declaration, a request to our MPs to sign up to support repair properly, through requiring manufactured items to be designed to be repaired, making sure spare parts are available for at least a decade after manufacture, providing financial incentives for people to repair rather than replace.

https://openrepair.org/international-repair-da

Apple pressing times October and November

Food accounts for 10-30% of a household’s carbon footprint which includes transportation so eating what we produce locally is important for reducing carbon emissions. Food waste from households and businesses accounts for about 9.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases so reducing food going to waste is also essential.

CASaV owns an electrical scratter for chopping apples easily and a press for juicing. This year, due to the weather, people are commenting they don’t have so many apples suitable for juicing or storing. However, the CASaV team did manage to press approximately 215 kg of apples and pears giving over 80 litres of juice at Yatton House on Friday 22nd September. The morning was spent helping members of Yatton House juice their apples and then there was a session in the afternoon open to the public.

CASaV will be running a second session on:

Sunday 5th November, Faceby between 10am and 3pm

To book a slot, email CASaV or phone 0777 3048250. There is a suggested contribution of £5 per slot to cover costs and you will need to bring your own bottles.

If you have apples ready before then, Maggie Rich, of Off the Rails bakery at Glaisdale Station, is running a number of sessions, using CASaV’s equipment. Maggie says:

“Equipment will be available to use at the station as follows:

Saturday 7th October, 12 noon – 5pm

Sunday 8th October, 12 noon – 5pm

Monday 9th October, 10 am – 5 pm

Tuesday 10th October, by arrangement only if necessary.

Please note:

* Please let me know you’re planning to come with date & rough time of arrival, an idea of quantity – then I’ll be able to give you a steer as to whether you might need to hang around a bit to access the equipment. Ideally contact via 07419 197742.

* You need to bring your own bottles / containers to take away your juice.

* Please bring your apples ready for pressing, ie with any bad bits already cut out.

* I’m not having the pasteuriser this year; if you’re wanting to keep the juice unfermented you will need to pasteurise at home.

* Suggested donation of £5-£10 please to help cover costs. Any surplus will be divided between Glaisdale Head Chapel and Holyrood House, Thirsk. Thank you.”

NB Pressed apple juice will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge but to keep for longer you can freeze or pasteurise the juice, information here https://www.orchardlink.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Pasteurising_your_apple_juice.pdf

For peat’s sake – peatland visit being arranged

What’s climate change got to do with peat bogs? Peat bogs play a crucial role in the carbon cycle. Peat bogs in good condition have the potential to offer a significant nature-based solution to tackling climate change as they are capable of absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide known as “carbon sinks”.

Since 2009, the Yorkshire Peat Partnership (YPP) has been working to help restore Yorkshire’s internationally important peatlands. Sadly more than 80% of Yorkshire’s peatlands are in poor condition. Without projects to help stop these habitats degrading we will lose a very precious resource.

The CASaV Nature group have been in contact with the YPP regarding a visit to the restored peatlands on the moors around Rosedale in December and they will confirm the date nearer the time but it would be great to have an idea who would be interested in visiting and learning more about the restored peat. Please contact Bridget Holmstrom.

Last month’s events & updates from the sub groups

Restore Nature Now

Members of CASaV joined members of Yorkshire’s wildlife charities, environmental activists and nature lovers outside DEFRA offices in York on 28th September as part of nation wide protests organised by Restore Nature Now, a new coalition of 30 of the UK’s nature advocacy organisations in response to the publication of the State of Nature Report which shows that the UK’s wildlife is continuing to decline. Already classified as one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries, nearly one in six of the more than ten thousand species assessed (16%) are at risk of being lost from Great Britain. More information here: https://nbn.org.uk/news/state-of-nature-2023/

Great Ayton Floodplain Meadow

Representatives from CASaV, Brighten Up great Ayton and Great Ayton Wildlife Association helped rake some of the floodplain meadow on Sunday 17th September. A report on the 2-year project will be presented to the Great Ayton Parish Council in early November, including next steps for managing the meadow to increase the biodiversity of the area.

Yatton House Community Garden Opening

The garden, a project that has been developed through the hard work and support of a number of partners including Brighten Up Great Ayton, Great Ayton Parish Council, CASaV and local Rotary Groups, had its official opening on 22nd September. The Community Garden has been created in an old allotment for the enjoyment of residents and visitors to Great Ayton.  If you are interested in bringing a group to the garden or volunteering contact admin@yattonhouse.org.uk, call in at Yatton House during working hours or go to Yatton House website .

Environmental / Nature Group – meets regularly by zoom, contact for details

Wildflower Walk

Anne Prest, local botanist and environmentalist, led a fascinating wildflower walk from Ingelby Bankfoot on 27th September. It was interesting to see the range of plantlife in early autumn and hear about their practical and medicinal uses, for example hawthorn berries have been used to make jams and jellies due to being particularly high pectin and they have historically been used to protect against heart disease. Further wildflower walks are planned, check further updates for details.

Waste Group (page) – monthly zoom meetings, next meeting Tuesday  10th October 7.00pm, please contact if you would like to join

September’s Repair Cafe

Last month’s Repair Cafe took place at Swainby Village Hall on Saturday 16th September. 30 items were brought, everything from a slow running computer to wobbly chairs which needed skilful alignment of all the parts before gluing and clamping. As normal our electrical repairs went from the miraculous to the frustrating, the item that appeared dead but after logical fault finding the single disconnected wire could be reconnected so it sparked into life again, to the items where the failed component is found but the replacement part is unavailable, inaccessible or more expensive than a new item. Over 20 items went away mended and some of the rest will be back next time once the owner has purchased a required spare part.

Repair Cafe at the Festival of Thrift

On September 23rd some of our Repair Cafe volunteers joined the Newcastle based Star and Shadow Fix It Cafe at the annual Festival of Thrift in Billingham to repair a wide range of items (including a trumpet, a 50 year old clockwork toy, a laser disc player and several toasters!) preventing waste going to landfill or incineration and saving several happy ‘customers’ the cost of replacing the items by buying new.

Adam Wilson has joined our electrical team, Adam is an electronic engineer, lives in Billingham and also has a blog “Adam’s Vintage Computer Restoration”. Adam has written up a blog item about the repairs he carried out at the Festival of Thrift Repair Cafe (23-09-23), this gives a great view of what is needed to repair items and how repairs are often possible.

Guisborough Eco Group Repair Cafe

On Saturday 30th September some of our Repair Cafe volunteers also popped in to help out at the new Guisborough Repair Cafe, organised by the Guisborough Eco Group leads Jemma Joy and Fred Page. It was great to see a brilliant new Repair Cafe getting off the ground, starting with sewing repairs, which was very popular and enjoyed by all who attended. The team hope to run further Repair Cafes with a wider range of repairs so keep an eye out for updates. More information here

https://guisboroughecogroup.co.uk/

Allerton Waste Recovery Park Visits

Last year the Waste Group organised several popular visits to the Allerton Waste Recovery Park to see at first hand how our black bin waste is dealt with, including incineration. Due to demand, further visits are now being arranged, if you are interested please email or contact Bridget Holmstrom.

Food Group (site) – monthly zoom meetings, next meeting Monday 23 rd Oct. 2023 at 18.00, please contact if you would like to join

Co-op Foodshare and Middlesbrough Nitelight CIC

One of the organisations that benefits from the surplus food collected from our local Co-op stores each night by the Food Group volunteers is Middlesbrough Nitelight ( https://nitelightcic.co.uk/)

The organisation had an opening celebration for it’s centre (opposite Asda in South Bank) on 25th September with face painting, stalls, musician, magician and free food. The Centre provides facilities for homeless people including showers, clothes washing and drying, clothes, kitchen and hot food. Donations of food, garden produce, sleeping bags and clothes are welcome.

Please save and donate your empty foil crisp packets which can be turned into sleeping

bags, these can be taken to the centre directly or to the Globe, Stokesley (see article above).

Seed saving and seed share

This harvest time is a good time to collect and save seed for sowing next year, information on how to do this here:  https://www.rhs.org.uk/propagation/seed-collecting-storing

The Food Group runs regular free seed share events to encourage all to grow their own fruit, vegetables and flowers and live more sustainably.

Stokesley U3A: Food, glorious food, veggie style!

This veggie food group meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm in Stokesley Town Hall, next meeting Wednesday 18th October. The group is for collaborative folks who are interested in sharing ideas,knowledge,recipes and enthusiasm for veggie style food.

Book of the month

This month’s book recommendation comes from Tessa Whitwell who has just completed fully restoring a lodge in France, completely sustainably.

In the early 1600s, a newly-unified Japan had just emerged from centuries of civil war and was staring down a multitude of problems: severe environmental degradation, exhausted farmland, depleted forests, population growth, famine and reduced agricultural production.  

Two hundred years later, Japan had successfully reversed deforestation, increased agricultural yields and grown its population while managing to keep them fed, housed, clothed, educated and healthier than before.

This book explores how did they accomplished this, with ideas how we can use today.

Podcast of the month

A new section with reader’s recommendations for climate action / environmental podcasts.

This month Jenny Earle recommends ‘Carbon in the Ground 4: Serengeti of the North’ the latest in a series about polar research, which describes how the Arctic region became a valuable carbon ‘sink’, locking carbon out of the atmosphere.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1977380/13434126-carbon-in-the-ground-4-serengeti-of-the-north

Signing off

If you have any news or any event / activity you would like promoting on next month’s (November) update including Book of the Month and Podcast of the Month recommendations or This Month’s Discussion Point please email Kate Gibbon by the end of October.

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

Hope to see you at the CASaV whole group meeting on Tuesday 17th October, 7.30 at the Globe, Stokesley

Kate Gibbon,

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

Bridget Holmstrom, Caryn Loftus, Jack Turton, Ron Kirk and Simon Gibbon

Welcome to harvest time and September’s Update

If you’re fortunate enough to have fruit trees on an allotment or garden, this will be a busy time gathering in all those apples, pears and plums. If not you should find local, seasonal fruit at their best and at their most economic in our local green grocers. CASaV are running some apple pressing sessions so you can turn your lovely apples into juice – see below.

What’s Going On – news and events

CASaV Monthly Meeting Tuesday September 19th 7.30-9pm

This month’s meeting will be on Tuesday September 19th at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley 7.30-8.30pm, all are welcome to join in our discussions about climate change and help plan our activities.

Apologies, we had to cancel last month’s meeting (August) at short notice but we hope you can make it along to this month’s get together at which we will have a chance to discuss the work of the various sub-groups.

Brighten Up Great Ayton group

Incredible edibles – There has been a fantastic crop of autumn raspberries in the community garden at Great Ayton Village Hall this year. Come and pick your own!

Herbs have also been doing well at the village hall and Great Ayton station.

We’re now looking forward to picking the Discovery apples in Yatton House Community Garden – more details below.

Rake a meadow – come and get some exercise, without having to pay for gym membership, on the afternoon of Sunday 17th September. The Brighten Up Great Ayton (BUG) group, with support from botanist Martin Allen, will be raking and removing part of the summer’s growth in the floodplain meadow in Great Ayton. This will reduce the fertility to enable a wider variety of plants to grow.

If you would like to join the raking party in the meadow or are interested in helping the BUG group either on a regular or occasional basis then contact Caryn

Apple pressing

Have you got loads of apples on your trees, have cooked all the crumbles you can face and now wondering how to make the most of your harvest? CASaV have an electric apple scratter to chop up the apples and hydropress to cope with large quantities of apples at a time. We have planned two public apple pressing sessions this year:

• Friday 22nd September, Yatton House, Great Ayton between 1pm and 3pm.
• Sunday 5th November, Faceby between 10am and 3pm.

To book a slot, email CASaV or phone 0777 3048250. There is a suggested contribution of £5 per slot to cover costs and you will need to bring your own bottles.

New energy project

CASaV will be playing a small part in a new scheme to stimulate demand for energy efficiency measures in homes across North Yorkshire which has been awarded £1.2 million. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has given £900,000 and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund £300,000.

North Yorkshire County Council’s recent press release said:

“The Local Energy Advice Demonstrators (LEAD) project will be piloted in seven neighbourhoods around the towns of Stokesley, Harrogate, Pickering, Skipton and Selby. Led by ourselves, the scheme will focus on specific streets, villages and neighbourhoods where studies have highlighted priority areas and where interest in tackling climate change through retrofitted schemes has been shown.

Households in these pilot areas will be offered a free ‘whole house plan’ – a survey of their homes with advice on what would be needed to make them more energy efficient, such as new windows and doors, or cavity wall and loft insulation.

About 325 plans will be facilitated through the project, comprising in-house assessments, whole house plan development in collaboration with the householder, and elements of design work, leaving the resident with a clear plan of action and next steps to implement their retrofit project. This scheme, which will be delivered in partnership with Align Property Partners, climate action groups across the county and the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, is benefitting from cash from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero’s North-East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for North Yorkshire. Community groups are seen as the most vital partners, particularly those that have good awareness of the benefits of retrofitting, either for cost reduction or climate impact.”

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/news/2023/homes-be-made-more-energy-efficient-through-ps12-million-scheme

Hopefully by the October Update we will have more to share about the part we will be playing.

By-election for the North Yorkshire County Council’s Hutton Rudby and Osmotherley division seat Thursday 28th September

Nominations for the Hutton Rudby and Osmotherley division seat have closed with voters going to the polls on Thursday, 28 September. Voting takes place on Thursday 28 September.

The candidates are:

• Lee Derrick – Yorkshire Party
• David Hugill – The Conservative Party Candidate
• Allan Shaw Mortimer – The Green Party candidate
• Duncan Ross Russell – Liberal Democrats

If you meet them out canvassing, ask them what they would do, if elected, to help address the climate and nature emergency at county level.

September’s Repair Cafe – Saturday 16th September 10-12 – Swainby Village Hall

This month’s Repair Cafe will be on Saturday, 16th September, 10-12 at Swainby Village Hall. One of our regulars Swainby Repair Volunteers is Magnificent Mike, picture above, Mender Maestro, who has performed mending miracles on all things ceramic, glass and almost anything glueable, most noteworthy being the three legged china horse, much loved by its owner, who was properly chuffed when Mike created a whole new leg to restore it to full stable condition.

As always the aims of the event are to reduce waste going to landfill or incineration and save the resources and energy of manufacturing new items which would otherwise contribute towards climate change alongside sharing repair skills and knowhow and encouraging people to think more sustainably about consumable items. Everyone is very welcome to bring along household items in need of repair – computers, mobile phones, electrical items, clothing & textiles, ceramics & glass, wooden items, all blades in need of sharpening including gardening tools – and our friendly pink T shirted repairers will aim to restore your items to working order or give advice if they can’t. All for free including refreshments, donations to cover costs welcomed.

Yatton House Community Garden open afternoon 22nd September

The garden is a great project that has been developed through the hard work and support of a number of partners including Brighten Up Great Ayton, Great Ayton Parish Council, CASaV and local Rotary Groups.  Come and have a look at the progress made so far in the Yatton House Community Garden on Friday 22nd September between 1 and 4pm. Whilst there, sample some of the delicious apple juice freshly pressed from the Yatton House orchard apples. The Community Garden is being created in an old allotment for the enjoyment of residents and visitors to Great Ayton. So far, fruit bushes have been planted, herb and flower beds created and an area prepared for a sensory bed. If you are interested in bringing a group to the garden or volunteering contact admin@yattonhouse.org.uk, call in at Yatton House during working hours or go to Yatton House website .

Help our hedgerows – consultation until 20th September

Hedgerows are important ecological building blocks across our landscapes. They provide habitat, act as wildlife corridors, slow soil erosion and water run-off, support crop pollinators and sequester carbon.

DEFRA is running a consultation around the support provided to farmers for the maintenance of hedgerows. The consultation runs until 20th September. It would be great if as many of us as possible could complete the consultation.

https://consult.defra.gov.uk/legal-standards/consultation-on-protecting-hedgerows/

For peat’s sake – peatland visit being arranged

Since 2009, the Yorkshire Peat Partnership (YPP) has been working to help restore Yorkshire’s internationally important peatlands. Sadly less than 20% of Yorkshire’s peatlands remain undamaged. Peatlands host specialist bird species such as curlews and rare plants such as cranberry and peat forming sphagnum mosses. Peatland habitats are also vital for water quality, carbon storage and to help slow down global warming. Without projects to help stop these habitats degrading we will lose a very precious resource.

The CASaV Nature group have been in contact with the YPP regarding a visit to the restored peatlands on the moors around Rosedale in December and they will confirm the date nearer the time but it would be great to have an idea who would be interested in visiting and learning more about the restored peat. Please contact Bridget Holmstrom.

Local farm visit later in September – contact to book a place

The CASaV Nature Group is also arranging a farm tour to look at environmental practices taking place there. A local farmer, based near Seamer, has very kindly offered to give this tour to a small number of people, later this month. If anyone is interested please let me know. Bridget Holmstrom

The Festival of Thrift, Billingham – 23rd & 24th September

The Waste Group is all about being thrifty, making things last and making the most from the least, so the Festival of Thrift has always been a great source of ideas for everything from food to transport, encouragement and just fun. It started in Darlington, then moved to Redcar and is now in Billingham.

In 2012 the first Festival of Thrift set out to “harness the movement of thrift by combining culture, sustainability and style” and in the process very much embracing our ethos of reduce, reuse, repair, recycle. So it was great when the Festival of Thrift got in touch with the Waste group to see if we would help with the 2023 Festival of Thrift on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September in Billingham.

We will be helping the Star and Shadow’s Fix It Cafe to carry out repairs during the festival in Billingham this year – please come along.

The Festival of Thrift is now moving to providing ongoing activities, not just the annual festivals and so we will be working with them to develop workshops to help others set up their own local repair cafes. The plan is for the first repair cafe to be associated with the Festival of Thrift will run out of their new hub in Stockton – watch this space for further details.

If you have never been to the Festival of Thrift before, you will find it like nothing you have visited before, difficult to describe, but a cross between a music festival, a country show and a maker’s show, without big bands or lots of animals, but with lots of peformances from poets to puppets, workshops from den building to making toilet cleaner, plus talks, food and stalls.  You can find out all about what is going on at this year’s Festival on their website https://www.festivalofthrift.co.uk.

York Environment Week – 23rd September to 1st October

A bit further afield, the York Environment Week (YEW) 2023 is the fourth annual city-wide festival of over 60 events (8 online) aimed at showcasing and celebrating the work of environment groups active in York. You can find out all about what’s on at https://yorkenvironmentweek.org.uk

Oxfam’s Second Hand September

Take part in Oxfam’s Second Hand September and shop second hand to reduce waste, take a stance against climate change, and help create a fairer world.

What you wear has never been more important. The fashion industry is one of the worst offenders for greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, people who have done the least to cause the climate crisis are facing the very real consequences.

Shopping and donating second hand is one step we can take towards building a better, safer, fairer world.

More information here:

https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/second-hand-september/

What we’ve been up to:

Climate Action at Bilsdale Show

Members of the CASaV Waste and Food groups donned their high vis (and later waterproof!) jackets to engage the public at the Bilsdale Agricultural Show in August and the rain showers in the afternoon didn’t diminish their enthusiasm. We had been invited for a second year running to promote local action on climate change together with encouraging the public to use recycling facilities at the show and reduce waste.

Special note to Fred who entertained and informed all with his interactive recycling display.

We received this feedback from Jo, one of the show’s organisers: “It is fab to have you guys with us at the show and I hope you keep coming. Looking forward to our show next year, with you as ongoing partners. Please thank all of your team for their efforts and commitment.”

Nature Group’s Wonderful Wildflower Walk

On Wednesday August 23rd the Nature Group organised a Wildflower Walk starting from Ingleby Bank Foot, led by local botanist Anne Press. We saw over 40 different species of wildflowers. Around 12 people joined us on the walk.

On Sunday September 3rd there was an Open Air Environment Service held at All Saints church in Great Ayton.

Book of the month:

Each month the update will include a book suggestion recommended by one of our group as a good read on climate action, environment issues and living sustainably.

This month Simon, from the Waste Group, recommends ‘No Miracles Needed’ by Mark Z Jacobson. The world needs to turn away from fossil fuels and use clean, renewable sources of energy as soon as we can to avoid catastrophic climate damage. The author advocates that we can save the planet without resorting to ‘miracle’ technologies by repurposing the existing technologies that we already have to harness, store, and transmit energy from wind, water, and solar sources to ensure reliable electricity, heat supplies, and energy security.

If you have a book you would like to recommend to the group in the monthly update please contact Kate, details at the end of this update.

Updates from the groups

Food Group (site) – monthly zoom meetings, next meeting Monday September 11th at 6pm, please contact if you would like to join

News

A leaflet on eating sustainably including recipes has been produced to give out at CASAV events. It’s already been given out to much interest at the Bilsdale Agricultural Show and further leaflets will follow.

Stokesley U3A: Food, glorious food, veggie style!

Joan Sargeant has started a veggie food group with the U3A which now meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm in Stokesley Town Hall, next meeting 20th September.

This is a new group is for collaborative folks who are interested in sharing ideas, knowledge, recipes and enthusiasm for veggie style food. Maybe you already follow a vegetarian diet or you would like more ideas or information about it or maybe you’ve never tried it and you would like to give it a go. Whatever the reason, you are most welcome to be part of the group.

More information here:
https://u3asites.org.uk/stokesley/page/129414

Co-op Foodshare

CASaV’s partnership with our local Co-op stores is making sure surplus food does not go to waste but gets to those who need it most and continues under the fantastic leadership of Jenny Earle. Every evening, every week Jenny and her band of volunteers collect surplus from our local Co-op stores in Stokesley and Great Ayton and distribute it to local charities and groups for those most in need.

More volunteers to collect and distribute the surplus food are needed, even if you can only volunteer occasionally this is very useful for back up cover if one of the regular volunteers is unable to collect the food at short notice. Email us if you can spare an hour every now and then.

Waste Group (page) – monthly zoom meetings, next meeting Tuesday 12th September 7.00pm, please contact if you would like to join

Repair Cafes

Last month’s Repair Cafe took place on August 12th at Stokesley with many interesting and useful repairs taking place including a play parachute from a local toddler group! One of our new volunteer repairers, Adam, wrote about taking part in the event on his website, https://retrorepairsandrefurbs.com/2023/08/16/stokesley-villages-repair-cafe-12-08-2023/

We are always on the lookout for more volunteers so please get in touch if you are interested or want more information.

Our next Repair is on Saturday 16th September in Swainby Village Hall.

Further details here on our website.

The Refill App

The Refill App (https://www.refill.org.uk/) allows you tap into a global network of places to reduce, reuse and refill containers for drinks, food and household cleaning substances as well as getting free tap water for your reusable bottle. Anne Mannix and other CASAV members have been out and about encouraging local businesses to sign up to the refill scheme and appear on the app and there are now almost 20 locations nearby where you can refill your own containers, saving packaging and costs.

If you know any local businesses which would like to join the scheme, please get in touch.

Nature Group (page) – regular zoom meetings, please contact if you would like to join

The Nature Group arranges regular events to provide people of all ages with an opportunity to learn more about our local natural environment and find out ways in which they can help protect our endangered habitats at risk. These include wildlife walks more of which are planned in the coming months as well as site specific events like the farm tour and peatland visit mentioned above.

Energy Group

Community Retrofit Guide

The Centre for Sustainable Energy has just launched a free community retrofit guide which covers everything community groups need to get started on retrofit projects. Something our organisation could get involved in? Come along to our next monthly meeting to to discuss or email the group.

CSE launches new community retrofit guide

Signing off

If you have any news or any event / activity you would like promoting on next month’s (October) update including Book of the Month recommendations please email Kate Gibbon by the end of September.

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

Hope to see you at the CASaV whole group meeting on Tuesday 19th September, 7.30 at the Globe, Stokesley

Kate Gibbon,

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

Bridget Holmstrom, Caryn Loftus, Jack Turton, Ron Kirk and Simon Gibbon

Welcome to heather season and August’s Update

We are so fortunate to live on or near the North York Moors and during August we have the pink and purple wonder of the heather in full bloom. This summer why not use the Moorsbus (information below) to explore some of the hidden corners of the moors and make the most of this fleeting beauty?

What’s Going On – news and events

CASaV Monthly Meeting Tuesday August 15th 7.30-9pm

This month’s meeting will be on Tuesday 15th August at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley 7.30-8.30pm, all are welcome to join in our discussions about climate change and help plan our activities.

Last month, July, our meeting was our AGM. Thank you to those who renewed your CASaV membership at the AGM or joined for the first time. Our membership year runs from 1st July until 30th June of the following year. You do not need to be a member to receive our monthly Update email but for the price of £1 you can be counted as a member and be entitled to vote at our AGM or other General Meetings. You can join by paying a £1 either at one of our meetings/events or by emailing climateactionsav@gmail.com for bank details.

If you were unable to attend the AGM you can access a recording of it here: https://climateactionstokesleyandvillages.org/2023/07/04/casav-agm/

At the AGM the group looked at Impact: Community Carbon Calculator https://impact-tool.org.uk/footprint/search. Impact is an estimator of a community’s carbon footprint that works for parishes wards, district councils and unitary authorities. It draws on more than 30 datasets to estimate the total amount of greenhouse gases produced directly and indirectly as a result of everyday human activities in the given locality – heating homes, using electricity, transport, producing and distributing food, disposing of waste, etc.

The group divided up into our individual parish wards to analyse our own area’s carbon footprint in order to get a better idea of where to target our efforts for the greatest impact in tackling the climate emergency.

Arising from this exercise we are considering an event similar to the Green Transport event (The Route Ahead to Sustainable Transport) we held earlier but focusing on more sustainable living in the home including improving insulation, using heat pumps, retrofitting etc. which will be discussed further at subsequent meetings.

Letter of concern to the PM from over 50 of the most respected environmental organisations in the UK

At the end of July over 50 of the most respected environmental organisations including the National Trust, CPRE, RSPB, RSPCA, The Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust, WWF, Marine Conservation Society, the Soil Association and Friends of the Earth (to which our group, CASaV is affiliated) wrote a letter to Rishi Sunak, our MP as well as our PM. The letter expressed deep concerns about reports of the watering down of the government’s green commitments and demanded a meeting with Rishi to address this.

See Letter-to-PM.pdf (green-alliance.org.uk).

An extract from the letter:

“Together, we represent more than 20 million supporters, who support us to speak up for the future of life on this one precious planet. We will not stand by whilst politicians use the environment as a political football. It is courage and leadership that we need now. In the past, we have mobilised many of our members collectively with extraordinary results, and our resolve to stand firm now against any and all attacks on this critical policy agenda remains absolute.”

News reports about the letter at Nature groups prepared to ‘mobilise’ 20m members over UK climate policy | Environmental activism | The Guardian and Leading environmental groups accuse Rishi Sunak of playing ‘political football’ with the climate crisis (inews.co.uk).

Bilsdale Show Saturday 26th August: CASAV stall – volunteers needed!

The Bilsdale Show has been running for over a hundred years on a charitable, not-for-profit basis with the aim of promoting and advancing, for the benefit of the public, agriculture, horticulture and rural crafts and each year they make donations to local charities.

Last year the Bilsdale Show organisers invited us to help promote recycling at the show and encouraged us to have a stall promoting CASAV and our climate action message to everyone attending the show. We had a great response from everyone who came to talk to us at our stall and it was stimulating to engage in positive conversations about actions we can all take to fight climate change. The show’s organisers were delighted with our help in encouraging people to reduce litter, to recycle and to think differently about waste and have asked us back again this year to have a CASAV stall alongside the Yorkshire Rotters as before.

This is a great opportunity to engage a wide range of people with our climate action message and we need volunteers to help staff the stall and mingle around the show promoting recycling. If you can spare a few hours or all day you will get free entry to the show and a very worthwhile experience. Please email srgibbon@googlemail.com if you want more information or to volunteer. It’s a great day out!

https://bilsdaleshow.co.uk/

August’s Repair Cafe – Saturday 12th August – Stokesley Globe 10-12

This month’s Repair Cafe will be on Saturday, 12th August at the Globe Community Library, Stokesley 10-12. As always the aims of the event are to reduce waste going to landfill or incineration and save the resources and energy of manufacturing new items which would otherwise contribute towards climate change alongside sharing repair skills and knowhow and encouraging people to think more sustainably about consumable items. Everyone is very welcome to bring along household items in need of repair – computers, mobile phones, electrical items, clothing & textiles, ceramics & glass, wooden items, all blades in need of sharpening including gardening tools – and our friendly pink T shirted repairers will aim to restore your items to working order or give advice if they can’t. All for free including refreshments, donations to cover costs welcomed.

Although we don’t claim or aim to be BBC’s ‘The Repair Shop’ in that we repair rather than restore we have had quite a few much loved vintage items come our way over recent months including an Edwardian china doll, a Victorian wall hanging and, from the mid century, a horse racing game, a Pelham Puppet and a teddy. Now all repaired and back with their happy owners!

Upcycling Design competition – winners display!

(photo with parents permission)

There were nearly 50 brilliant entries for our Upcycling Design Poster competition, developed by Anne Mannix to celebrate July’s Upcycling Day. The CASaV Waste Group were helped by an expert judging panel including Tracy Flint, Recycling Officer for North Yorkshire Council and design staff from Labman, Seamer decided on the most creative, most practical, most easy to transform and most wacky in two age categories as well as a few highly commended.

The winners will all receive a highly sustainable insulated drinks container in a colour of their choosing from a family-run UK company with eco-friendly ethics and all entrants have already received a delicious bar of organic Fairtrade chocolate.

The entries are now on display in the Globe, Stokesley so make sure that you pop in to be inspired by our younger eco activists!

Yatton House Community Garden is growing!

The Yatton House Community Garden is ‘growing’ from strength to strength. Above is the herb bed created by a group of American teenagers who were hosted by Great Ayton Methodist Church and below is the ‘hot bed’ in full flower.

The garden is a great project that has been developed through the hard work and support of a number of partners including Brighten Up Great Ayton, Great Ayton Parish Council, CASaV and local Rotary Groups and will have an official opening in September, date yet to be announced but you can read more about it here:  https://yattonhouse.org.uk/community-garden

Moorsbus summer weekend network 1st July to 28th August

Thinking of exploring more of our beautiful North York Moors countryside this summer? Moorsbus is a network of local bus services organised by a not-for-profit community organisation to provide access to and within the North York Moors. The Moorsbus services operate from 1 July to 28 August 2023 on weekends and bank holiday Monday, using low-floor accessible buses. It serves a number of railway stations including York, Malton, Thirsk, Northallerton and Danby. This year there is a £2 cap on all single fares. For more information see here: https://www.moorsbus.org/

Community Retrofit Guide

The Centre for Sustainable Energy has just launched a free community retrofit guide which covers everything community groups need to get started on retrofit projects. Something our organisation could get involved in? Come along to our next monthly meeting to to discuss or email the group.

CSE launches new community retrofit guide

Spotlight on 20’s Plenty for North Yorkshire

28 million people in the UK already enjoy a default 20mph limit signed policy but not yet in North Yorkshire. 20’s Plenty for Us is the National Campaign for default 20mph limits where people live, work, shop, learn and play. 20’s Plenty for North Yorkshire is our county’s branch of the organisation and is run by volunteer residents, led by Ian Conlan who is contactable here: 20splentyfornorthyorkshire@gmail.com.  

North Yorkshire Council’s transport scrutiny committee met in late July to hear from councillors who “called in” a decision by the authority’s executive to not support area-wide or default 20mph speed limits. Several councillors and residents including Barry Warrington from the CASAV Transport Group spoke strongly in favour of the council reconsidering their decision citing not only the importance of safer, slower roads particularly for children and less mobile people but also the positive impact driving less fast would have on climate change by using less fuel and people considering using alternative forms of transport such as walking and cycling where people live, work, shop, learn and play. The council voted by 8 to 6 to maintain their original decision not to support area-wide or default 20mph speed limits.

If this is something you feel strongly about consider discussing this with your NYC councillor and joining the 20s Plenty for North Yorkshire campaign.

Shoestring gardens

Keen vegetable gardeners will be harvesting their crops right now but there’s still lots of the growing season left and it needed cost a lot of money.

The CASAV Food Group highlighted a recent Guardian article on how to grow plants for very little outlay including making the most of potted herbs sold by supermarkets which may be on special offer. They advise that most of the potted herbs sold this way are not planned to last long, for example they are usually lots of small plants crammed into one pot masquerading as one large plant and will probably die quickly if you try to plant them directly into your veg plot but they can be helped to thrive with special care.

Firstly water well, remove the pot and carefully separate out the small individual plants and repot up to two plants in each new pot with fresh compost. The article advises on how to make your own compost, make your own fertiliser and even where you can find pots for free.

More information here:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jul/25/the-shoestring-gardener-10-ways-to-grow-gorgeous-plants-for-little-or-no-money

Book of the month: The Art of Frugal Hedonism

Each month the update will include a book suggestion recommended by one of our group as a good read on climate action, environment issues and living sustainably. Tessa Whitwell recommends ‘The Art of Frugal Hedonism: a guide to spending less while enjoying everything more’ by  Annie Raser-Rowland. She found the book provided lots of inspiring ideas for changing minds and habits to live more sustainably and enjoyably, saving money and fighting climate change.

If you have a book you would like to recommend to the group in the monthly update please contact Kate, details at the end of this update.

Updates from the groups

Food Group (site) – monthly zoom meetings, next meeting Monday September 11th at 6pm, please contact if you would like to join

News

At their July meeting the group discussed how to spread the word about eating more sustainably such as promoting local restaurants which serve vegan, vegetarian and low carbon footprint food and arranging local events / displays alongside the national campaigns such as Veganuary and the National Vegetarian Week.

A leaflet on eating sustainably including recipes will be produced to give out at CASAV events such as the Repair Cafes and the CASAV stall at the upcoming Bilsdale Show.

Wendy from the group reported that the ‘Bus stop’ garden in Stokesley which the group planted is producing vegetables for all to harvest including tomatoes and peas

Stokesley U3A: Food, glorious food, veggie style!

Joan Sargeant has started a new veggie food group with the U3A which will meet on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm in Stokesley Town Hall.

This is a new group is for collaborative folks who are interested in sharing ideas, knowledge, recipes and enthusiasm for veggie style food. Maybe you already follow a vegetarian diet or you would like more ideas or information about it or maybe you’ve never tried it and you would like to give it a go. Whatever the reason, you are most welcome to be part of the group.

The plan is to meet once a month and each month a different member will be asked to prepare a veggie dish for the group to taste while explaining the process of making it and answering any questions about it.

More information here:https://u3asites.org.uk/stokesley/page/129414

Co-op Foodshare

CASaV’s partnership with our local Co-op stores is making sure surplus food does not go to waste but gets to those who need it most and continues under the fantastic leadership of Jenny Earle. Every evening, every week Jenny and her band of volunteers collect surplus from our local Co-op stores in Stokesley and Great Ayton and distribute it to local charities and groups for those most in need.

More volunteers to collect and distribute the surplus food are needed, even if you can only volunteer occasionally this is very useful for back up cover if one of the regular volunteers is unable to collect the food at short notice. Email us if you can spare an hour every now and then.

Waste Group (page) – monthly zoom meetings, next meeting Tuesday 12th September 7.00pm, please contact if you would like to join

Repair Cafes

This monthly event alternates between Swainby and Stokesley and continues to be well attended with 100s of household items repaired / returned to functional use which might have otherwise gone to waste in landfill or incineration, saving the owners the cost of buying replacements as well as reducing the environmental impact of using up resources and the energy in manufacturing.

For details of August’s on Saturday 12th in Stokesley see above, and September’s will be on Saturday 16th in Swainby (website).

Remember, bring your household items in need of repair e.g. electrical appliances, mechanical equipment, furniture, clothing, crockery, laptops, smartphones, etc – to the Repair Cafe and extend the life of your items, learn repair skills, prevent landfill waste and help fight climate change!

As always, a great big green thank you to all of you who continue to make our Repair Cafes such a success – repair experts, reception and refreshment volunteers and of course all of you who bring along your household items in need of repair.

The Repair Cafes gives us a great opportunity to share the climate action message with people who aren’t aware of CASAV and many have signed up to our mailing list, joined us on Facebook and volunteered for future Repair Cafes.

We are always on the lookout for more volunteers so please get in touch if you are interested or want more information.

Further details here on our website.

The Refill App

The Refill App (https://www.refill.org.uk/) allows you tap into a global network of places to reduce, reuse and refill containers for drinks, food and household cleaning substances as well as getting free tap water for your reusable bottle. Anne Mannix and other CASAV members have been out and about encouraging local businesses to sign up to the refill scheme and appear on the app and there are now almost 20 locations nearby where you can refill your own containers, saving packaging and costs.

If you know any local businesses which would like to join the scheme, please get in touch.

Nature Group (page) – regular zoom meetings, please contact if you would like to join

The Nature Group arranges regular events to provide people of all ages with an opportunity to learn more about our local natural environment and find out ways in which they can help protect our endangered habitats at risk. These include wildlife walks more of which are planned in the coming months.

Signing off

If you have any news or any event / activity you would like promoting on next month’s (September) update including Book of the Month recommendations please email Kate at kategibbon@googlemail.com by the end of August.

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

Hope to see you at the CASaV whole group meeting on Tuesday 15th August, 7.30 at the Globe, Stokesley

Kate Gibbon,

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

Bridget Holmstrom, Caryn Loftus, Jack Turton, Ron Kirk and Simon Gibbon