York Environment Forum

York Envirnomnet Forum’s April meeting is looking at grass verges and green spaces in urban areas. We will be joined by Mark Schofield from Plantlife who will share his knwledge and discuss the topic with us.

The meeting will be using Zoom. Non-members of YEF are welcome on Tuesday 9th April starting at 4pm. Just email yorkenvironmentforum@gmail.com and we will send you the link to log on.

Plantlife’s purpose is to save plants and fungi throughout the world and to restore biodiversity. Their recent innovation is No Mow May which has been widely adopted in domestic gardens.

More than 1,300 residents sent in their views to City of York Council’s Big Conversation about tranpsort in the city. Below is a table of statistics showing degrees of support for each aspect rasied in the consultation.

York Environment Forum has for many years been active in influencing decisions about tranport in the city. At our meeting on 9th January our guest was Julian Ridge, the officer who leads on transport strategy for the city. Now all residents are invited to influence future developments as City of York council as it devises the first transport plan since 2010. You might have ideas for specific changes to travel provision, or there could be a vision of what a healthy, inclusive and sustainable York would be like if transport was different.

Tell your council what you think, and the changes you would like to see, by answering the consultation that goes on till 3th February. www.ourbigconversation.york.gov.uk

York and North Yorkshire local authorities are forming a Combined Authority. At York Environment Forum we have been following this issue, and in 2022 we responded to the public consultation. There will be additional government funding and an election for a Mayor. The Combined Authority has a number of powers where it is hoped there are benefits from adjoining local authorities collaborating.

At our November meeting, we welcome Shaun Gibbons, Head of Carbon Reduction at City of York Council. He will speak on, and discuss, ‘Opportunities for climate change and nature recovery action via the new Combined Authority‘. There will be other agenda items including YEF responding to the draft Transport Plan.

We are using Zoom for this meeting. Visitors are welcome, email yorkenvironmentforum@gmail.com to ask for the link. Our meeting will run from 4 to 5.45pm.

So many events this year that the week is stretched to make room for everything. The core dates are from Saturday 23rd September to Sunday 1st October, and spills over into previous and following weeks.. All events are free to take part.

Paper publicity has been distributed to comunity outlets. The online programme is on the website https://yorkenvironmentweek.org.uk/.

Here at York Environment Forum we think most people will find something they are keen to attend. There are practical sessions in the outdoors, talks and discussions, films, creative activities, informal learning about the environment and climate change issues, and much more.

The purpose of organising so many events in a short space of time is draw attention to the environment, and to demonstrate the scope of environmental activity in the city. This year is doing that already, having a collective impact. Well-deserved thanks to all the organisations, agencies and groups that are organising events.

In days gone by we could see dirty air, there were smogs, smoke from houses, no smokeless zones, factories fuelled by coal. Today it is hard for residents to tell whether the air is clean or dirty. Some causes of dirty air are very tiny but are extremely dangerous to health. And not everyone realises that everyday activities and equipment are sending out dangerous particles to pollute the atmosphere.

York Environment Forum supports local information campaigns and initiatives so that members keep up to date. York City Council is developing a campaign to run later this year. To help make this a success residents are invited to fill in a consultation survey, including some quiz questions (anonymous) about sources of pollution. Follow this link and choose the Air Quality Campaign consultation box.

https://www.york.gov.uk/consultations#aqc

A poster used in 2023.

York Environment Forum is on holiday for August. We are not having a meeting next Tuesday, 8th.

Our next meeting will be in person on 12th September.

We are still posting on social media throughout the month. And the team putting together York Environment Week 2023 is finalising the programme of events. There is still time to submit an event, don’t hold back.

Many of our members and supporters have public activities for this traditional holiday month and will welcome participants who want to protect the planet.

Great news to report that we have a highly talented team to co-ordinate the programme for York Environment Wekk this year. The dates are – starting on Saturday 23rd September and finishing on Sunday 1st October.

As in previous years we will be putting out a Call for Events. Watch out for publicity about this as the programme depends on a wide range of events organised by local groups and organisations. This is an opportunity to highlight environmental action already happening and to encourage more local people to get involved.

YEW23 will launch on Thursday 8th June in the evening. There are free tickets and more details on the YEW23 website. Just click here to read the news and book.

York Environment Forum has been looking at whether it is possible to lead a York Environment Week for 2023. On Tuesday 14th Feb we decided there needs to be a Core Group of at least six people. And we need to recruit this team by the end of February.

Below is information about what the Core Group tackles to organise YEW. The Core Group members are not paid for their involvement but some members may be able take on the role as part of their paid jobs. Anyone motivated to join in can put themselves forward, no need to be a member of York Environment Forum. From start to finish it takes about seven months to run YEW.

One decision the Core Group will make is about dates. Being realistic YEW23 would be in the second half of the year, and not at the same time as the Great Big Green Week in June.

If you are interested please get in touch by 28th Feb. As we need to cover the range of tasks also include a list of what skills you can offer related to the outline below.

You can also contact the Chair of York Environment Forum if you are not quite sure and would like a discussion or have a particular question.

Outline of Core Group tasks.

• Making contact with and getting commitment from event organisers to take part. Ongoing communication with event organisers.
• Agreeing timing and programme eg theme, logo.
• Printed publicity and distribution, press releases and mainstream media liaison.
• Website- update homepage up, layout updates, entering event details, blogs.
• Social media in advance and during week.
• Background admin – organising and chairing meetings, minuting, housekeeping the YEW emails, dealing with incoming queries from all sources, monitoring and evaluation.
• Overall project management: keeping track, ensuring systems are set up and are functioning,  following up any issues of finance, legal compliance etc that might arise.

We have had three York Environment Weeks so far, and it would be great to have number four, but this depends on having an effective team, Hoping you can help or can find someone who can.

Many thanks,

York Environment Forum.

Reply to: info@yorkenvironmentweek.org.uk

direct email to Chair: yorkenvironmentforum@gmail.com

The YEW website is: yorkenvironmentweek.org.uk

The February meeting of York Environment Forum is deliberating about whether we have enough people to form a team to organise a programme for a 2023 York Environnment Week. We need at least six people who have sufficient time to make this happen. There is a also a range of skills required, covering marketing, publicity, administration, social media campaigns, updating the website, and so on.

In the three Weeks, held in 2020, 2021, and 2022 we have gathered a great deal of information about the programmes and events. The reports each year provide feedback from the event organisers and an overview of the weeks themselves.

The other topics in the February meeitng of YEF include a new vision for transport in York, and the next draft of the Local Plan which will soon be open for public consultation.

Each meeting takes place on the second Tuesday of each month, starting at 4pm. At the moment we are alternating in person meetings and Zoom held remotely. February is in person at West Offices on Station Rise, on 14th.