I am sure you are all aware of the issues with single-use plastic, the energy used to make it and the damage it is doing to our wildlife. Plastic Free Skipton has only been running for a couple of years but they have achieved a lot in that time. They have over 1k followers on Facebook, have organised litter picks, engaged with the national campaigns run by Surfers Against Sewage, liaised with some of the big events in Skipton, made a huge plastic monster, a Christmas tree, given talks to schools and have a good local reputation with Craven District and Town Councils and other groups.
Going forwards the two group leaders, Amy Brown and Katie Birks, would like to stand down and feel that the time is right for a few changes. From 2021 they would like a committee to be set up to share the load and help the group to progress. The name is to be changed to Plastic Free Skipton and the Dales so that other areas can feel more involved.
To finish the year a campaign for BUILD BACK GREENER will be to have an article in the Craven Herald, Dales Life pull-out with positive plastic reduction examples and positive stories from lockdown. Any group or individual can make a contribution to this.
For further information on the campaign or the proposed roles for the committee please contact: plasticfreeskipton@gmail.com
Meanwhile Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) needs your vote to create plastic free woodlands in the Yorkshire Dales. A project to remove redundant tree guards and plant more than 7,000 trees to trial alternatives has been shortlisted by the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) to receive funding. Each year EOCA runs two funding rounds in which supporters of the association, its members and the public vote to choose which project wins financial support.
Vote by Noon on the 22nd October via this link: https://www.outdoorconservation.eu/project-voting-category.cfm?catid=5
Melanie Fryer and Sarah Wiltshire
