ACE Settle and area

ACE February Green Cafe
2026-02-14 10:30 - 12:30 (Europe/London) | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
Join us from 10.30-11.15am to chat in small groups about topical issues over Fairtrade tea, coffee and biscuits.

From 11.15:

Feedback from group discussions
Hear about our campaigns in collaboration with Friends of the Earth, for example, on Planet over Profit – which is focused on a new law that will force UK companies and the public sector to prevent human rights abuses and environmental harm, like deforestation, in their supply chains. You can add your name now to help us hold UK companies to account for destruction to forests, communities and the environment around the world here.
Get more involved with running ACE: join our steering group, work on keeping this website current and consider becoming Chair of our steering group – find out more by emailing us at: acesettleandarea@gmail.com

From 12 Noon: summary of actions for early 2026 to take forward and notices.

Available throughout the morning: a recycling box for blister packs (only available at Green Cafes, so please come into the Cafe and use the recycling box rather than leaving blister packs in the foyer of the Methodist Church). A bag for used toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes.

Find out more about borrowing our thermal imaging camera for seeking out those draughty places in need of insulation to help cut your energy bills.

This is a free event, all welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

ACE January Green Cafe: actions, campaigns and collaborations for 2026
2026-01-10 10:30 - 12:30 | North Yorkshire
As we start into 2026, Join us from 10.30-11.15am to chat in small groups about topical issues over Fairtrade tea, coffee and biscuits.

From 11.15:

Feedback from group discussions
Hear from Carol Douglas (Woodlands Officer at Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust) about their current work and possible collaboration with ACE

From 12 Noon: summary of actions for early 2026 to take forward and notices.

Available throughout the morning: recycling box for blister packs and a bag for used toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes and our thermal imaging camera for seeking out those draughty places in need of insulation to help cut your energy bills.

This is a free event, all welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

ACE December Green Cafe: UN Climate Talks Update
2025-12-13 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
Join us from 10.30-11.15am to chat about topical issues over Fairtrade tea, coffee and mince pies.

From 11.15 COP30 Update: from behind the headlines, hear about successes at the recent UN climate talks from David Howlett – Senior Adviser on Resilience to the UN High Level Climate Action Champions and the co-lead of their Race to Resilience Campaign.
Followed, from 12.15 by notices and actions for early 2026.

Available throughout the morning: recycling box for blister packs and a bag for used toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes and our thermal imaging camera for seeking out those draughty places in need of insulation to help cut your energy bills.

This is a free event, all welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

ACE November Cafe: Nature, Violence and Courage
2025-11-08 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
Join us for our November Green Cafe, with speaker Nicholas Temple. Chat over refreshments 10.30-11 and then hear Nicholas’ talk 11-12.15pm on What does it mean to stand for the natural world in an age of crisis? (More details below).
This is a free event, all welcome. Available throughout the morning: recycling box for blister packs and a bag for used toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes and our thermal imaging camera for seeking out those draughty places in need of insulation to help cut your energy bills.
Nicholas’ presentation
Nicholas explores the complex relationship between nature, violence, and courage while asking how environmental and socio-political upheavals are reshaping our sense of solidarity and responsibility.
Part of his wider project Nature Transformed: Erosion and Recovery of Solidarity, which is currently under consideration for Bloomsbury’s Environmental Cultures series, this talk weaves together years of research with urgent questions for today. This talk draws on many of the themes from his previous research, but focuses primarily on the current environmental and socio-political crises we are facing. Nicholas invites us to look unflinchingly at the forces that threaten our shared future, and to consider the acts of courage, both large and small, that might help us reclaim it.
This is a space for anyone who believes that ideas can inspire action, since facing hard truths together is the first step towards meaningful change.
About Nicholas
Nicholas Temple is an Australian academic living in Settle in North Yorkshire. He is currently a fractional senior professor in architectural history at London Metropolitan University, and has previously held academic positions at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), Liverpool University, Nottingham University and Huddersfield University.
Nicholas has researched and published widely on matters relating to the history, culture and representation of architecture and the city, including the following books The Temporality of Building: European and Chinese Perspectives on Architecture and Heritage (2025); Architecture and the Language Debate: Artistic and Linguistic Exchanges in Early Modern Italy (2020); Renovatio Urbis: Architecture, Urbanism and Ceremony in the Rome of Julius II (2011) and Disclosing Horizons: Architecture, Perspective and Redemptive Space (2007).

October's Green Cafe: Climate Conversations and Annual Review
2025-10-11 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
Climate Conversations

We will be hearing from Dan Tipney about how to talk effectively with family, friends and others you know about the climate and nature crises by using the ideas contained in climate conversations.

During this talk, we will explore the subject of climate conversations from both an individual perspective, and their significance on the broader societal factors associated with climate change. There will be an opportunity to consider why climate conversations are relevant and why talking about climate change could well be the most effective tool to reach crucial tipping points of engagement.
Dan will use this own story to illustrate the cognitive and emotion barriers that prevent engagement from the majority of the population…a silent majority who care and are concerned! We will discuss some key topics such as how to meet human needs for connection and how to bridge divides by appealing to love rather than fear.
We will also explore some of underlying ingredients for effective climate conversations such as the role of storytelling, asking questions, the power of silence, and the importance of self-awareness and compassion when we are challenged.
Dan’s bio

Dan is a former Airline Pilot, having made the decision to stop flying due to his concern for the environmental impact of the sector. Along this journey he’s had the chance to understand the realities of climate science and to appreciate how to compassionately help people to navigate the complex realities of climate action. Dan has a particular interest in supporting those who experience a conflict between the environmental impact of the life they live (such as a professional role they may love!) and their passion for the natural world.
In addition to his work on climate action, Dan delivers human skills and communication training to healthcare and veterinary teams. When discussing climate change, he brings together experience from his own journey together with knowledge of human behaviour and communication, to explore ways of positively engaging people in climate and environmental issues.
Annual review

Each year we hold an Annual General Meeting to hear about our activities and elect people to our steering group. We need people who can help organise our activities, run our communications: website, social media, write articles for the Settle Community News, Craven Herald and our e-newsletter, as well as help with our campaigning in association with Friends of the Earth.

If you are interested in getting more involved in climate action locally, please get in touch to hear more: acesettleandarea@gmail.com.

Recycling

Boxes will be available for you to recycle your blister packs and old toothbrushes/clean toothpaste tubes.
Fairtrade refreshments will be available throughout the morning.
This is a free event. All welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

ACE's Future - what next?
2025-09-13 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
What next for ACE? We are currently looking at the future of ACE: what we want to do in the next six months and who can take us forward beyond March next year. Some members of the steering group, including our co-ordinator, Sarah Wiltshire, will be standing down in February 2026 and we would like to invite new people to get involved to take ACE forward into the new financial year 2026/07 and beyond.

Planet Over Profit campaign

We are linking up with Friends of the Earth, as one of their local action groups, so come along to support this campaign by signing pledge cards.
Why this campaign? UK companies are profiting from supply chains that destroy precious forests worldwide, threaten wildlife, accelerate climate change, and violate the rights of local communities.
The everyday products we buy in the UK – from furniture to food – often have a hidden cost. Whether it’s timber for furniture, soy for animal feed, or palm oil in processed foods, we’re often unknowingly buying products with devastating environmental and human impacts across the globe.
Precious forests around the world are being destroyed at an alarming rate. From the Amazon to Southeast Asia, UK companies profit from global supply chains that drive this destruction, threatening iconic wildlife like orangutans and jaguars while accelerating climate change.
Indigenous communities and local people around the world are having their land stolen, their homes destroyed, livelihoods disrupted, and their rights violated. And all the while, UK companies have no legal liability for the destruction caused by their own supply chains. Extractive industries are wreaking wildlife habitats and threatening people’s lives and livelihoods.
83% of the British public support new laws to stop environmental abuses in supply chains. But we need the UK government to act.
The Labour government has committed to  “assess the best ways to prevent environmental harms, modern slavery and human and labour rights abuses in both private and public sector supply chains including effective due diligence rules”. Now is our opportunity to hold them to that commitment.
The Planet Over Profit campaign aims to:

Build public and political support for a new law.​
Expose UK corporate links to deforestation, environmental harm and human rights abuses.
Support partners in the global south and impacted communities to achieve their campaigning goals.

FoE are campaigning for a Business, Human Rights, and Environment Act with the Corporate Justice Coalition,  as part of a larger alliance of human rights and environmental justice organisations and trade unions and you can be part of this by signing a pledge card.

Bee hotels

Following a citizen science project looking at the success of bee hotels, there will be information available to take away to make your own.

Recycling
Boxes will be available for you to recycle your blister packs and old toothbrushes/clean toothpaste tubes.

Fairtrade refreshments will be available throughout the morning.
This is a free event. All welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

Protecting People and Planet
2025-07-12 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
As we are affiliated to Friends of the Earth we are supporting their latest Campaign, Planet over Profit. This campaign focuses on the fact that UK companies are profiting from supply chains that destroy precious forests worldwide, threaten wildlife, accelerate climate change, and violate the rights of local communities. We need a new law that requires UK companies to prevent harm to communities and the environment in their supply chains, wherever they operate.We also want to show our support for partners in the global south and impacted communities (Forest Defenders).

We will have two activities for you to get involved in to support this campaign:
1) Sign a card which we will send to our MP, Julian Smith.
2) For Forest Defenders we would like to take a small group photo for publicity. Please wear green if possible and there will be some animal masks to wear. This is to show we want the rainforests protecting for their incredible wildlife and indigenous peoples.

Bee Hotels:
Following a citizen science project looking at the success of Bee Hotels there will be information available to take away for you to have your own.

Recycling
Boxes for blister packs and old toothbrushes/toothpaste tubes will be available.

And, Take our climate quiz
We have drawn-up a quiz for you to find out how much you know about key facts around the climate crisis. The winner will receive some climate focused books.

Fairtrade refreshments will be available throughout the morning.
This is a free event. All welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

June's Green Cafe: Homes for Dales House Birds
2025-06-14 10:00 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
We are partnering with Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to deliver a three year project to increase the numbers of four currently red listed house nesting birds: house sparrows, starlings, house martins and swifts by adding more nest boxes and improving or developing new habitats.
This event will feature a walk around Settle to identify potential sites for nest boxes and then a mapping session to see where these can be put up in the Autumn.
Find out more about the project here and sign-up here to take part.
This event will start at 10am with the walk around for about an hour. We will then return to the Methodist Church hall to map where boxes can go over refreshments.
Free. All welcome.

May's Green Cafe: A Climate of Truth
2025-05-10 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
We are delighted to be joined by Mike Berners-Lee who will be giving us the opportunity to discuss with him the ideas that flow from his new book ‘A Climate of Truth’, ‘which spells out why, if humanity is to thrive in the decades ahead, the most critical step is to raise standards of honesty in our politics, our media, and our businesses’.
Mike is a Professor at Lancaster University, Founder of Small World Consulting, and author of multiple books about climate change and humanity’s response to it.
Find out more about Mike Berners-Lee and his book: https://climateoftruth.co.uk/
Mike will be signing books at the event or you can purchase ahead from from Tanya at Limestone Books and bring along with you. You can contact Limestone Books here: https://limestonebooks.co.uk/

Settle Clothing Swap
2025-04-10 18:00 - 21:00 | Settle Victoria Hall, Kirkgate, Settle, BD24 9DZ
Do you have good quality clothing and accessories for young and older adults that you no longer wear? Are you looking for something to replace them? Then the Settle Clothing Swap is the perfect event for you.
Swap your items for tokens and then exchange your tokens for alternative items from the display. There’ll be changing facilities so you can try items before you swap. You’ll also be able to get advice on clothing repairs and alterations.
The event is free and will provide you with an opportunity to give some good quality, pre-loved items of clothing a new home. And, in a coup for the group, Patrick Grant has agreed to open the event and will be there to chat with swappers.
Patrick Grant is an award-winning designer and judge on the BBC’s Sewing Bee. He is also the force behind Community Clothing, the clothing brand that makes fantastic clothes while creating and sustaining lots of skilled textile jobs in the UK, many of them here in the North of England. And who knows, he may even bring some clothes to swap!
You’ll be able to buy refreshments and there’ll be room to sit and chat so why not bring along some friends and make it a social occasion?
Adie from the clothing repairers in Commercial Courtyard, Settle will be there with his sewing machine to do minor repairs and to provide advice on more significant repairs and alterations, all of which can extend the life of your favourite pair of trousers, blouse or coat.
How does it work?
Bring along 3 or 4 items of good quality clothing or accessories (shoes, scarves, bags) you no longer need or have space for in your wardrobe.
Clothing and other items for swapping must be clean and without significant damage (Adie may be able to do minor repairs).
On arrival, you’ll be given a token for each item of clothing you want to swap.
Hang your clothing on the rails according to size and garment type.
Browse the rails for items to swap with yours.
Try items to make sure they fit your size and style.
As you leave, hand in a token for each item of clothing you’re taking away.
If you only have three tokens but there are four items you want, you can take away the fourth for a small donation.
We look forward to seeing you at the Settle Clothing Swap.
Happy Swapping!

March's Green Cafe: Locally Generated Energy
2025-03-15 10:30 - 13:00 | St Alkelda’s Church, Church St, Giggleswick, BD24 0BE
This month’s Cafe is all about locally generated energy for Settle, Giggleswick and Langcliffe. Please note that the Cafe will be taking place at: St Alkelda’s Church. Church St. Giggleswick. BD24 0BE.
By acting locally you can be part of saving money off your electricity bill, reducing energy use and helping with climate change. A win-win all round. Find out about the new Settle Energy Local Club, generating and using electricity locally, how to understand your bill, heat pumps, electric vehicles, insulation and more.

In advance, have a look at this video that we have made with the NE and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub about the Settle Energy Local Club and what’s been achieved at the Catholic Church towards generating electricity for the Club.

Agenda:
10.30-11.00 Chat over fair trade refreshments about topical issues
11.00-12 Noon Presentations and Q&A.
12-1PM Drop-in for individually tailored information.
Recycling point: for blister packs and old toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. Donations appreciated so that we can buy more recycling boxes when these are filled up.
Thermal imaging camera: thermal imaging can identify cold spots in your home – draughts, water-ingress, insulation defects and more. So this is a good time of the year to undertake a survey. See the camera in action at Green Cafes and borrow it free of charge.

February's Green Cafe: Building Homes for Dales House Birds project
2025-02-08 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust have secured funding from the Heritage Lottery fund to help save four iconic bird species through a ‘Building Homes for Dales House Birds’ project.
At this month’s Green Cafe we will be hearing from Catherine Mercer (the project’s lead) about this three year project which will be supporting ACE and groups in Clapham, Malham, Wharfedale, Sedbergh and Swaledale to provide nest sites and habitats for starlings, swifts, house martins and house sparrows.
There will also be a programme of habitat creation, volunteering, training and survey work, as well as outreach connecting urban communities with the work.
Agenda:
10.30-11.00 Chat over fair trade refreshments about topical issues
11.00-12.15 Building Homes for Dales House Birds project
12.15-12.30 Notices and close
Recycling point: for blister packs and old toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. Donations appreciated so that we can buy more recycling boxes when these are filled up.
Thermal imaging camera: thermal imaging can identify cold spots in your home – draughts, water-ingress, insulation defects and more. So this is a good time of the year to undertake a survey. See the camera in action at Green Cafes and borrow it free of charge.

January's Green Cafe: Yorkshire Dales Park Active Travel Plan
2025-01-11 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
At our first Cafe of 2025 we will be hearing from Rob Ashford (Access and Recreation Team Project Manager for the Yorkshire Dales National Park) about the Park’s Active Travel Plan. Come along to hear more, ask questions and contribute to their consultation on an Active Travel Wish List.
Read more about the consultation here >>> https://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/public-asked-for-active-travel-wishlist/
Agenda:
10.30-11.00 Chat over fair trade refreshments about topical issues
11.00-12.15 Active Travel Plan and consultation
12.15-12.30 Notices and close
Recycling point: for blister packs and old toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. Donations appreciated so that we can buy more recycling boxes when these are filled up.
Thermal imaging camera: thermal imaging can identify cold spots in your home – draughts, water-ingress, insulation defects and more. So this is a good time of the year to undertake a survey. See the camera in action at Green Cafes and borrow it free of charge.

World Soil Day
2024-12-05 08:00 - 17:00 | North Yorkshire
As the United Nations says ‘our planet’s survival depends on the precious link between soil and water. Over 95 percent of our food originates from these two fundamental resources. Soil water, vital for nutrient absorption by plants, binds our ecosystems together. This symbiotic relationship is the foundation of our agricultural systems.
However, in the face of climate change and human activity, our soils are being degraded, putting excessive pressure on our water resources. Erosion disrupts the natural balance, reducing water infiltration and availability for all forms of life.
Sustainable soil management practices, such as minimum tillage, crop rotation, organic matter addition, and cover cropping, improve soil health, reduce erosion and pollution, and enhance water infiltration and storage. These practices also preserve soil biodiversity, improve fertility, and contribute to carbon sequestration, playing a crucial role in the fight against climate change’.
Find out more about activities in the UK, check out the Soil Association.

December's Green Cafe
2024-11-27 10:30 - 2024-12-14 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
At our last Cafe for 2024 we will be mobilising for a new climate plan, calling on Keir Starmer to produce a robust plan by Spring 2025.
Come and hear Simon Bowens, Friend of the Earth’s Yorkshire Campaign Organiser, talk more about this action. Then join in with us as we sign postcards to the prime minister saying why we need the new plan to be bolder and fairer than what’s gone before.
ACE is now partnering with Friends of the Earth, to strengthen our campaigning work. Simon will also be talking about how we can collectively drive ambition for greater and more effective climate action.
Agenda:
10.30-11.00 Chat over fairtrade and seasonal refreshments about topical issues
11.00-12 Mobilising for a new climate plan and other campaigns – Simon’s talk and Q&A
12-12.15 Wrap up of 2024 and 2025 look ahead
12.15-12.30 Notices and close
Recycling point: for blister packs and old toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. Donations appreciated so that we can buy more recycling boxes when these are filled up.
Thermal imaging camera: thermal imaging can identify cold spots in your home – draughts, water-ingress, insulation defects and more. So this is a good time of the year to undertake a survey. See the camera in action at Green Cafes and borrow it free of charge.

Buy Nothing Day
2024-11-24 08:00 - 17:00 | North Yorkshire
As an antidote to the super discounts available each year on ‘Black Friday’, encouraging us to buy more – this is a day to end the culture of impulse buys that goes along with it.
Instead, we want to waste less, make the most of the stuff we already own, and cut our carbon footprint by buying nothing new – excluding essentials like food and medicine – today.
As the Keep Britain Tidy campaign says ‘if everyone on Earth lived like people in the UK, we would need over two and a half planets to regenerate and absorb our waste. As a society, we need to move to a circular economy that wastes less and puts more value on the things we already have’.
Find out more about Keep Britian Tidy and their work in November towards buying nothing.

November's Green Cafe with Jane Smart
2024-11-09 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
With the United Nations climate talks (COP29) starting on Monday 11th November and the biodiversity COP (16) having just happened, our featured speaker Dr Jane Smart OBE, will be speaking about these conferences in: ‘The Nature Emergency: the imperative for Global to Local Action’.
Jane is currently the Chair of Malhamdale Environmental Group, co-founded Plantlife and has worked for the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Switzerland.
Read more about the ambitions for the united nations climate conference, COP29, here.
Agenda
10.30-11 chat over Fairtrade tea, coffee and biscuits about topical issue.
11-12.15pm: Jane’s talk followed by Q&A
12.15-12.30pm notices and close
Recycling point available: for blister packs and old toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. Donations appreciated so that we can buy more recycling boxes when these are filled up.

October's Green Cafe: Home Energy Help
2024-10-12 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
This month we are joined by Alison Tribe of Climate Action Silsden to answer some of your home energy questions:

Could you spend less on energy?
What to do about losing the Winter Fuel Payment
Get help to understand your energy bills and the price cap
Use your smart meter to reduce your bills
Understand your rights if you’re struggling to pay bills
And find out if your eligible for grants for energy saving

Cafe run by ACE: fairtrade coffee, tea and biscuits available 10.30-11am.
Free. All Welcome.

Let's Talk Farming
2024-09-29 14:00 - 17:00 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
Come along to this year’s Methodist ‘Let’s Talk’ event, focusing on farming.
This will include a programme of five talks of interest to farmers, locals and visitors:

Introduction from local farmer John Dawson with ‘Our Farming Story’
National Farmers Union’s Stephen Dew on ‘Challenges Ahead’
Settle District Young Farmers on ‘Our Future Farmers’
A view from livestock procurement with Mark Blakey ‘Links between Supermarkets and Farmers’
Supporting farmers ‘s with Richard Schofield (Field Nurses) and Steve Rathbone (Farming Community Network) ‘Caring for Farmers’

Free. All welcome. Refreshments available throughout the afternoon.

September's Green Cafe: Post Elections - What Next for Climate Action?
2024-09-21 10:00 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
This month’s Green Cafe will include our AGM – hear about our work over the last year and how to get more involved with our local climate actions
We will also be hearing from David Tonge, Chair of North Yorkshire Climate Coalition, on ‘Post Elections – What Next for Climate Action?’ With a new government, mayor for York and North Yorkshire and climate action plan for North Yorkshire, hear about a range of initiatives that we can support from a local perspective as well as those needing us to push for more action at pace.
Event timings:
10.00-11am Chat over refreshments about topical issues. This month’s refreshments are provided by the WI as a fundraiser for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
11-11.30am AGM
11.30-12.15pm David’s talk and Q&A
12.15-12.30pm ACE actions, notices and close

Methodist's Fairtrade Coffee Morning
2024-09-04 10:00 - 12:00 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
We are supporting the Methodist Church’s fairtrade coffee morning.

Come along for fairtrade tea, coffee and fairtrade biscuits: cookies, flapjacks and brownies.

There will be a fair trade stall at which to buy a range of fairtrade products – edible and inedible!
Fairtrade is now thirty years old and Settle became a fair trade community, accredited by The Fairtrade Foundation, in July 2023 and since then has held a variety of events.

As part of this year’s activities ACE’s Food Group is running a ‘Fairtrade 90kg Rice Challenge’. This is how much a subsistence farmer has to sell in order to pay for one year’s secondary school education. Education is very expensive for them. We have one year to complete the challenge and rice will be available from Melanie at this event and our regular Green Cafes. 1kg bags of either white or brown cost £4.00.

You can also find out more about fairtrade and join in during Fairtrade Fortnight (9th-22nd September) – with this year’s campaign ‘Make Your Mark’. We encourage everyone to change one product that they buy regularly to a Fairtrade one. There are now 5,000 Fairtrade products available in the UK, including cooking oils and shea butter.

Fairtrade Coffee morning
2024-08-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Settle Quaker Meeting House, 21 Kirkgate, Settle, BD24 9BX, United Kingdom
We look forward to seeing you at our fairtrade coffee morning.

Join us for fairtrade tea, coffee and fairtrade biscuits: cookies, flapjacks and brownies, well worth a try!

There will be a fair trade stall at which to buy a range of fairtrade products – edible and inedible!

Fairtrade is now thirty years old and Settle became a fair trade community, accredited by The Fairtrade Foundation, in July 2023 and since then has held a variety of events.

As part of this year’s activities ACE’s Food Group is running a ‘Fairtrade 90kg Rice Challenge’. This is how much a subsistence farmer has to sell in order to pay for one year’s secondary school education. Education is very expensive for them. We have one year to complete the challenge and rice will be available from Melanie at this event and our regular Green Cafes. 1kg bags of either white or brown cost £4.00.

You can also find out more about fairtrade and join in during Fairtrade Fortnight (9th-22nd September) – with this year’s campaign ‘Make Your Mark’. We encourage everyone to change one product that they buy regularly to a Fairtrade one. There are now 5,000 Fairtrade products available in the UK, including cooking oils and shea butter.

There will also be information about the Settle Plastic Free group. The group recently undertook three evenings of litter picking with the local beavers, cubs and scouts and ACE Settle, to reveal just how much single use plastic is still being generated and thrown away.

We will also have cards for sale in aid of the Rainforest Fund.

Flowerpot Festival (13th July-1st September): visit our Flowerpot Fairtrade Man (in Tillman Close) and Settle Plastic Free’s seal (highlighting marine plastic pollution) located in the Quaker Meeting House garden.

July's Green Cafe with Tom Heap
2024-07-13 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
In collaboration with Limestone Books we are delighted that this month’s Green Cafe will feature TOM HEAP, presenter on BBC TV’s Countryfile, Radio 4’s new Rare Earth series and the anchor of The Climate Show on Sky News.
Tom will be talking about his new book ‘Land Smart’* – his tour of the British countryside meeting the farmers, scientists, conservationists and others who are solving the most pressing challenges facing our countryside and the world. ‘If we use land cleverly it can give both humanity and nature the space to thrive on just the one planet. If not, we’re in trouble’.
Come along and hear Tom’s vision for the Dales.
Event timings:
10.30-11 Chat over fairtrade refreshments about topical issues
11-12 Tom’s talk and Q&A
12-12.30 ACE actions, notices and close

*’Land Smart’ will be available for purchase £20 hardback on the morning, by buying a copy you will be supporting Tom and Limestone Books (who will be providing the copies).‘A brilliant weaving together of surprising facts and charming encounters. Tom Heap, a world class broadcaster, combines an infectious curiosity with a no-nonsense determination to get at the truth of what really works and what doesn’t. Essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of energy, food and nature, which ought to be all of us’. David Shukman
‘A terrific book… Every page is a challenge to how we think about the good earth about us, our climate, our soil, our food and how we live our lives. Land Smart is a call for positive change that we must not ignore.’ Michael Morpurgo

Litter Picks in June
2024-06-18 17:30 - 2024-06-20 20:30 | North Yorkshire
In conjunction with the local beavers, cubs, scouts and explorers we will be running a series of litter picks to help combat plastic pollution and to make Settle Plastic Free.

Come along to one or more of the following dates – meeting at the Drill Hall, Castleberg Lane to collect litter pickers and bags. Please bring some gloves.

18th June 18.00-19.30

19th June 18.30-20.30
20th June 17.30-18.30
Explorers meet Fridays 19.00-21.00 – date tbc

If you would like to get involved, please contact us on acesettleandarea@gmail.com to find out more and confirm your attendance.

World Refill Day
2024-06-16 | North Yorkshire
World Refill Day is a global day of action with an inspiring vision of a refill and reuse revolution. The campaign is designed to accelerate the transition away from single-use plastic and towards refill and reuse.
Here at ACE , led by our food group, we are taking lots of action to reduce plastic pollution, the use of single use plastic and encouraging the circular economy including refilling and reusing. See more on our food group page here.
Find out more about World Refill Day here.

Great Big Green Week
2024-06-08 11:00 - 16:30 | Clitheroe Library, Church St, Clitheroe, BB7 2DG
We will be marking the start of ‘Great Big Green Week’ by taking the first direct rail service from Ribblehead to Manchester Victoria to rendezvous with the Ribble Valley Climate Action Network in Clitheroe.

At our first joint meeting with RVCAN (2-4pm at Clitheroe library) we will be sharing the successes and on-going challenges of community action along the ‘Little’ and ‘Big’ Ribble. Includes ‘Tea at Three’.

We will depart Settle Station by train at 11.22 (arriving 11.53, giving time for a look around Clitheroe and opportunity to buy our own lunch). And will return on the #11 bus at 16.20 or alternatively the train to Settle at 16.38. The bus fare will be a flat fare of £2 (£1 for under 19’s) for those without bus passes.

For further information contact us on acesettleandarea@gmail.com.

Please note: this will replace our usual Green Cafe at the Methodist Church.

Find out more about Ribble Valley Climate Action Network here

The Great Big Green Week is an annual initiative and the UK’s biggest ever celebration of community actin to tackle climate change and protect nature:

World Environment Day
2024-06-05 | North Yorkshire
World Environment Day is part of the United Nations environment programme.
‘We cannot turn back time, but we can grow forests, revive water sources, and bring back soils. We are the generation that can make peace with land’.
This year’s theme is: Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience. Here are some key messages: https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/did-you-know/key-messages
You can find out more the day here.

World Bee Day
2024-05-20 07:00 - 20:00 | North Yorkshire
To understand why World Bee Day 2024 is critical, we must first grasp bees’ significance. They aren’t just honey producers. These creatures are primary pollinators, ensuring that our ecosystems are healthy and functional. By doing this, they directly and indirectly support several Sustainability Development Goals, from zero hunger to life on land. Find out more here.
Check back nearer the time for information on UK based activities.

Plastic Free Settle
2024-05-11 10:30 - 12:30 | St John’s Methodist Church, Church Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JH, United Kingdom
Rosie Sanderson from Settle’s Plastic Free group will be letting us know about the group and actions coming up.
We’ll also have the results from Greenpeace’s Big Plastic Count held in March.
Current campaign: buy Fairtrade rice from the A.C.E. food group to help subsistence farmers from Malawi, Africa 1kg bags of white or brown rice £4 each.
Timings:
10.30-11 Cafe – fairtrade tea, coffee and biscuits
11-12 Talk and Q&A
12-12.30pm Actions, notices and close.
Free and all welcome.

No Mow May
2024-05-01 08:00 - 2024-05-31 20:00 | North Yorkshire
No Mow May is Plantlife’s annual campaign calling on all garden owners and green space managers not to mow during May.

Why do we need No Mow May?
We’ve lost nearly 97% of flower-rich meadows since the 1930’s and with them gone are vital food needed by pollinators, like bees and butterflies.
But your lawn can help! A healthy lawn with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away carbon below ground. Best of all, to reap these benefits all you have to do is not mow your lawn in May and beyond!

How to take part
With over 20 million gardens in the UK, even the smallest grassy patches add up to a significant proportion of our land which, if managed properly, can deliver enormous gains for nature, communities and the climate.
This is why Plantlife calls for people to get involved with #NoMowMay every year, and let wild plants get a head start on the summer.
Find out how to get involved here.
