Taylors of Harrogate wins UN climate change award

Tea and coffee merchant Taylors of Harrogate has been recognised for its efforts to tackle climate change by the United Nations.

The company has been named as one of 11 winners of the UN Global Climate Action Awards and its work will go on display at next month’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

The awards advisory panel praised Taylors for its role in the international small group tree planting programme in Kenya. This scheme works with farmers in rural communities to share knowledge on conservation farming and reforestation.

About 7,500 tea farmers are included in the project across four factories.

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The awards advisory panel praised the company’s “unique programme with its long-term suppliers” that tackled “the interlinked challenges of climate change, smallholder livelihoods and ensuring a continuous supply of quality tea and coffee”.

The company also installed solar panels on its tea and coffee factory, generating almost 200,000 kwh of electricity a year.

UN Climate Change executive secretary Patricia Espinosa said:

“The winners of the 2021 UN Global Climate Action Awards provide tangible proof that solutions to tackle the climate crisis exist and that they can be replicated and quickly scaled up. This is what inspiring leadership looks like.”

Meditation at heart of Harrogate school’s mental health award

A Harrogate school has won gold for its mental health and wellbeing support for pupils.

Coppice Valley Primary School has rolled out a wide range of activities including meditation, and more as part of a mental health curriculum.

It is collaborating with local services Compass Buzz and Adolescent Mental Health Services. The school also has set out specific support for pupils in need.

The school said the focal point of its provision is its weekly personal, social and health education lesson which teaches children how to look after their mental health.

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More than 800 schools have signed up to take part in the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools award.

The award shines a light on the work of schools to support mental health, something which has become more poignant after a year of coronavirus.

Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health, which is part of Leeds Beckett University, established the award in 2017.

Coppice Valley’s headteacher, Emma Meadus said:

“I am extremely proud of the mental health offer we provide at Coppice Valley for all pupils.

“Achieving this award is a fantastic recognition of all the hard work of the whole school community to create our mental health provision.”

Sam Wright, Coppice Valley pupil wellbeing worker, added:

“Working towards the award over the last year gave me the perfect opportunity to audit our mental health provision for the whole school.

“I was able to see what we were doing well and which areas we could improve on. We’ve built a robust offer for all our children through the award-process.”

Pateley Bridge farm wins national award for eco efforts

A farm near Pateley Bridge has won a national award as recognition for its environmental efforts over the last four years.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) chose Humberstone Bank Farm as the rural and land winner for its social impact awards.

Jonathan Grayshon took on the tenancy of the farm from Yorkshire Water in 2016 and hoped to become a leading example of sustainable farming.

Since taking on the farm they have planted, with the help of volunteers, around 6,000 trees.

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It is a large farm with 904 hectares of protected moors, grazing land, traditional hay meadows, a wildlife and sediment pond as well as Belted Galloway cattle for conservation grazing.

The judges said of Humberstone Bank Farm’s work at the awards:

“At a time of huge change for the rural sector, we felt that Humberstone Bank Farm was a real exemplar as to what could be achieved on many levels.

“The collaboration between landlord and tenant in terms of land management to manage aspects such as flood risk in the environment, is an innovative approach.

“We believe Humberstone Bank thoroughly deserves to be a winner.”

Of the award win, Lisa Harrowsmith, lead surveyor at Yorkshire Water said:

“As one of the region’s largest landowners, our land strategy is to ‘deliver exceptional land for Yorkshire, forever’ and Beyond Nature plays a key role in that.

“The RICS award is a recognition that we are heading in the right direction to deliver on our ambition and make a lasting difference for future generations.”

Rudding Park named hotel spa of the year in global awards

Rudding Park has been named hotel spa of the year in a global competition.

The Harrogate-based venue beat competition from top spas in London and Paris to win the award.

The annual World Spa and Wellness Awards, which are organised by the Professional Beauty Group, were held virtually this year due to covid.

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It has been a difficult year for spas and the hospitality industry in general so this will bolster the team at Rudding Park.

Peter Banks, the managing director at Rudding Park, said:

“Winning such a prestigious global award voted by high profile industry judges is a fantastic endorsement.

“We are confident there will be a real appetite for people to experience a change of scene, relax and unwind.”

As the end of the second lockdown approaches, Rudding Park said it was confident of plenty of bookings during the Christmas period as people look for a chance to relax and unwind.

Bilton and Boroughbridge libraries highly commended

Two libraries in the Harrogate district have been highly commended for their improved performance. 

Boroughbridge community library and Bilton and Woodfield community library were among those recognised by the North Yorkshire County Council Library of the Year awards. 

Norton Hive library, near Malton, was crowned the overall winner.

Bilton and Woodfield library has had a lot to overcome in recent years. After funding cuts in 2011 it almost closed permanently, and is now run entirely by volunteers.

Shortly afterwards it had to find a new home and in 2017 a faulty boiler caused a major flood.

So Greta Knight, chair of the library, was pleased to accept the commendation:

“This award was a recognition of all the hard work done by everyone connected with the library and I was extremely proud to accept it on their behalf.”

Bilton library: Chairman Greta Knight and North Yorkshire County Council chairman, councillor Jim Clark, hold the award. Local member Councillor Geoff Webber (left) and libraries general manager Chrys Mellor (centre) surrounded by volunteers and supporters.

Boroughbridge library secretary Diana Holmes said: 

“It is great to have the hard work of our team of lovely volunteers recognised by this award. The library is at the heart of the local community and we know from customer comments that it is greatly valued. 

“The award gives us a very satisfying pat on the back from our colleagues at the county council and is especially appreciated in these current challenging times.”

Boroughbridge library: Chairman Ian Hick and North Yorkshire County Council chairman, councillor Jim Clark, hold the award. From left, area librarian Catherine Barlow, facilities manager Mike Collins, activities manager Barbara Horner, library manager Lee Taylor, treasurer Nic Holmes and secretary Diana Holmes.

Ordinarily, Boroughbridge library runs weekly activities such as story time, scrabble and one-to-one help with IT issues. These activities have been limited by the pandemic. 

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Greg White, the council’s executive member for libraries, said:

“The success of these community-run libraries is a testament to the local communities who will go to great lengths to keep the service running.

 “Despite lockdown resulting in the closure of our buildings we have increased our digital offer and seen 3,000 new customers join and a huge increase in digital borrowing.”