York Environment Forum

Look out for the full programme for York Environment Festival (YEFest) 2025, which features over 60 events across the city. 

This year’s programme includes a wide range of activities organised by local groups. There are talks and film screenings on a variety of environmental topics, as well as opportunities to develop practical skills such as gardening and foraging. Festival-goers can explore York’s local environment on various walks, or enjoy nature-inspired poetry and music.

All events in the festival are open and free to attend, so that York residents can get involved and find out more about how they can champion their local environment.

The theme of this year’s festival is ‘hope through action’. In the words of writer and activist Rebecca Solnit, “hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope”.

At a time of global turbulence the question is: what does it mean to cultivate hope? YEFest has many suggestions for taking hopeful action, from practical workshops to repair cafes to community meet-ups.

Our members have decided to introduce a revised membership system. We no longer set an annual subscription rate. Anyone who joins from now on can sign up free of charge. Click the link to the application form here.

York Environment Forum brings together members who appreciate the benefits of engaging with a range of individuals, community groups and enterprises who have common interests. This has a very practical aspect of knowing what is happening locally and who is doing what. Collectively we identify local issues which we can respond to such as transport policy and the local plan. The political landscape has changed recently with the introduction of a mayor for York and North Yorkshire at the Combined Authority. YEF is getting to know our counterparts in North Yorkshire and we are involved in influencing the plan for the Region becoming carbon negative.

York Environment Festival runs from September 27th to November 2nd this year. This is our highest profile activity to celebrate positive action to promote the environment and encourage further involvement.

York Environment Forum is looking back over 2024-25 at the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday June 18th. In keeping with our interest in the green environment the event will be in the open air, and will incorporate some gentle walking.

Aimed primarily at YEF members, anyone interested in what we do is more than welcome.

The arrangements are to meet at the Reading Cafe in Rowntree Park at 4pm. We will then walk through the park and across the Millennium Bridge. We will hold the AGM close to the river bank. There will be time for a short walk in the vicinity before heading back to Rowntree Park.

The walk is circular to suit people wishing to return there. Participants can leave at other points. Alternative access to the river bank site is possible from the Fulford Road direction including bus routes.

We have contingency plans in case of heavy rain, we will meet as arranged above, and the AGM will be held indoors.

Prior to the start all are invited to gather early, after 3.30 and have a drink in the cafe if desired.

More information from yorkenvironmentforum@gmail.com

York Environment Forum is pleased to announce this year’s York Environment Festival. That is the new name for what has been called York Environment Week and York Environment Week(s) in previous years.

The dates to remember are the start on 27th September and the close on 2nd November. This longer time period provides great flexibility for event organisers. And we hope there will be more than the 100 events held last year,

The next step is for any environmental group to come up with an idea for an event. There is no charge for the event to be included in the Festival, and participation in the events must be free admission.

Organisers can send in their submissions from 1st June. An online form, guidance notes, and other relevant information will be on the website here.

At last we have a Local Plan and can look forward to using this over the next 20 years. York Environment Forum has engaged deeply in the process of reaching this stage. This is not the end of our interest and involvement.

Our particular interests have been in green infrastructure, efficient and effective transport provision, the natural environment, housing, climate change and protection of the historic setting of the city.

Shortly there will be consultation on the content of Supplementary Planning Documents. These will provide greater detail and clarity about the main themes of the Local Plan. Hence they will be relevant for developers and residents, anyone who is part of the planning process as changes are made to how space in York is used..

Two other consultations are planned.. One is about the Community Infrastruture Levy which is a charge paid by developers. Currently that is no rate or amount of the payment to be charged.

The other is about the Statement of Community Involvement. City of York Council must update its existing version. YEF suggests that new methods of community involvement should be introduced, and consideration to ongoing effective community involvement during the lifespan of the Loal Plan.

This is a massive topic, YEF welcomes members to bring their interests and thoughts to follow up aspects of the Local Plan. City of York Council invites residents to keep up to date by emailing localplan@york.gov.uk. Issues about planning policy and consultations can be raised there.

Now that there is a Combined Authority and a Mayor covering the political / geographical area of York and North Yorkshire we need to think through how York Environment Forum is affected. Potentially there are opportnities to influence policies and how money is spent. YEF will still relate to City of York Council and counterpart organisations in North Yorkshire will still relate to North Yorkshire County Council. Complexity arises in also relating to the Combined Authority.

The government’s assessment of the devolution of powers away from Westminster is that areas have been be given sweeping new powers, putting them on the fast track to deliver growth, opportunities, transport and housing for local communities. Another strand concerns sustainability and climate change.

Already a representativ of YEF has attended a meeting with the Sustainabilty Manager of the Combined Authority. And we are researching activity and provision in North Yorkshire as collaborating and not duplicating could be of mutual benefit.

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A meeting recently was a reminder of varying responses to tourism from permanent residents. In York, many years ago, one response became a badge, shown in the illustration.

A ‘greener’ York could also be an attraction for visitors, people would come here because of York’s ‘greenness’. This would be beneficial for permananent residents all the year round.

York’s biggest Environment festival starts at the weekend. The programme features nearly one hundred events. Collectively the event organisers are promoting the work going on to tackle climate change, increase biodiversity and make York a more sustaiinable city. A member of York Environment Forum had the original idea for a programme of events, and we are pleased that we are now in year five.

Thanks to the team for their work behind the scenes to pull everything together. The website has been revamped so that it is possible to search to ‘Find Events’. Paper copies of the events brochure are available at many city venues.

Your chance to express your views about how City of York Council raises enough money to pay for all the services it must and would like to provide in future years. Most councils in England are having to make very difficult decisions because of widening gaps of money coming in and what needs to be spent. The best decisons will be made when thoughts and opinions are gathered from a wide range of people. How could more money be raised or services delivered in a different way?

More information here.

The next Big Conversation for residents is about the Budget. There is an online form to send in feedback, with a number of workshops and open meetings too. The consultation ends on Sunday 1st September. The final decison about the budget will be made in February next year.

Wondering about York Environment Week this year? Not just one week in 2024 but a whole month.

Starting on 14th September and going to 12th October organisers have more scope to choose the dates of their events. Previous years’ programmes have included all manner of events on environmental topics. YEWs 24 is looking for the events to go in this year’s programme. The process is for a group, organisation or enterprise to fill in an online submission form and the YEWs 24 team will look through and then liaise with the proposer .

As there will be two formats of publicity there is a deadline to be in the printed publicity – submit by 4th August, and for onine publicity only – submit 25th August. More information is found through this link –