One thing we love about York is its greenery and sustainability. We see lots of initiatives pop up across the city that help address waste reduction, climate change, community and inner city greenery. Here are some of those we’ve found in our travels.
Dubbed as The Green Heart Of York, St Nics is a charity borne from the very best intentions. They began by turning a landfill site into a nature reserve and have not stopped since. The St Nics centre offers wildlife tours, room hire, volunteering opportunities and an exciting phenomenon known as ‘ecotherapy’. You can read more about their work via their website here.
Edible York is the antidote to busy, digital 21st century life. Their aim is to encourage community gardening, improve horticultural learning and plant a few trees in the process. It is clearly a labour of love, and that’s what makes Edible York such an invaluable part of the community.
Where would we be without our enterprising young students? The York Student Switch Off project helps raise awareness of environmental issues, and encourages students to reduce their energy bills over the course of their studies. If helping the planet isn’t inventive enough, they reward the winning flat at York University with a £1,000 prize to fund their end of year social. If that isn’t reason enough to turn off the lights, we don’t know what is!
We’d like to give an honorary mention to the Bike Rescue project, who in spite of recent closure have played hugely to York’s cycling, green and transport community. We moved many bikes that had been refurbished by the project, and know that their contributions will last for years to come.
