Join our local eco group

This is an update from Alistair McQueen, a resident of Burnt Yates and a member of our Cayton Parish eco group. 

We may be biased, but we do live in a beautiful corner of the country. In the spirit of the age, I asked ChatGPT to tell me if North Yorkshire is, in fact, the “most beautiful” county. It politely reminded me that beauty is subjective; but then proceeded to list a number of supportive surveys and articles, indicating that we’re in with a good shout.

You may not be aware, but our Cayton Parish has its own volunteer eco group with a goal of celebrating our local natural beauty. With representatives from all our parish’s churches, our purpose is to “oversee and manage our green spaces in ways that drive forward our desire to cherish God’s good creation.” And we have so much to cherish. Here are five fun facts about our local nature and countryside.

• Yorkshire is reported to have more types of landscape than any other English county – dramatic coastline, moors, dales, rolling farmland, ancient woodland, and more.
• Yorkshire has recorded about 500 of the 600 species of British birds.
• Yorkshire is enjoying a restoration of hay meadows, an expansion of native tree planting, and the revegetation of riverbanks, thanks to the work of many who live here.
• The Yorkshire Dales covers about 850 square miles, or the equivalent of about 300,000 football pitches.
• The Yorkshire Dales are also estimated to have about 5,000 miles of dry-stone walls – enough to build a bridge from Cayton Parish to California in the west or China in the east.

None of us in the eco group would claim to be experts; but what we may lack in green fingers, we try to make up for with enthusiasm. 

We meet four times a year, and we’re always keen to grow our band of volunteers. So, if you’d like to help us “cherish God’s good creation”, please email revd.linda.boon@gmail.com. 

Many hands make light work!”