OPINION: The work of the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition is crucial for our struggling planet - Mayor Trevor Chapman

The work of the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition is crucial for our struggling planet and we need as many people as possible to look at ways we can challenge global warming.

On a similar theme the Mayoress and I were pleased to support the Harrogate district Walk to School Day on October 8.

The event, which was hosted by Zero Carbon Harrogate, included talking to pupils as they arrived at Harrogate High and St Roberts Primary Schools.

We were delighted how many had walked to school and we encouraged them to continue to do so.

Myself and the Mayoress were pleased to attend two events on September 18 both of which involved the Harrogate Civic Society.

The first was the unveiling of the latest brown plaque in Park Road. The plaque commemorates the work of Hungarian artist Jean-Georges Simon who lived in Harrogate for a number of years.

The second event was the reopening of the New Park Visitor Centre at New Park School. At the ceremony special thanks were given to Terry Williams for all his hard work in preparing the centre for its reopening.

September 21 saw us attend the opening of a Harrogate office for a company called Trust Payments. The firm offers payment services like online transactions and card machines to business customers. The company will create new roles in sales, training and coaching and product operations.

On September 24 a warm welcome was extended to the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain who were holding their 102nd congress at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. We were delighted to hear at their banquet the following evening how much the delegates had enjoyed their visit to the Harrogate district.

I recently joined the Harrogate Network for Organ Donation Support on their walk through the Valley Gardens to Montpellier Hill.

The idea was to engage with people in discussions about organ donation, how it saves and transforms lives and ask them to talk about the subject to their next of kin.

More organs are lost due to relatives saying ‘no’ than any other reason and it is usually because they did not know what their relatives wishes were.

At the end of September we attended two events organised by the local branch of the soroptimists. The first was at Stonefall Cemetery where I unveiled a plaque where a tree had been set to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Soroptimists of Great Britain (Harrogate Branch). The second event was to attend a celebration of the 88th anniversary of the Chartering of Soroptomist International of Harrogate District.

It was a pleasure to open a new dwelling at Rogers’ Almshouses on Belford Road, Harrogate on October 5. The trustees of the Rogers’ Almshouses Charity along with the help of the architect and builder made a fine job in creating this much needed dwelling for persons over sixty from Harrogate and Bradford.

One of my chosen charities for my year of office are the Friends of Harrogate Hospital who have produced a very attractive mug to say ’Thank You NHS’, thanking staff and volunteers for all their amazing work over the last 18 months.

The mugs can be bought at the Harrogate Hospital Community Charity online shop www.hhcc.co.uk/shop costing only £5 each (plus P&P) – please support this if you can.