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A Settle-based arts charity has been recognised in a majornational report for showing how rural culture can reach the world whilereducing its environmental impact.
Settle Stories, best known locally for the Yorkshire Festival of Story, features in the newly published Culture, Climate and Environmental Responsibility report from Julie’s Bicycle and Arts Council England, which examines how arts organisations across the country are responding to the climate crisis.
The report highlights how Settle Stories has transformed its work through a digital-first approach, allowing it to dramatically expand its reach while cutting travel, costs and carbon emissions.
Rather than relying on large-scale travel and printed materials, the organisation redesigned its flagship Yorkshire Festival of Story to be predominantly digital and hybrid. As a result, the 2024 festival reached audiences in 48 countries across six continents, including Egypt, Argentina and China - impact that would have been impossible from a single venue in the Yorkshire Dales.
Crucially, the approach also increased local access. Events were free and online, removing barriers linked to travel, cost and physical access. Twenty per cent of attendees identified as deaf or disabled, and 12 percent as neurodivergent, showing how digital delivery can widen participation as well as reduce emissions.
Sita Brand, CEO and Artistic Director of Settle Stories, said: “What we’ve discovered is that storytelling doesn’t lose its power when it travels through screens - it amplifies it. We’re not just reducing our carbon footprint by going digital, we’re expanding our heartprint.”
The report notes that the festival also reached 239 schools, including primary pupils across Yorkshire, helping embed storytelling and cultural engagement at an early age.
Settle Stories worked with Lancaster University Management School to assess its environmental impact and develop an Environmental Management Plan, ensuring sustainability is built into future decision-making rather than treated as an add-on.
The national report draws on data from 558 publicly funded arts organisations and identifies Settle Stories as an example of how small, rural organisations can lead innovation - balancing environmental responsibility with access, inclusion and community impact.
The full national report is available HERE
