I READ with interest the letter from June Emerson (February 5) regarding tree planting plans in the Ryedale area.

I can advise that Ryedale Lions Club has recently joined a Lions District project whereby each club within district undertakes to plant 10 trees for each club member each year for the next five years.

For Ryedale Lions Club that equates to 1,500 trees and for district 60,000 trees.

We are in contact with Pickering Town Council to agree suitable locations for the planting of these trees.

This initiative offers Ryedale Lions Club an opportunity to invite members of our community to come along and join us in an activity which reflects one of the Lions core service areas. What better an introduction to Lions?

For further information please make contact via our website.

Frank Hayward, president of Ryedale Lions Club

Show your support

ACROSS Yorkshire and the Humber over 76,000 people are living with dementia and 850,000 are affected UK-wide.

Dementia is now the UK’s biggest killer, with someone developing it every three minutes.

Alzheimer’s Society has joined up with Department for Transport on their “it’s everyone’s journey” campaign, to address the fact that too many disabled people, including people with dementia, don’t feel confident using public transport.

Two-thirds of people living with dementia in the UK, live in the community and less than half (47 per cent) of people living with dementia feel like they are a part of their community.

So we are calling on the travelling public to help beat the isolation and loneliness by learning more about some simple steps to support people with disabilities to travel:

l Please be considerate and aware of your fellow passengers - by offering help if someone looks lost or keeping the noise down if anyone looks visibly distressed to help anxieties.

l Please be patient and take your time – support people living with dementia and other conditions by allowing people some extra time, should they require it. This could be using ticket barriers, finding a seat or getting onto a bus.

l Please be prepared to give up the priority seat – dementia is one of many disabilities which is not visible, so please be aware of other passengers and be prepared to give up the priority seat to anyone who might need it.

l Please respect accessible toilet users – an accessible (disabled) toilet is not just a facility for wheelchair users. Please respect the fact that not all disabilities are visible and you may not always be aware of someone’s accessibility needs.

Transport is at the heart of our lives and we all have the power to collectively create a more supportive travel environment for people living with dementia, and other conditions.

We owe it to the 850,000 people in the UK currently living with dementia to understand the condition better, so that they can live better.

To find out more go to everyonesjourney.campaign.gov.uk/

Angela Rippon, Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador

Don’t drag heels

I’M hugely encouraged by the landmark plans announced by the Government to give Ofcom powers to regulate social networks.

The safety of children online has been compromised for too long, but this breakthrough could pave the way in setting a global standard in protecting children.

The Government has shown a commitment to leading change by standing up to big tech firms. Now, Ministers must move swiftly to ensure that Ofcom is given the necessary powers, allowing it to enforce substantial fines to social networks not doing enough to prevent adults grooming children on their sites.

The internet is a wonderful place for young people to learn and social networks form a big part of their friendships, enabling them to seek support from peers. However, no longer should children be exposed to harmful content and abuse because of a slap-dash approach by tech giants.

It’s why we’ve long called for, through our Wild West Web campaign, an independent regulator, safe accounts for children and detailed reporting on how tech firms are keeping children safe.

An estimated 90 online child sexual offences have taken place each day since the Government published the Online Harms White Paper last April. It’s gone on too long and social networks must not be allowed to continue dragging their heels.

Helen Westerman, NSPCC, service head for local campaigns