Did you recently come across a band of students, wandering around Kirkby Stephen asking all sorts of questions!

Many of us did. The students were all from the journalism course at the soon-to-be University of Cumbria in Carlisle, and were here on a working field trip gathering stories and pictures about the people, attractions and history that give Kirkby its character.

It is part of a collaboration between KSO and the new university, which has a keen interest in supporting and promoting community journalism in Cumbria.

KSO's launch coincides with the uni's move into helping towns and villages get their sites up and running.

Although the students will be using their stories as part of their coursework, they are also appearing on Kirkby Stephen Online, so a number of the features included on our pages have come from the budding journalists.

We'd like to thank them for their help - it's given KSO a valuable kick start.

BBC Radio Cumbria

The site also benefited from a visit to the town by BBC Radio Cumbria’s famous Bus. It was parked up in Kirkby Stephen over two weeks at the end of May as journalists worked on compiling more local stories, as well as giving anyone who paid a visit to the Bus an insight into how the BBC works.

Some of those stories were broadcast on Radio Cumbria, some appeared on the BBC's website at www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria.

Fortunately for us, the BBC also agreed to make some of the stories they produced available to Kirkby Stephen Online, and we're grateful for their support.