Category: camelon

camelon, collaboration, community, development, funding, tamfourhill

Great News for SCYAP

bighosie

We are delighted to announce that the National Lottery Young Start Fund have committed another three Years funding for SCYAP 2026-29. This is a tremendous investment in local young people and the Youth Action and community development approach endorsed and supported by the Tamfourhill Tenants & Residents Organisation. This is a significant and strategic investment which will  allow SCYAP to sustain and develop new opportunities in partnership with local young people. We will therefore be reviewing our Development Plan for the next three years  and young people will play a central role in that  process. We have a Project development day scheduled for Sunday 21st June and I am hoping that there will be good buy in from the community and young people to that days programme. The days activities and workshops will take place at the Well Wild Project in the Rough Castel Woods , further details to follow so please watch this space and our social media posts.

More good funding news with the Hedley Foundation also investing project funds for SCYAP to develop a programme targeted at 10–12-year-olds. This programme will have a community safety focus and will be set within the context of young people transitioning from primary to High School. This builds upon some of the peer mentoring work we supported earlier in the year and there will be an important role for our young volunteers with this project and off course it will be embedded with national youth awards. The programme is scheduled to begin on Tuesday 16th June and I will highlight  how to get signed up and involved with this project in the near future. This programme will operate throughout he summer school holiday months and complement our wider annual holiday programme of activities.    

   The Hedley Foundation – A Grant Giving Charity 

Youth Action on the Canals

The Tamfourhill Totem Pole Trail

The Climate action events we facilitated with young people back in February and March 2025 had highlighted young people’s priorities  for local climate action. Key themes were confirmed, including:   Encouraging Active Travel , Campaigning for Climate Action locally and Helping Nature and Biodiversity. The Tamfourhill Totem Pole Trail embraced all of these aspects, and the project  proposal was a great fit with young  people’s priorities and aspirations for the local area.  We were therefore  overjoyed to receive funds to implement this Project through the ArtsRoots Fund distributed by Walk Wheel Cycle Trust Scotland.

https://www.walkwheelcycletrust.org.uk/about-us/our-work-in-scotland

The overarching aim of our Project  was to creatively engage local young people and support them too research and design ten distinct totem poles which would enhance the active travel route and also highlight and celebrate the natural environment around this stretch of canal in Tamfourhill. This route also forms  part of the John Muir Way, so encouraging active travel coupled to the nature and biodiversity of this route  made absolute sense.

The Project has  involved our Creative Climate Action Group along with Carmuirs and Easter Carmuirs Primary Schools and the level of engagement from the young people was excellent, with 50 young people being involved with the different stages of  the design and deciding upon the different themes  of the totem poles. The project caught their imaginations and through utilising different types of land art and researching interesting facts and details about the natural environment of the canal, young people were able to express themselves creatively and successfully and positively contribute to the Project. A key theme was reflecting on games played as children when out in nature where you used natural objects like sticks and leaves and incorporated them into different children’s games. These ideas are then celebrated on each of  the totem poles so that anyone walking or wheeling along the towpath can stop at each respective totem pole and engage in a children’s game or activity as detailed on the crafted poles. This was an excellent feature of this community art project; creatively incorporating  children’s nature-based play activities into  your active travel experience along  this canal towpath route.  

I would like to thank Sarah Diver Lang our community artist and design worker who led  on this project and not least for being tasked with the challenge of installing these  posts into the towpaths difficult terrain. I would also like to express my appreciation to Olivia Lassiere  the Environment Manager at Scottish Canals who greatly assisted with the  permissions and CAT scans that were required prior to  the installation process.

The intention  is to have a celebratory activity on the towpath next month which will involve an  active travel procession and some engagement activities on the themes of nature and  children’s play at each of the ten  totem poles. I will update the community with the arrangements for this event in due course.     

Here are some photos of the poles after their recent installation along with young people taking part with the design process, but please do go up onto the active travel route along the Canal in Tamfourhill and enjoy the experience of active travel, nature and grab yourself a pooh stick. 

The Design process is also detailed here: https://www.sarahdiverlang.com/noticeposts

Cruising the canal with the Seagull Trust:

The Canals have been a big feature and location for significant amounts of our Youth Action throughout  April into May. The Creative Climate Action Group enjoyed a great experience cruising along the Canal on the Seagull Trusts Canal boat. We passed the initial Totem poles that had been installed at that time and also went past the two new community orchards that we helped to plant. The cruise concluded with the Falkirk Wheel experience with the boat  lift  being a first for most of the group. The day was made more interesting through  the groups re-enactment of Titanic , singing along to the soundtrack and acting out the main roles. Thankfully no icebergs were encountered. We returned to the seagull trust with the Carmuirs Climate Action  Group a week later and this was a different but an equally rewarding  experience with this group more focussed upon their yodelling and loud echo going through the top lock gates and then  along the tunnel and onto the boat lift. 

Paddle pick up on Canoes:

SCYAP has also been supporting  the entire P7 class at Easter Carmuirs Primary School with their experiencing and helping nature youth award  programme. This has been  a varied and at times challenging award programme and included their contribution to  the totem poles trail and  also  encouraging nature and biodiversity in their local Easter Carmuirs Public Park. More recently the class were split into three subgroups who each carried out a paddle pick up along the Forth and  Clyde Canal through Camelon and also west towards Bonnybridge and where they  learnt skills in canoeing, teamwork , communication whilst  also collecting rubbish from the canal. Litter surveys were an important feature of the sessions, and this was carried out in conjunction with Keep Scotland Beautiful Upstream Battle challenge. The aim of this campaign is to change littering behaviour to prevent  litter at source along rivers and waterways throughout Scotland. If we can stop litter getting  into our waterways then we prevent it polluting our rivers but also stop it from  arriving in our seas and oceans where it contributes to extensive environmental damage and exasperates climate change. The surveys revealed that our local canal is improving , there is less rubbish and litter , although this has much to do with the recent efforts of these young people.  The main  problems are plastic bottles, drinks cans, glass bottles and an array of sweet and crisp wrappers and surprisingly  a wooden drawer.  My congratulations to these young people for all their efforts and commitment. 

Upstream Battle®

Twilight Sports: Summer 2026

And finally, summer must be coming as I am pleased to announce the return of the Twilight Sports programme which is  coming to a public park near you. The full programme is below and we start on Friday 12th June at 6pm in Easter Carmuirs Park , there will be rollerblading with the Falkirk Wheelers, football with Caiden Wilson , Nature and creative activities , visits from  the Fire and Rescue Service and regular surgeries from  the very popular Dr Bike Service. As always  its open to all 10–16-year-olds, food and drinks are provided and it’s all absolutely free. See you soon folks! 

Twilight Sports Porgramme 2026Download

camelon, community, Our Place, tamfourhill

And now….

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 24 February 2022

So this is it. This is my final blog as your Community Coach.

I have mixed emotions as I write and I am not going to drag this out any longer than necessary. The last 2 years have been a rollercoaster of emotions as we’ve dealt with all the restrictions Covid threw at us, and here at OPCT there is so much we wanted to do but never got the chance to. Many things on my list remain untouched mostly due to Covid. But there have also been some surprise activities that we didn’t anticipate which has been great. I have spent so much time dealing with frustrations of not being able to do things, and as many of you will know, there’s only so much of that you can take. That’s not why I’m leaving though. Infact, as I come into land in this role, many fruits are forming from the seeds sown. Many things are coming to fruition from the foundations laid. As I’ve been trying to wrap things up for a handover to an as yet unappointed replacement, so much has been coming into my inbox in relation to really positive developments. That’s exciting and gives me hope for the future. All it needs now is for more of you, the lovely people of Camelon and Tamfourhill, to come out from behind the scenes and get involved – it’s the only way positive change is going to happen in our community.

I’ll not disappear completely – sorry! I live here. This is my community. You are my neighbours. Those who know me will know where to find me! (I also know where to find some of you!!!!) I will support local development as much as I’m able through various ways. So I simply encourage you to put your full effort behind John and my replacement when they’re in post. You have the power to be part of the change for good. You can be involved in positive developments. You can be part of a really exciting future for Camelon and Tamfourhill.

I leave you with a favourite song that I’ve performed many times before – don’t worry, this isn’t me singing though! I use it here as it sums things up from my time in this role as, whilst I know I haven’t got everything right or achieved everything that I wanted to, I can say with hand on heart that, right or wrong, I did it My Way. These words particularly stand out: “Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way. Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew, when I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way.”

Until we meet again…….

camelon, collaboration, community, development, growing, litter, Our Place, Support, Tidy Clean Green

Community Renewal

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 17 February 2022

We are so pleased to be able to reveal to you that a decent chunk of funding is coming into various projects and organisations in the Camelon and Tamfourhill area thanks to the UK Government Community Renewal Fund.

The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for 2021/22. This aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fundprospectus

John teased some of this news in his blog this week but here’s the full info.

The whole consortium was brought together initially by Scottish Canals, but is led by the Green Action Trust. As well as them and us, the other partners are Artlink Central, Go Forth and Clyde, Keep Scotland Beautiful/Canal College, Forth Valley College and Forth Environment Link. Things were initially meant to start in August/September time last year but delays from the funder mean we’re all only just able to get going now. This has been frustrating for all partners as many briefs have had to be amended or completely rewritten. But now we can get going with a total of over £700,000 coming in across the whole consortium – and we’ve only got until June to wrap things up!

Our involvement in this consortium is in two smaller projects totalling just under £40,000, supporting groups to work alongside you, the wider community, to vision how various spaces could look and become in the future, both short and long term. More on this is a sec, but for now, a little on what visioning really means. This quote from Simon Sinek says it nicely:

“Vision is the ability to see that which does not yet exist.  As we slowly bring that vision to life, more people will start to recognise the work we’re doing and join our crusade.  But, like an iceberg, there will always be much more waiting to be revealed underneath the surface.” Simon Sinek

For some time now, a small band of volunteers have been working on a number of projects and activities. Many of them are tired but still full of passion for what could be, which is why they keep going. So, the middle bit of Sinek’s quote is gold, and I think reflects where many people are. They want to be involved but prefer to wait until things have started, then they might consider jumping in once they’ve assessed the lay of the land. That’s totally understandable but, with the work that will happen over the next 4 months, now is the time to jump in. There will be a wide range of ways to get involved and have your say between now and June. Online, offline. Activity, discussion. Formal, informal. And more! So, I hope that many of you will take up the opportunities to do so, otherwise quite simply, if you don’t like what develops then you have little room for complaint if you haven’t had your say! And as Sinek says, more information, ideas, passions and skills will come out of hiding as more people get involved. That’s absolutely what we want to happen!

So, what is going to be funded? There are 2 projects.

Easter Carmuirs Park
The Green Action Trust (formerly known as the Central Scotland Green Network Trust) is back to work alongside the community on taking forward hopes, plans and visions for the park. A draft masterplan was prepared by them back in 2017 that led to the installation of paths, trees and some meadow areas in 2019. But what next? Many ideas were suggested back then, however people have used the park more and begun to understand it in a different way now that you can walk on paths across it and appreciate its scale more. The consultant will work with us and you to bring a meaningful plan together that satisfies community aspirations, attends to community safety matters that have been raised, and present a workable timeline for developments so that full clarity is there for all – something that was missing last time around. Crucially, this will be a chance for the Friends of Easter Carmuirs Park group to come together properly. We teased this back in the Fun in the Park event last October with the hope that this funding would have been in place before now. But now is the time for this group to form, with our support, and become the vehicle to apply for funding and take future developments forward. Watch out for all the ways you can get involved if you live around or use Easter Carmuirs Park in any way at all.

Carmuirs Area
Tidy Clean Green will be leading a range of activities and consultations assisted by us and with external help from The Conservation Volunteers. This is to build on the work that’s been happening over the last year or so with particular focus on the area next to Camelon Juniors car park, and the Brown Street Park. These next few months will give a chance to start pulling together all the strands of research, consultation and activity, and present a workable and fundable plan at the end of the process that can be taken forward either by Tidy Clean Green or another local group. As mentioned earlier, John’s blog this week talks more about this project and reflects on an event in the area last week that was bringing further ideas together from local people. Activities will include litter picks, planting, training sessions, pop up parks, community events and more! Plus this will link with the existing art work and climate action projects that are in process alongside this activity.

So there you have it. We are absolutely thrilled that these areas will get a much needed step forward over these next 4 months. It won’t deliver anything large or secure all the funding needed. But it will take us a massive step forward, importantly, with you the community absolutely engaged. There’s obviously a lot more to what I’ve highlighted here, and we’ll keep you posted as time progresses. This is simply a summary to get your minds whirring. We look forward to working with the consultants, Green Action Trust, Tidy Clean Green, and of course, you, to make further positive change in our community.

Until next time….

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

camelon, collaboration, community, tamfourhill

Your Community Calendar is here

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 9 December 2021

Over recent months, we’ve been working with Camelon Arts on a new exciting project that I’ve wanted to do for ages. With the help of local people, we’re bringing a Camelon and Tamfourhill Community Calendar to the market!

So what is this all about?

Regular readers will know how I love to celebrate our area – both the scenery and the people. There are many ways to do this – lots of which have been impacted by Covid of course. But a calendar has been on my mind for a while as a great way to showcase our area throughout a whole year and involve local people too. Thankfully, our friends at Camelon Arts agreed!

So a little while ago, a shout went out for you to submit photos of a location, view, group or anything else from Camelon or Tamfourhill. To be honest, we didn’t get a huge amount which is a little disappointing, however we’d already decided that everyone who sent photos in would get one of their entries included in the calendar. What we did get though was a brilliant selection of images and they fill the year really nicely with more than one for each month. A sincere thank you to the people and organisations that submitted photos for this project. (You’ll have all had an email from Aniela at Camelon Arts regarding the launch.)

A really special touch for the calendar is that one of the first entries submitted came from Joe Bruce (aka Joe fae Kemlin) who sadly passed away recently. Joe was very well known in the area and latterly ran the Camelon in Pictures and Memories Facebook group. So his entry is included with the addition of his life dates, and his relative is coming along to the launch to accept a copy of the calendar in his memory. For me, this makes this even more special.

To make things even better for a local project (is that even possible – yes, yes it is!), Camelon Arts discovered a recently graduated, Camelon based, Graphic Designer by the name of Jakub Bieganski who was brought in to pull this project together. I’ve seen a preview and it looks great. I can’t wait for you to see it.

So when can we get it, I hear you cry! Well, let me tell you!

It is being launched this coming Saturday – 11 December – with a mini tour across the area, followed by some local sale points. Camelon Arts have coordinated this and have also got some free hot chocolate for you, to soften the blow of having to do all this outdoors! Here’s the details:

We will launch the calendar in the car park of Camelon Community Centre between 11:30am and 12:30pm, then move to Camelon Juniors Social Club main entrance between 1:30pm and 2:30pm. Finally, we’ll be outside Tamfourhill Community Hub between 4pm and 5pm.

The calendar costs just £5 and for ease on the day, we ask you to bring cash only please. All profits will go towards a new community fund that we will manage, to support local groups in the future. All the info on that will come in the new year. But that really immerses this project into the local community as it’s designed by a local person with input from local people to be sold in the local area to benefit local projects. (Did I say local enough there?!)

If you can’t make it to any of the launch locations on Saturday, the calendar will also be available to purchase from Saturday until early January (or earlier if they sell out!) at:

  • Graeme Pharmacy, 275 Main Street
  • The Falkirk Wheel, Visitor Centre Gift Shop

Thank you to these locations for taking this local calendar into their stores to widen the reach. But if you can’t get there either, do message me so we can help you get a copy.

So there you have it. Our first Camelon and Tamfourhill Community Calendar. Hopefully not the last either, so get taking more photos ready to submit for the 2023 edition! I look forward to seeing some of you this Saturday.

Until next time….

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

camelon, community, funding, tamfourhill

Community Choices voting is back

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Earlier this year, Falkirk Council launched Community Choices, where they have taken a percentage of their budget and opened it up to communities to apply for things in their area, and then to vote on what gets the money.

Now it’s back for what they’re calling “Pilot Phase 2” and the Small Grant fund is now open for your votes. Projects or activities have been able to apply for up to a maximum of £5,000. Once again, voting is per local authority ward (so Camelon is in Ward 6 and Tamfourhill is in Ward 7) and your vote will only count if you live in the specific area (this will be verified by your postcode). Also, because of continuing restrictions, everything is being done online and I’ve provided the relevant links below. However, if you know anyone who can’t do this, you or they can contact us to get a paper ballot or to receive support to vote online.  Voting is open until 17 December and then early in the new year it will be the turn of the larger capital fund projects, but I’ll be back with info on those at the appropriate time.

For now, here’s information on the projects seeking your vote right here in our area (in alphabetical order). There are others listed in each ward as the boundaries extend beyond our area, but I have just highlighted the ones either in Camelon or Tamfourhill for obvious reasons. You can vote for up to 3 projects with each vote carrying equal weighting. The project(s) with the most votes will receive the funding they have requested.

Love Falkirk – Pantry Garden – £4,380
Love Falkirk are looking for funding to develop an outside space for our food pantry members and local residents. This space will be used for growing fresh produce for our pantry members to supplement the weekly shopping, along with creating a space where people can come to learn and share gardening knowledge. Alongside the growing space will be an outside seating area where we get together with the local community and offer support and plan for the future.

Tidy Clean and Green – Rubbish Service – £5,000
To operate a free Rubbish Service in Camelon and Tamfourhill as a free service for residents who don’t have a car and can’t get to the dump. People will book by text to have smallish amounts of rubbish picked up by electric cargo bike (light stuff) and electric van (heavier stuff) over two weeks, 4 times a year, during 2022. The volunteer service is green and non-polluting and is designed to get rid of those occasional small mountains of rubbish that everyone has to deal with at some point, when the bins just don’t cut it. This service makes it fairer, cleaner and greener for the many people on low incomes in Camelon to chuck out unwanted junk when the service is operating in February, May, August and November next year.

Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents Association – Outreach Youth Work – £4,050
The proposal is to equip a pod to be utilised for outreach and detached youthwork to use with our local young people across Tamfourhill, Camelon and Bantaskine. The container currently sits at the local park in Tamfourhill. The aim is to engage with young people, whether that is on the street, in a park, in the well-used wooded area or anywhere else. We aim to pilot sessions throughout Tamfourhill, targeted at 10–16-year-olds, the funds will be utilised for equipment and resources including the promotion of the sessions. The sessions will take place at times where local young people can be at risk of engaging in Anti- social behaviour and in turn negatively impacting on an array of community safety issues. The aim is to engage local young people in recreational activities and help support and signpost at an early stage.

Click the links above and follow the instructions. Again, if you have any difficulties or know someone without digital access, please get in touch so we can make sure everyone’s vote can still be registered. Good luck to everyone who has put in an application.

camelon, community, funding, Our Place, tamfourhill

Community Choices is back!

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 4 November 2021

It is great news that the Falkirk Council Community Choices funding programme is back for Pilot Phase 2. This is where groups can submit applications for funding that the local public vote on to get the cash.

Here’s the summary info, then I’ll give you a bit more info below: Community Choices aims to help clubs, organisations, community groups, and individuals make their local area fairer, healthier, more connected and more inclusive. It gives you the chance to secure public funding to improve your local area and vote to decide how public money is spent. You can apply for up to £5,000 for smaller projects and over £5,000 to get larger projects off the ground.

Small Grants programme (up to £5,000)
This is open for applications now until 19 November. This is a very quick turnaround for this programme but it’s a much easier process than before. It can fund “revenue” items which is things like activity costs, equipment and supplies. This might include but is not limited to:

  • The purchase of small items of furniture or equipment, for example a shelving unit or disabled toilet seat or fridge
  • Signs and display boards
  • Equipment for a sport activity
  • Supplies and materials to deliver an activity
  • Food and supplies as part of an activity
  • Transport costs to enable people to attend

If you received a grant in phase one and would like to apply again for the same project, you can apply for £5,000 LESS what you got first time round.  However, if it is a new project then you can go for the full amount. It’s important to note a key change from last time round is that if you’re a new group, you must have your constitution and bank account in place before applying.

The public vote for the Small Grants Programme will launch online on 26 November and close on 17 December. Once the votes have been checked and verified, successful bids will be notified on 14 January with the funds being paid out shortly after that date.

Place-Based Capital Programme
This is also open for applications now but has a closing date of 7 January. The close proximity of this date to the festive break has been pointed out so this date may be changed. This is a key factor as quotes for work and information from council departments may be required for your application and of course, many places and staff will not be available over the break. I’ll update you on this as I know more.

The programme can be applied to for projects costing a minimum of £5,000. Proposals should outline a clear vision and ambition for a positive future, and should align to the programme’s aims to make your area fairer, healthier, more connected and more inclusive.

There is a budget allocation for each ward as before, but a key change is that a cap has been put in place for applications to avoid projects taking up the whole ward allocation meaning smaller projects miss out. Here are the numbers:

Ward6 (Camelon)7 (Tamfourhill)
Full Budget£347,090£169,312
Maximum application level (60%) £208,254£101,587

With reference to the 60% maximum application, it has been said that just because you can apply for up to 60%, it does not mean you should as the Council are keen to be able to fund as many projects as possible.  Of course, at the end of the day, it all comes down to the public vote.   

There was a bit of an issue in Phase 1 where projects or organisations that had an impact wider than just one ward could only be voted on by people from an individual ward. Many votes were removed as a result. So this time, a new Falkirk wide category has been added.  There is a total of £200,000 in this pot so the maximum grant for any one project would be £120,000.

The Capital funds programme can be used to invest in resources and facilities for the benefit of the community and must be able to continue to offer public benefit throughout their lifetime. This means that the funds cannot be spent where only an organisation or individual would gain a personal benefit. Capital spend is expected to create something new (an asset) or improve an existing asset such as a structural improvement to a building, for example.

There are 3 main types of capital expenditure:

Building something new – a house, or an office for example. Not all the costs of a new build can be treated as capital but the majority can. The costs of looking after the building after it has been built (revenue costs) are not covered.

Improving an asset – money spent on an existing building, for example, can be called capital if it substantially increases:

  • the useful life of the asset or
  • the market value of the asset or
  • the extent to which the asset can or will be used.

Normal day-to-day running costs – for example, painting rooms, changing carpets, fixing windows – are not capital costs, and are not covered. Money spent on improving other assets, for example a road or a park, may be capital depending on what the money is spent on. For example, re-turfing and planting in an existing park will not be capital spending. However, turning a piece of waste land into a children’s playpark may be capital spending.

Purchasing equipment – money spent on buying, for example, a minibus. The equipment, which should cost more than £5k, should reasonably be expected to last for more than a year. As an example, undertaking repairs in a broken playpark will not be capital spending but buying new equipment may be. However, looking after that equipment in the future will not be capital spending.

Whatever you choose, the deadline as I said is currently 7 January. The vote opens on 24 January and closes on 11 February. Once votes have been checked and verified, successful projects will be notified on 28 February, with funds being paid out shortly after.

No doubt you will have questions about all this so please give me a shout and I’ll guide you through things. You can also request a support session from council staff for the capital programme. If you would benefit from one of these sessions, or if you want to get an application form, you need to email the team on community.choices@falkirk.gov.uk and they’ll be in touch.

This is a great opportunity to get some much needed funding into your organisation and have it endorsed by the local public through their voting. So don’t miss out!

Until next time

Dan Rous,
Community Coach,
07444 873151,
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

camelon, community, Our Place

Fun in the Park – the review!

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 28 October 2021

Last Sunday we held the long awaited Fun in the Park event in Easter Carmuirs Park. Apart from a 10 minute downpour at the start, we had a dry afternoon which helped such a great crowd to come out and enjoy everything that was available for them.

Thanks to everyone who came out to enjoy the fun, eat the food, and join the chat with myself, John and others. We had some really great conversations including with people who were willing to step up and get involved. Many were asking good and relevant questions and it was good to talk face to face about these matters. Overall, it was heartening to see people coming out to an event in the park that was part of the hope (amongst many other things) after the path network was installed in 2019.

At the event, we also launched Friends of Easter Carmuirs Park. This will be a group to take forward developments in the park and coordinate future events and activities. We had some people sign up for this group and others express an interest in finding out more. So as soon as we can safely do so, we’ll pull a meeting together to talk about how this can work, tell you what support is available for you, and start moving things forward. If you would like to be added to the list for this group then do get in touch with me. My contact details are at the end of this blog.

The Active Travel Parade went down really well and it was good to hear of positive conversations between Camelon Arts and Forth Environment Link about possible future activities of this nature. The bicycle raffle with Scott Walker was also well received and as I’ve been contacting the winners and delivering the bikes this week, it has been so heartening to read their responses and see the joy on their faces. We wish the 4 winners many happy and safe cycling outings (probably not this week though with this weather!)

For now, as we still recover from a long but really good day, I want to offer special thanks to the following people who helped out:

  • Lesley and her team from Easter Carmuirs P.S. Parent Council who provided the Popcorn Machine (and thankfully some freshly cooked popcorn!) and also offered Halloween Costumes for free loan to local families. They also provided a couple of tables.
  • Chris, Nicholla and Julie from Tidy Clean Green who looked after the bulb planting activity.
  • Babs from Port Downie Community Action who let people know about what this new organisation is all about, plus garnered support for a possible Community Council next year.
  • Ian from Camelon Mens Shed who promoted this exciting and much needed new group.
  • Scott Walker Bicycle Mechanic who not only donated 4 refurbished bikes to be raffled off, but spent the whole day with us including assisting with set up and tidying up at the end. He was glad to also receive donations of unwanted bikes and will be working with us on something very special for Christmas – watch this space!
  • Georgi and Emily from Forth Environment Link, plus Ray who returned to his former job to help set up the Bike Ramps that they brought with them. They also allowed us to use their Smoothie Bike that went down very well and brought along some fun giveaways.
  • Aniela, Monica and Kevin from Camelon Arts who organised the Active Travel Parade that went down really well. It was wonderful to see the parade featuring people of all ages on bikes, scooters, roller blades and even a powered wheelchair.
  • My family who dropped seamlessly into the “unhired help” roles that they’ve been used to over the years of events I’ve been involved in. Special thanks to Hannah who served up the free Hot Dogs all afternoon.

We are also especially grateful to all those who helped fund and support the event including:

  • Mandy and Danny from Falkirk Council Environment Services who worked with Torwood Garden Centre Ltd to provided bulbs, pots and compost for the planting activity.
  • Nailer Park Tenants Association who leant us a gazebo.
  • Dave from Port Downie Community Action who leant us a generator so we could run the popcorn machine.
  • Ruth and Jules from Cyrenians Dollar Park Walled Garden team who leant us a couple of tables.
  • Leanne and the community team at Tesco Camelon who provided a voucher so we could buy the fruit smoothie ingredients
  • Charlotte and the community team at Morrisons Falkirk who provided some planters.

To finish my blog this week, here are some photos from the day that showcase the event (including the Active Travel Parade) but also the amazing resource that this park is. Until next time….

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

camelon, coach, community, development, Our Place, Support, training

Fun in the Park – Easter Carmuirs

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 21 October 2021

I’ve mentioned a lot about the event this Sunday afternoon in Easter Carmuirs Park on our social media channels, but I just wanted to take time in this space to highlight one thing that we’ll be promoting.

Back in 2017, consultations took place about potential developments for Easter Carmuirs Park. This led to a draft masterplan being pulled together with support from the Central Scotland Green Network (now Green Action Trust) from which funding was sourced for a first phase of works. In 2019, that funding paid for the network of paths, trees, and other planting. Contrary to some peoples thinking (that we’ve tried so hard to correct), there was no left over funding from this. At that time, there was an attempt to set up a Tenants and Residents Association that gathered some good initial traction but sadly, due to lack of interest from locals, it fell to the wayside and has since been officially shut down by the council due to the lack of activity. The intention had been for that Association to take the lead on future developments in the park from the Masterplan but obviously that hasn’t happened.

So, it’s time to try something new.

We are keen to support the development of a Friends of Easter Carmuirs Park group. This would be a group for local residents and other park users who could take the lead in future developments of the park. It would have the full support from myself and John in getting established and accessing appropriate training as needed. It would be provided with all relevant contacts and information about the park, and would have the ability, with our support at least initially, to shape a prosperous community-focused future for the Park, including developing a wide range of regular community activities. It would be the route for shaping how the park looks and what facilities are available based on local needs and aspirations. This may be similar or different to the original masterplan as people have begun to understand and use the park differently, but it may still have some of the original elements that were thought necessary. In short though, if people want to see future developments in the Easter Carmuirs Park, then this is the group to get involved with otherwise very little, if anything, will happen.

So who will step up?

Previous editions of this blog have addressed the topics of “Why Bother” and “Why Not” to help people’s mindset on community development. This new group is just one opportunity for people to answer those Why? questions and get involved. This is a time to stop moaning that nothing happens or that there aren’t any suitable facilities (which we would agree with by the way) and actually get involved to make something happen.

If you don’t feel you have the necessary skills – we can sort that.
If you don’t feel you have the time – there will be roles and tasks at various levels. Even having someone supporting from the sidelines will be key for this new group.
If you think you’re too old or young – nonsense!
If you think it’s a waste of time – please speak to me to allow me to try to help you think otherwise.
If you don’t think anything will come of this – well it won’t unless people actually get involved.

So, if you can get down to the event on Sunday afternoon between 1 and 4pm, come and have a chat with me and add your name to the list of interested people. (Don’t worry if no-one else has put their name down – someone needs to be first!). If you can’t get to the event but are interested in finding out more, then please get in touch with me – contact details are at the foot of this blog – and we can have a chat. I’ll pull a meeting together for interested parties in the coming weeks. Putting your name on the list for attending the meeting does not mean you have to be involved. But it’s a start, to see what could be involved and whether or not you could be involved yourself. Remember my blog the other week talking about a Community Revolution? I repeat what I said then: Let’s stop just talking about community matters and remember that communities matter. Let’s change the emphasis – together.

I look forward to working with members of this new group to bring more positive change in the area. Hopefully see some of you at the event on Sunday!

Until next time….

Dan Rous,
Community Coach,
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

camelon, Christmas, community, tamfourhill

A true Community Calendar

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 30 September 2021

Would you like to have a calendar that highlights all that is great about Camelon and Tamfourhill?

Would you like to have a photo that you have taken featured in a calendar?

If you answered yes to either of those questions then have I got something to interest you?! Yes I have!

In collaboration with our good friends at Camelon Arts and as part of their autumn season programme – Together Now!, I am so pleased to be able to introduce to you, the Camelon and Tamfourhill 2022 Community Calendar project. If you enjoyed our previous #WednesdayWalkabout social media series, then this could be for you. Here’s all you need to know to get involved:

What is the Community Calendar project?
The Community Calendar project is the chance for local people from Camelon and Tamfourhill to submit their photos to be showcased in your 2022 calendar.

Who is it for?
Anyone and everyone from Camelon and Tamfourhill who wishes to submit their photo!

What is the theme?
Our theme is ‘local wonders’ and we are looking for photos that capture some of the amazing things, people, and nature that can be found in the area. Show us what you love about living here.

Technical Details
We accept digital submissions of iPhone, camera and scanned analogue photos in jpeg format to a maximum size of 10mb.

How do I submit my photo?
By sending an email with your photo attached to it (max one photo per person) to camelonarts@artlinkcentral.org. Please don’t forget to add your name to your email so we can credit you with your submission. For anyone under 18, please check with your parent or carer first. All submissions will be accepted and featured provided they meet the technical requirements and content is appropriate.

When is the deadline?
To be included in the calendar, your photo must be submitted by Friday 12 November.

When will I be able to buy a community calendar?
With Camelon Arts, we are hoping to organise a launch event in December so you can purchase as many as you want for Christmas presents! You will be warmly invited to join us so keep an eye out for updates!

So there you have it. I am so excited to see this project launched and am grateful to Camelon Arts for running with it. This is a really great way to celebrate what is great and good in this area. And what’s more, the calendar will be put together by a young graphic designer who is based right here in Camelon. So this is a totally local project. A true Community Calendar. Let’s all get involved!

Until next time

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

camelon, coach, collaboration, community, development, Our Place, resilience, Support, tamfourhill, training

Communities Matter

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 16 September 2021

In my blog last week, I invited you to join the Community Revolution. But what does this really mean? Can you, members of the community, actually make a difference? Quite simply – YES!! Let’s explore this a little further

What I love about working in Community Development is the ability to be alongside local people and help them to make a real difference on their streets. To help them gain new skills, try new things, meet people just down the street who they’d never met before, fix issues, start new projects and so much more.

Our friends at the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) have put together a great piece that explains Community Development in 60 seconds. You can see it here.

They explain that “Community development is a process where people come together to take action on what’s important to them.” Read that statement again and notice the key emphasis. People – you – come together. People – you – take action.

As community, we cannot rely on external bodies to do everything for us. This is not the place to argue whether they should be or not – we all have our views and probably agree on a lot but we don’t have time to banter that topic right now. It is worth noting however that those of you living in Tamfourhill (Ward 7 – Falkirk South) have the opportunity right now to challenge those wanting to be elected to serve in the bi-election next month. Ask them how they will help the community actually develop and how they will work alongside you. (All of you will get that opportunity next May when all council seats are up for grabs).

Aside of that, if you see an issue and instantly think that someone else will sort it, have you ever wondered if you might be the “someone else”? Could you be the person that steps up and makes a difference? SCDC suggest (and I agree) that there are 4 principles that are the foundation of Community Development:

  • Self-determination – people and communities have the right to make their own choices and decisions.
  • Empowerment – people should be able to control and use their own assets and means to influence.
  • Collective action – coming together in groups or organisations strengthens peoples’ voices.
  • Working and learning together – collaboration and sharing experiences is vital to good community activity.

What this means is that even if you’re the one who steps up first, there will be others who will join you. They might take a little while to come, but they will come. Together, you make your own choices, take control, form a collective voice, share resources and learn from each other. The second point is especially important. Empowerment has become a buzz word lately and there is a lot of talk about empowering communities and individuals. Unfortunately, the meaning gets lost when those deemed to be in positions of power simply give their permission for locals to do things. That is not empowerment – that is passing the buck. People need to feel that they are empowered with choice, opportunity and real genuine power. To be able to take control of who they are and what happens around them. There are various ways to do that so let’s have a chat.

SCDC continue that Community Development “recognises that some people, some groups and some communities are excluded and oppressed by the way society and structures are organised.” I don’t think we’d disagree with that statement. But rather than wallow in self pity and throw out another social media rant that the keyboard warriors will jump on, together you can turn the tide and create a more positive future.

So what is it that you want, either for yourself or your community? Do you want to learn? Do you want to tidy the place up? Do you want to do something active? Do you want a new group to start? Let’s be honest – the list is probably endless for all those questions (and more) together. But we have to start somewhere. One of our tasks here at OPCT is to support you to move forwards but also to manage expectations. We cannot fix everything and certainly not quickly. But together, we can do a whole lot more.

Let’s stop just talking about community matters and remember that communities matter. Let’s change the emphasis – together.

Until next time….

Dan Rous
Community Coach
07444 873151
communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk

Image source: Scottish Community Development Centre website