Category: community

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

Looking Back to Move Forwards

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

This blog marks 6 months since John and I started in our posts and Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill was reborn. For my part, as a local resident as well, I came with hopes and plans as to the things I could bring to this new and exciting role as Community Coach. However, starting a new job during a national pandemic and lockdown really threw most of those plans up in the air! But, undeterred, I have pushed on as much as possible through mainly online contact and phone calls and have been grateful to the willingness of local groups to get on board with what I can bring – especially those who came to me for help. That has been especially helpful during these restrictions as I don’t necessarily know what help is needed unless people tell me.

There is still a lot of work to do and I’ve in no way been able to give all the groups what they need or even make significant contact with some. That does not mean I won’t keep trying though! Contact with individuals has also been hard as I can’t get out to meet you! But I’m working on how I can do this through the restrictions we face just now and would just again encourage anyone who wants any support with training and personal development to do as some have already and give me a shout. Even if you’re not sure what you need – often chatting it through with someone else can be a big help. My contact details are below.

I’d also like to thank everyone who has got on board with what we’re trying to achieve here. Those who have supported me, shared our social media posts and blogs, informed others about what we’re doing and basically cheered us on. Sincerely – thank you.

For now, this seemed a good chance to review what I’ve been able to do so far. I record this not to show off in any way – that’s not my style. But simply to try to show how Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill, and especially my role as a Community Coach, can be of benefit in this amazing community.

  • 26 Local Organisations have been supported with information, guidance or training on:
    • Funding
    • Governance
    • Marketing
    • Local Contacts
    • Covid Guidance
    • Development
    • Project Related
    • General Chat
  • 4 Individuals have been supported with:
    • Access to training
    • Idea development
    • Relevant Contacts
  • 34 External Organisations have been linked up with for:
    • Information and Support for Local Organisations
    • Networking
    • Training
    • General Links and Wider Support
    • Information and Guidance
    • Collaboration Opportunities
    • Project Support
  • 6 Organisations and 2 Individuals have been identified for delivering Free or Low Cost Training:
    • I am combining my search for various courses together with working to find out the kinds of courses people are needing.
    • The list is too long to put on this blog, and really is endless depending on what you, the people and organisations of this area, actually want and need.
    • Courses include Personal Development, Employability, Organisational Development and Skills Based subjects.
    • I have been building my own skills to enable me to deliver this training online as it looks like it might be a little while before we can have groups together for this.
  • I have taken part in 11 Training Sessions or Courses:
    • Managing Change
    • Rebuilding Income Streams
    • Wellbeing Economy
    • Asset Transfer
    • Community Right to Buy
    • Community Wealth Building
    • Asset Based Community Development
    • Digital Champion
    • Taking your Training Online
    • Delivering Effective Online Learning
    • Human Centred Design
  • Working on Developing 6 Projects in the area:
    • Creative Communities Fund – Behind the Labels Project
      • Collaborative funding application unsuccessful but working with groups involved to discuss alternative options.
    • Cycle Repair Pop Up Workshops
      • Thanks to work with Cycling UK, these are happening over the next 2 weeks.
    • Easter Carmuirs Park
      • Early work on planning for Phase 2 consultation which will include forming a new group of local people to help the process.
    • Community Growing/Gardening
      • Formation and support of new group to develop growing sites across the area.
    • Cycling Events
      • Potential partnership with Cycling Scotland and Falkirk Active Travel Hub to include the area in some events.
    • Coaching
      • I am developing a programme of 1-1 coaching for individuals to enable personal and organisational growth.

It’s been quite a fun and rewarding process putting this list together and I’m sure there’s things I’ve missed and there’s more in the pipeline as well. In any area of development – whether that is personal or organisational – it’s good to look back on where you’ve come from as, no matter how low we may feel on the odd occasion, recognising achievements to date is a real boost. This process can really help you move forwards. I hope to be able to help others do the same locally as we go through the next 6 months and beyond.

Look back to learn how to look forward

Joe Girard

If you want to know more about how I can support you or your organisation, please get in touch either by email to communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk or call 07444 873151.

community

Community Safety Update: Camelon, Tamfourhill and Beyond:

bighosie

This week I wanted to highlight some community safety issues and developments which are both local and national:

New legislation coming at the end of the month; Signed and Sealed

The Management of Offenders Act 2019 will be passed into law at the end of this month and that will have a number of ramifications for the local community, employers and to our local groups and organisations. The details of the legislation can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2019/14/

The implementation of the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act in November 2020 will significantly shorten the periods required for disclosure of previous convictions and will allow smoother access to employment for thousands across Scotland. On the stroke of midnight on the 30th of November over 200,000 convictions will disappear and many individuals will be able to seek employment without having to declare a whole raft of convictions which will become spent and subject to new shortened periods of disclosure. In addition, unless the previous convictions involved risk to vulnerable adults or children or is of a profoundly serious nature, then everybody under the age of 18 years will no longer have to declare their convictions from their younger and more impressionable years. This has to be a great opportunity for our young people to put past misdemeanours and unfortunate circumstances behind them and enter the employment market more positively and with a sense of future.  I would advise all employers whether they are in the local voluntary sector, involve volunteers or are within the business community to familiarise themselves with the new timescales and the processes for declaring convictions. This training being facilitated by our partners at the Cyrenians Navigators Project in partnership with Recruit with Conviction will be an important and useful means to getting fully clued up: Tickets are available for free at the following link,

Cyrenians and Recruit with Conviction: employer programme launch & seminar: Thursday 24th November: 9.30am-11am FREE

Register on Eventbrite

Let’s make Camelon and Tamfourhill a safer and happier place to live and work: This is the title of the Youth Survey which I will be circulating later this week, it is designed to canvas the views and experiences of our 18 year olds and under about their priorities and perceptions of community safety. I will of course post the link to the survey onto our social media platforms and I would be incredibly grateful if you could share the survey through your own personal, organisation and work networks. I will be linking the survey with the local schools and youth clubs and it will also be featured on the Community Leaning and Development social media platforms and will be linked to the Young Scot website which belongs to our national agency for young people.  The criteria for completing the survey is that you should be 18 years old or under, live, work, attend school or clubs or activities or be connected in any way with Camelon and Tamfourhill. There will be exciting prizes for the winners of the lucky draw for fully completed surveys, I will announce the prizes when the Survey is published and available later this week, so keep your eyes out on the Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill social media platforms and other local sites.

The Young Ones , oh the young ones

Our colleagues at Keep Scotland Beautiful contacted me last week to announce the return of their national campaign #TurdTag, which returns to remind dog owners over the winter months to pick up their dog’s poo. This national initiative will link in with our local Keep Camelon and Tamfourhill Tidy, Clean and Green and in last week’s Blog I described how this might operate in calling foul on dog pooh. This approach is developing positively, and I am now going to be working in partnership with Falkirk Council Waste Services and our local schools in order to deliver clear up activities and to carry out some survey work. This survey work will be used by Keep Scotland Beautiful as a national  Case Study so these sessions will provide an important educational activity and directly help with clearing up the local area and contribute to national data gathering which will be significant with deciding how resources are to be deployed in the  future.   

Children playing before the arrival of the motor car

The question of the month for November: This month I am asking about closing off streets. to motor cars , beside the local schools , first thing in the morning and at the close of the schools day in the afternoon, I would therefore appreciate if you could answer the following  question and pass it on to other interested local people:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Y2HWKH9

The question of the month for October: Here are the results from last month’s question: Do you think that the reintroduction of the 2 weekly uplift of the Green Bins would improve the local littering and fly-tipping problems ? The results were as follows: I received 148 responses, 140 or 94.6% said Yes it would improve the littering and fly tipping problems but 8 or 5.4% said No it would make no difference, not surprising at all, I am sure this result will be of interest to Falkirk Council.

No more of this !
coach, community, development, resilience, Support, training

Passion, Wiring and Fruit

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Last week I wrote about finding your strengths and suggested ways to identify yours if you didn’t know.  Check back on last week’s blog if you need a memory jog here.

For this week’s blog, I wanted to build on that a little, as I look to work alongside local residents to help them achieve what they were designed to be and do.  After Christmas we’ll be able to do this through coaching sessions (probably online to start with unfortunately) but this blog will help a little for now with getting a better understanding.  For reference, some of the content here is influenced by the book Mining for Gold by Tom Camacho.

You don’t need me to tell you that everyone is different.  If ever there was a sentence that stated the obvious, that is a strong contender!  But it’s something we often forget especially when people don’t see things as we do.  If you’ve ever been in a discussion, on or offline (but usually on Facebook!), where someone completely went against your point of view, in the main they didn’t do so just to annoy you or to start an argument, but they simply saw the subject differently because of the way they are designed.  Where strength comes in a community is when people of different viewpoints, skills and abilities can come together, harness their unique differences, and work towards a common goal.  That doesn’t mean being something we are not – it simply means recognising who we are as individuals, allowing others to do the same, and using the mix of skills to achieve whatever is needed.  I know that is far from easy – but it can be done.

We all have what is often called a ‘sweet spot’.  It is the key to being who you were designed to be and will show up when quite simply, everything you do reaches a point of success.  It’s a bit like what is often called the Midas touch – when everything we do, or get involved in, turns to gold (not literally – sadly!!).  There are three parts to this:

  1. Our Passion – what really drives you.  What do you absolutely love doing that means however tired you are, you’ll always find that extra energy to get it done? What activity or issue really strikes a chord with you and gives you determination to tackle it head on?
  2. Our Wiring – how your mind works.  Some of us excel at numbers, some at words, some at getting their hands dirty.  But what is it that just comes naturally to you so that whatever you do around this is successful and effective? 
  3. Our Fruit, or our Positive Output if you prefer.  What do you do that brings the greatest impact around you for the least amount of effort?  What do you do that people near to you say is really helpful?  That may be an activity you’re involved in, or something you do in your street, or something you do to help out?

If we take the time and effort to deeply understand how we are wired, what we are passionate about and what we do naturally that helps others, we are discovering our sweet spot.

Doing this is not a quick or easy process and takes effort, but can be incredibly rewarding for you and those around you.  It also doesn’t mean that you’ll never have to do things that you don’t necessarily enjoy! There is always going to be something to do where you really have to push yourself to do it.  The problem comes when that is taking up the majority of your life – that is when you start to feel pressed down all the time because you are trapped working outside how you are designed.  Some have even said it feels like a punishment.  Believe me, I’ve had to lead personnel meetings or budget reviews (to name just 2 examples) that have made me want to run for the hills – but they were a necessary part of what I had to do at the time.  Where I’m happiest is when I’m coming alongside people to make a difference either for them or with them for the benefit of others.  Happily, that is a huge part of this job!

Coaches often talk about the 80/20 principle, where people will thrive when they spend 80% of their time working in what is their sweet spot.  That means they are doing what they do best for the majority of the time.  Work is no longer a chore but brings real excitement and success.  To get to this point takes hard work though and might mean stopping doing some of the things that aren’t within our sweet spot.  (Sorry, housework and ironing are exempt from this!!)  The 20% section is often called the challenge spot.  Some things just can’t be avoided at home or work and might mean learning some new skills, but when your life is taken up with more than 20% of challenging things, it becomes an uphill struggle.  And that is where coaching can help.  What amongst those challenging things could you let go of, or what do you need training on? 

A key part of working within your sweet spot is when you realise you have the power to make the changes that can make a positive difference in your life. You are not trapped in this life and where you live certainly does not define your future.

The short (3 mins) video below takes this a bit further by looking at our individual character strengths.  This is a great place to start by first understanding your inner self which then helps to move on to identify your passion, wiring and fruit/output.  I’d love to work with you more on this.  If you want to as well, then give me a shout.

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

community

Time to call Foul on Dog Pooh!

bighosie

Keeping our Play areas and Parks free from Dog mess:

I have recently received communications highlighting problems with dog pooh not being bagged and binned and being left in places where there is a real risk of spreading germs and disease. This harmful behaviour scored very highly on the community safety survey, with 84% of respondents being either fairly or greatly concerned about dog fouling. When this is happening in children’s and families play areas and parks it is a very infuriating form of anti-social behaviour. There are a few actions that we can take in a bid to reduce this and improve the health and safety of our streets and public spaces, especially our parks and children’s playgrounds. I have had some requests to provide signage and posters which would highlight the problem and encourage dog owners to take responsibility for scooping their dogs mess up and then put it in the appropriate bin. This particular issue is being addressed through some resources that we have been able to access from Keep Scotland Beautiful which will enable us to create our own posters, signs and other creative methods for giving a reminder and a nudge to dog owners to always clear up responsibly  after their dogs . The local primary schools will be supporting their pupils to come up with some graphics and designs which I will then  use to provide new significant and clear signage and get them put up prominently at the dog pooh trouble spots in Camelon and Tamfourhill. Similarly, I will be requesting some new dog pooh bins from the council and discuss with them how we can deal with this ongoing problem within the wider Tidy, Clean and Green Campaign. There are some constructive actions that I will be supporting in the coming months, these will include: v  Providing dog pooh bags as required, and these can be picked up from Tamfourhill Community Hub. v  Producing pooh bag dispensers or using recycled plastic bottles as dispensers and distributing these around the community. v  Supporting local young people and children to design notices, posters and signs and getting these produced professionally and erected at key locations. v  Linking our local actions to the Tidy, Clean & Green campaign and with Keep Scotland Beautiful national strategy. v  Monitoring positive changes in dog owner’s behaviour though carrying out local survey work.   v  Its vitally important that any dog fouling problems are reported to Falkirk Council as they will take actions if they are told about the problems, this is very important because if they are not aware of the issues then they are unable to take effective action, please remember people can be fined for allowing their dogs to foul up public places. If local people would rather raise the matter with me that is absolutely fine, and I will then ensure its reported and dealt with appropriately. Please visit the Falkirk Council Website for details about dog fouling and the reporting g of this matter as anti-social behaviour: https://preview.tinyurl.com/y4ftfwsd

Lets keep our parks and open spaces : Tidy, Clean and Green

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

What are your strengths?

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

While I was away, I spent time reflecting on what I’m doing both in and out of work, although to be honest, the line is often a bit blurred between the two settings! We’re coming up to 6 months of being in post for Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill so it seemed as good a time as any to reflect.

It is said that you will know that your job is your ‘calling’ when you do what you love, and love what you do. Philanthropist and industrialist Andrew Carnegie said:

‘The average person puts only 25% of their energy and ability into their work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% and stands on its head for those few and far-between souls who devote 100%.’ 

He obviously never knew candidates for “The Apprentice” who routinely say they give 110% or more!

You may be totally set on what your strengths are and may also be in the enviable position of living them out in what you do.  That’s brilliant.  But you may also be at the other end of the scale where you haven’t got a clue what you want to do or even what you could do.

To me help in this, I took a strengths test at www.high5test.com which helps you discover what you are naturally good at.  I’d really recommend this test that will take about 15-20 minutes to complete.  You’ll be shown a list of statements describing a certain behaviour and all you have to do is move the slider along the scale from 0% on the left to 100% on the right.  Research shows that when we use our strengths, we’re happier, more engaged and more likely to achieve our goals.  This doesn’t just benefit you, but also people, groups, teams and organisations that you’re around and involved with.  Stats back this up too, as an average of 74% of people who have a chance to use their strengths are more engaged.

So what were my High 5 strengths?  Well, I was quite pleased with the results as it backs up why I thought doing this job would be a good idea! Of course, these questionnaire things can sometimes be a bit subjective and our answers can be determined by our current situation, but I tried to answer as honestly as possible.  My strengths, together with the headline description (there’s more background in the results you’ll get) are:

  1. Coach
    • My objective is to develop people’s potential;
  2. Believer
    • My objective is to believe and to do the ‘right thing’;
  3. Problem Solver
    • My objective is to solve problems;
  4. Catalyst
    • My objective is to act and to initiate action;
  5. Strategist
    • My objective is to see the big picture.

I’m not sharing this to show off or anything like that at all.  This is purely showing you what is possible from these kind of questionnaires.  Whether you’re just starting out with looking for work, getting going again now the kids are sorted, or have been forced to rethink following a lockdown redundancy, finding your strengths is a great place to start.  Stop focusing on what you can’t do and discover what you can do.  The short video below explains that further.

When you believe that what you do makes a difference, you have a different feeling about what you do.  I am certainly beginning to see my work make a difference and if I can help any of you along that journey too, even to guide you through this strengths process, then that would be great.  Give me a shout and let’s make it happen. You’ll get me (Dan Rous) at communitycoach@tamfourhilltro.co.uk or on 07444 873151.

community

Lets look out for each other and be a safer community

bighosie

One of my main tasks as the Community Safety Engager is to bring together a Community Safety Group which would involve local people working closely together with the key Services and agencies, including ; Police, Fire Service, Drugs agencies, Falkirk Council and the various local community organisations and Groups. It has been frustrating for myself that due to COVID I have been unable to make any significant progress with this. I am nevertheless grateful that a few local people have expressed an interest with getting involved and I have also received a commitment from various agencies to support the work of the Group.  I have had preliminary discussions with the coordinator of Neighborhood Watch Scotland and there is the potential for our local community safety group to take on some of the functions of a Neighborhood watch whilst following the groups own priorities and development of community led safety projects.  A starting point will be the agreed local community safety priorities, and although we are still a long way from confirming what these are and what actions we are going to agree to take, I thought it would be worthwhile to look at the types if issues and areas of work that the Group might support and develop.

  • Find solutions to local problems, this could cover: incidences of local crime or persistent anti-social behaviour, continuing fly-tipping and environmental issues, drug misuse , vandalism, child safety issues, in fact the work of the group would very much mirror the local community safety strategy but would be able to make quick responses to changing circumstances.
  • As the main Statutory services would be involved you would be able to get more direct action when it is most required and ongoing communications and dialogue.  There would be greater community consultation on an array of issues from car parking, speeding motors to burglary and car theft.
  • The Group could run local activities and roadshows and attend community events e.g. Mariners day, with community safety information, provide an advice stall and offer support and therefore speak directly with and listen to local people.
  • Support and resource local campaigns like road safety, improving paths and cycle routes, the Tidy, Clean and Green campaign.
  • Work closely with Neighbourhood Watch. Neighbourhood Watch is a community led initiative to bring local people together to address crime and other community safety issues. Neighbourhood Watch groups often liaise with the local police, the local authority, and other agencies. Neighbourhood Watches can be large, covering most of the households on an estate, or they might involve just a few houses. They may meet frequently or keep in touch via e-mail or social media. There really is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to Neighbourhood Watch. Neighbourhood Watch adapts to fit the community it serves.
  • The Group may get involved with supporting new opportunities and initiatives which reduce reoffending and develop prevention strategies around addiction and substance misuse, and which are targeted at vulnerable groups and individuals.

In essence the Group would decide its own direction of travel and get involved where it was felt to be appropriate and necessary. The recent community safety survey identified that many people are afraid about their safety and are negatively affected by the fear of crime so this could be an important area for a community safety group to support and reassure residents about their safety and provide an empathetic and listening ear. I would like to highlight that I am already registered with the Neighbourhood alert system and I regularly post their warnings and information about local scams, whether they are online cons, telephone scams or doorstep rip offs.  I post these onto our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/opcamelontamfourhill and on our Twitter account at @opcamelonthill these alerts are very local and are very useful for reassuring people about current scams and risks to peoples personal security, especially with the national rise in scams associated with the COVID health crises. This then would be another strand of the work of the Group as these Alerts can be very localised and have a very immediate and direct impact.

If you are interested in getting involved  or would like further details about  the Camelon and Tamfourhill Community Safety Group then plea get in touch with myself: John R Hosie communitysafetyengager@tamfourhilltro.co.uk or 07391524528. Lets make our community safer, happy and a supportive place to live and work.     

 

Home
Have a look round

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

Where are we going?

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

I’m away this week and as well as switching off and enjoying family time, I will be spending some time thinking over where I’m going and where the work I do is going. None of us probably get anywhere near enough time to think about stuff like that. Life happens and we react – even more so in current times. We can sometimes see the destination or have an idea of where we want to go, but the route we take is not always the one we would want. However, having a clear idea of where we are going is important always.

That’s called ‘vision’ and its really important to have this personally and with any work you’re involved in. You could say that the tag line of “Empowering local people & organisations to bring about positive, lasting change” is the vision of Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill. But what does that look like and how do we get there?

I’m not going to answer those questions. In time, you are! That’s not me passing the buck. For sure, I have an idea where I can see Our Place going and of what it can be with the community alongside, guiding its route. But this is about the destination that the community want and need. My job is to walk with you and help you get there.

I’ve quoted Simon Sinek before in this blog and he may seem a bit deep at times – sorry about that. But he speaks a lot of sense. To finish this week I’ll share a short video (less than 2 minutes) of him talking about vision and how that develops. An even shorter summary of the talk is this: “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.”

I love that and it might help you understand a little of how my mind works!

Yes, John and I are starting to make progress with the vision of Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill and people are starting to see that. But as more people jump on board, there is so much more to come. I look forward to that journey with you.

camelon, coach, community, development, Support, tamfourhill, training

What do you want?

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Part of my role as Community Coach is to bring various training to you both as individuals and organisations. But what training would you like to have? What skills do you think you would like to develop? What learning have you always wanted to develop but never had the opportunity? What gaps are there in your knowledge? Practical, educational, skills-based – right now the list is pretty much endless of what could be delivered. But it needs to be what you actually want! So, to give a helpful steer to my planning, please select as many of the following options as appropriate to you. It’s completely anonymous, but if there’s anything you can think of that’s not in the list (and I’m sure you can), please let me know and we’ll see what we can do. To start with we will need to run some courses online, but ideally we’ll get you back together in a room – remember how we used to be able to do that! Thanks for helping shape the support that is actually needed in this area.

community

Review of the September Clear up

bighosie


Despite the difficult COVID circumstances we have had local volunteers and a group from the Woodcraft Folk out on Litter picks, and they have made a significant improvement to Easter Carmuirs and Nailer Parks and in the area of Lock 16 and Union Road. A tremendous effort and a learning experience for the young people in the Carmuirs Woodcraft Group. Here is some of their comments and photos of their work last Monday at Nailer Park.

Clare from the Woodcraft Folk explains: “Before we started litter picking the group discussed why it is good to clean up litter and the group members came up with the following:”

“Because it looks ugly and makes people feel bad”
“Because it could hurt us or make us sick” (The young people identified broken glass, sharp metal, or bacteria in rotting food all as dangers to themselves, the park users and the environment.)

September clean up: Tidy, Clean & Green


“Because it could hurt pets or wildlife in the park”
“Because it could wash into streams and even the sea and be bad for animals that live there”
“Because it causes climate change” (glass, metal etc could be recycled into new bottles, cans instead
of wasted)
Thanks, Clare

A Volunteer involved with the recent clear up of the woods in Easter Carmuirs Park explains:

“This park has a small, wooded area, used by the local school nursery for woodland nursery experiences.  It is also used by groups to drink, make a mess, and set fires.  One nursery parent decided to clear the area and was joined by 2 others who spent a morning clearing rubbish to make the area safe for children to enjoy the outdoors.”

If anybody or a local group wish to borrow the Clear up equipment and be covered with Public Liability for your litter pick then please contact: John Hosie at communitysafetyengager@tamfourhilltro.co.uk or phone on 07391524528

camelon, coach, collaboration, community, development, gardening, growing, Our Place, Support, tamfourhill

Digging the Dirt

Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

A couple of weeks ago I introduced Community Gardening/Growing to you and we’ve had a great response. So this week for something a bit different, I’m going to take you on a video tour of some of the sites that have been highlighted to us. If you don’t want to watch the video, the text is written out below. Plus, if you want to keep up to date with this new Gardening/Growing group, click the link immediately below the video to register your details. We’ll call a meeting very soon.

Click here to register your interest in Community Gardening/Growing

Thanks for your interest in getting involved in your community. More from me next week!

Transcript of Video (without the ‘ums’ and ‘ers’!)

Introduction
Hiya.  Its Dan here, your Community Coach.  As John teased in his blog on Tuesday, I want to expand a little bit more about the Community Gardening/Growing options in this area as part of our Tidy Clean and Green campaign.  But rather than just write about it, I thought it would be a lot better to go and take a walk around the area and look at some of the sites that have been identified to us by interested locals.  There’s a lot of chat to be had and planning to be done about what’s most appropriate for each of these sites.  It may be seed bombing, meadow creation, formal planting, community food growing, even allotment space.  The key is that it’s what YOU the local people want to see and get involved with as well.  Our job here at Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill is to support you in that, whether that’s for accessing funding, supplies, promotion and whatever else might be needed.  I’ll even lend a hand with the digging too!  Plus we’ll be working with the relevant people at the council to make sure this is all done right and in line with their “Dig In” strategy.  It’s all potentially very exciting so, as the sun is shining really brightly just now, lets go and have a look at some of the sites.

Rowan Crescent
We’ve come up to Tamfourhill and we’re just off Rowan Crescent, so let’s have a little look at the site up here.  So, this lovely little site has been identified as a potential one for doing something in. Our problem is it’s quite wet! Water doesn’t seem to be draining away anywhere. Just up the back you have the railway line.  It has some stones and it’s kind of stuck here in between the houses.  It would be good to see something in here  – who knows what.  What do you fancy?

Tamfourhill Community Hub
Our next site is up here at Tamfourhill Community Hub.  We’ve got a wee potting shed in here, and there’s potential for some raised bed growing to build on the amazing veg on the ledge kits. Brilliant stuff that we can replicate in some way.  That’s another option for developing this bit here from the potting shed at Tamfourhill Community Hub.

Camelon Public Park
For our next site, we’ve come down to Camelon and just off the main street this is Camelon Public Park.  The lighter area has been grown as a meadow/wildflower area which is something we can develop and locals are interested in keeping as part of this beautiful park that looks absolutely amazing – of course it’s always sunny in Camelon!  Camelon Public Park – one of the other areas being shown to us.

Telford Square / Nailer Park
Next up we’re down here at Telford Square, next to Nailer Park and this gives you an idea of something that can be achieved when people come together.  This has been developed by the community over the last couple of years with support from CATCA.  Various different bits of veg and fruit growing in these homemade containers made out of leftover bits of wood, shows the potential of what can be achieved.

Carmuirs Park / Fairlie Drive
Next on our tour we’ve come to the back of Carmuirs Park and this area that we’ve mentioned quite a bit over the last couple of weeks that was a huge area for anti-social behaviour – a shooting gallery and all sorts of things.  We’re just down from the Forth and Clyde Canal.  Now with thanks to Falkirk Council Environment Services this has been cleared up.  The hiding areas have gone and now it’s a chance to turn this into something beautiful.  Had a few suggestions already.  What can this bit be at Carmuirs Park?

Brown Street Park
Next up on our whirlwind tour around the area is this patch of land that is between Brown Street (Hamilton Street section) through to Wall Street at the other end.  It used to be a park ages ago and has been identified to us by a few people now as having great potential for various kinds of growing.  What kind of thing would that be? Would you like to get involved? So that’s the Brown Street Park.

Easter Carmuirs Park
Next part of our tour has brought us to Easter Carmuirs Park where obviously there was some work done last year. There were some meadow areas planted up in the distance behind the goalposts and just the other side of the railings.  There’s scope for things up towards the Ochiltree (Camelon Community Hub) and around the rest of the park.  People have spoken to us about different options even all the way around the corner towards Ochiltree Terrace.  So another bit – what would you like to see here at Easter Carmuirs Park.

Summary
Well I hope you enjoyed your little walk around Camelon and Tamfourhill looking at some of the sites that have been shown to us, potentially for growing or gardening.  There’ll be loads more, I’m sure, and even some of the sites that we’ve shown you today might have confused you as to what could be done there.  Best thing to do is get involved.  If you follow the link, it’ll take you to a little Survey Monkey thing that simply is getting your details so you’ll be on a mailing list specifically for gardening and growing.  We won’t bombard you with other stuff.  Follow that link, fill in your details, and we’ll set a meeting up, probably by Zoom because we can’t meet each other unfortunately.  We’ll do that meeting just to get an idea of where your skills are, what kind of interests there are, what the potential is, and where we can take this project.  Hope that’s been fun. Have a good rest of day and we’ll see you soon.  Bye!