A review of Year 1 of the Youth Action Project and the Summer Twilight Sports Season 2024 is announced:

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Twilight Sports returns for the summer season 2024 on Friday 7^th June from 6pm-9pm in Nailer Road Park, the main sports will be Rollerblading and football but there will also be big games and nature activities to get involved with. Food and drink is available free of charge and to register you need to be 10-16 years old and you just turn up and take part and the registration form can be returned on the next Friday that the young person attends. The full programme is detailed below and there will be other activities and opportunities which will be announced nearer the time; and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our main funders and supporters, including: The National Lottery, The Falkirk Community Schools Fund, the Local Police and Fire and Rescue Services, Camelon Community Sports Hub, Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents organisation and off course our ongoing delivery partners: The Falkirk Wheelers, Stenhousemuir FC Community Foundation and Forth Environment Link.

There was a smooth transition in May 2023 from the Our Place Project and the Community Safety work over to the establishment of the Safer Communities Youth Action Project. The emergence of this Youth Action Project has been possible due to the funding and support of the National lotteries Young Start Programme and the Falkirk Community Schools Fund. At the conclusion of the first year the Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents Organisation are obliged to report back to the funders about the progress over the first year and to detail what has been achieved in relation to the SCYAP agreed outcomes and targets. Although these are the two core funders of the Project we have also received funding support form Forth Environment Link to support climate change activities in the community and grants from Falkirk Council holiday activities and food fund and Link Housing. Needless to say, securing funding and resources to support projects and new Youth Action activities is an ongoing process that takes time and effort from the Project staff, volunteers and the TTRO.

Climate change project with Easter Carmuirs Primary School
Planting Pollinators on the canal towpath

May 2024 then is an appropriate time to review the Projects achievements and areas of progress through year one and to also take stock and reflect upon priorities and look to where there may be gaps that need to be addressed. The ethos of work has been focused upon Youth Action which has the dual approach of benefiting local young people directly and also contributing to local community developments and improvements. We acknowledge our successes and I am very pleased to be highlight the following:
• The twilight Sports Programme delivered 35 sessions on Friday nights 6pm-9pm which were delivered at 4 venues , there are 113 young people registered onto the Programme and 730 contacts were recoded over the entire programme.
• Community development projects focussed upon climate change and environmental improvement have taken place, involving: the installation of mindfulness benches into a local park, designing and creating a wall mural from recycled plastic bottle tops and plastic bags, designing new benches along the local canal towpath. An array of conservation and biodiversity programmes were also supported which included: paddle pick-ups on the canal, community litter picks, planting pollinators, building bird boxes, planting trees & bulbs and making natured themed t shirts.
• Outdoor learning has been used in a number of contexts and sessions have been focussed upon learning Bushcraft and survival skills and using nature therapy to facilitate social and personal development opportunities for individual young people and groups.
• There has been significant partnership and collaborative work undertaken involving local community organisations and voluntary and statutory service providers.
• Support is being provided locally to set up a youth drop-in facility.
• Outreach work has been delivered in an ad hoc basis and targeted at young people 14-18 years old.
• Established a community-based Youth Action Group , involving 10 core members 10-14 years old. They have been involved with peer consultations, community arts projects and volunteering within the community.
• Designed a young people’s information leaflet with logos and priorities and a young person led Project development plan.
• 4 Youth Action Groups involving 38 young people 10-14 years old established in local schools, one of these groups was targeted at 6 specific young people who are facing challenges at school and who were causing concern within the local community.
• A young volunteer’s group has been established with 8 young people 10-15 years old.
• 28 Dynamic Youth Awards achieved through the project in year one and one Bronze Youth Achievement Award
• 12 High- 5 Awards were achieved through the Project in year one.
• 6 young people, 12 -14 years old completed their Junior Sports Leadership Award
• 31 Saltire volunteering Challenge Awards made in year one
• A 6-week summer programme 2023 delivered 27 sessions involving 135 young people 10-15 years old
• 3 community arts projects were delivered which contributed to environmental improvements and building new facilities in the community involving 63 young people 9 -14 years old.

Fab Feb Fun with this group receiving their Bushcraft and survival skills certificates at the Well Wild Project.

As year 2 rolls in , we have considerable plans and have priority areas of Youth Action that will be progressed in line with our agreed development plan. There are challenges ahead and not least having the capacity to sustain and deliver on the wide array of existing activities and the evolving opportunities that can happen for local young people. This does not all sit within the responsibilities of the SCYAP and there has to be other services and organisations playing a role with local youth provision. It is extremely positive to see the formation of the Camelon Community Group and the development of the Camelon Community Action Plan. I know that the Camelon CAP has a strong commitment to engage, involve and consult with local young people and that this will be carried out in an empathetic and empowering fashion. This augers well for the establishment of more opportunities for local young people and to recognise them as key stakeholders in the further development of the local community.
In the immediate future the SCYAP will be delivering a full summer programme 2024 and this will be published and highlighted in next month’s blog. We are also currently supporting Tamfourhill Community Hub to establish a drop in for older young people and this age group will remain a priority throughout year 2 of the Project.

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Fab Feb Youth Action Activities

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In this month’s short blog, I am highlighting some great opportunities for local young people, 10-16 years old to get involved with creativity, community development, tackle climate change and learn some Bushcraft and Mindfulness skills in the Rough Castle Woods. The Programme is entirely free and food and drink will be provided at each session.

On Wednesday 7^th February from 6.30pm-8.30pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub there will be an arts codesign workshop using ceramics and tiles. This is the first of two workshops, and the aim of the process is to design new benches for the Forth and Clyde Canal between Lock 16 and the Falkirk Wheel. It has been an ongoing concern the lack of seating at this section of the canal and the benches will be a really useful and valued addition to the local community. There installation will encourage further active travel along the towpath and be a very useful resting area if you are cycling or walking or just wanting to have a mindful moment in the surroundings of the canal. The benches will become a great legacy of the creativity of local young people as this new seating will be a permanent feature for many years to come and will represent a heritage and cultural celebration of the local community.

On Friday 9^th February we will be running a one-day climate change project which will involve clearing and preparing an area of ground in the local woods for a wildflower meadow. The young people will be sowing pollinators which come the spring will produce a riot of colour in the woods thus attracting butterflies, bees and other pollinators which will all contribute to helping nature and addressing climate change. In the afternoon the group will be screen printing their own t-shirts with the theme of climate change and tackling the nature emergency.

A 2-day programme is available on Monday 12^th and Tuesday 13^th February for learning Bushcraft and Survival Skills with an element of nature-based mindfulness. A few young people started this programme back in November last year through the twilight sports programme when we ran a session in the woods at Tamfourhill, however anybody can still join in and book onto the programme. A certificate of achievement will be awarded to every young person who completes the programme. This will be happening at Rough Castle Woods and will be delivered through our ongoing partnership with the Well Wild – A Therapeutic approach to Forest schools and Bushcraft. This is a great opportunity to learn an array of life skills through the outdoors and build up your knowledge and experience of survival skills.

I recommend booking onto these activities as there is a limit to the numbers that can Take part, you can do this at these links:

https://tamfourhill-gymnastics-club.classforkids.io/camp/12

https://tamfourhill-gymnastics-club.classforkids.io/camp/13

https://tamfourhill-gymnastics-club.classforkids.io/camp/14

I would also like to use this opportunity for highlighting the excellent and ongoing work of the Youth Action in the Community Group from Carmuirs Primary School. The 6 young people have put in an outstanding effort on the towpath as part of the Keep Scotland Beautiful #Upstreambattle litter pick and survey. This day also involved clearing ground and planting pollinators and was carried out in collaboration with Scottish Canals. The Group are all working towards their Dynamic Youth Awards and have also been involved with Survival and Bushcraft skills, Pizza and fruit kebab making and are scheduled to be out clearing the canal again with a paddle pick up later this month. My congratulations to Carmuirs Primary school and gratitude to Scottish Canals and the Well Wild Project for all working together to support and deliver this local #YouthAction

And finally one of the members of our YAG has begun work on his Bronze Youth Achievement Award and here is some work he has done as part of one of his targets for that Award which involves Leo with taking photos and producing promotional films for the Twilight Sports, Leo explains: I edited the pictures and short clips that I took during twilight sports…./ this can be used to create promotional media for the local area and for the Falkirk Wheelers, I am using my skills for the benefit of other young people” Leo Cierpikowski (Youth Action Group)

https://1drv.ms/v/s!AhirdOD0wCFcvCyaeFzpl5bCKEol?e=7zPjQn

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Winter Twilight Sports Programme dates confirmed, Mindfulness Benches installed into local park and Development Plan for Youth Action Project published.

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Twilight Sports returns for the winter programme 2023-24

The first block of the winter twilight sports programme will take place from Friday 10^th November until Friday 15^th December from 6pm-8pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub, the programme is open to all 10–16-year-olds and is entirely free. The weekly Programme will be split between Fun football provided by the fantastic Warriors in the Community and Rollerblading run by the fabulous Falkirk Wheelers, all equipment is provided and there will be a snack and drink for everyone who comes along. The Twilight sports will continue to work closely with our local community Police Officers and the Fire and Rescue Service who will be making regular visits to the Twilight sports sessions to get to know the young people and promote positive community Safety messages. The programme will run indoors until March 2024 and the intention is to move to Easter Carmuirs after the Christmas and New Year holidays and we will publish the dates and venue ASAP.

twilight-sports-winter-prg-tch-flyer-feb-march-23 Download

Mindfulness and Sensory Benches installed in local park:

Two of the key activities for the local area that were identified by the Youth Action Group through their summer programme arts project were: (1) Arts Projects to improve the appearance and quality of the local area, and (2) Developing community green spaces and parks through new facilities, opportunities and environmental improvements. The Youth Action Group have responded to these priorities through their very recent design and installation of the mindfulness and sensory benches within the public park on Carradale Avenue in Tamfourhill. The Benches will provide a chill out and relaxed location for anybody to just sit and enjoy the green space around them. The experience will be enhanced through the different sensory plants by smell and taste that the Group have planted into the benches, The Group had spent time during the summer programme considering what they felt were the best values that they wanted their group and the wider community to aspire too. These values and statements reflect the Groups aspirations for improving their community and some of these values are detailed through the painted designs on the benches and these include; Mindful, Calmness, Kinder, Inclusive, Aware, Diverse and Respect. As part of the Groups commitment to inclusiveness these word and values are also carved into the planters in brail and this can be accessed from underneath the seated benches. We would like to thank Link Housing Association (https://www.linkhousing.org.uk/) who provided the funding for these benches through their new Community Fund and the professionalism and commitment of our Community Artist Sarah Diver.

Many photos taken by Alba Coventry as part of her Target for the Groups Dynamic Youth Award

Safer Communities Youth Action Project (SCYAP) Strategic Plan 2023-26:

In confirming strategic outcomes and a Development Plan for the SCYAP it is critically important that local young people’s views, opinions and aspirations are at the centre of that plan and that they are also fully aligned to the relevant National Youth work Outcomes and the expectations of the Project’s main funders. The Safer Communities Youth Action Project is itself a legacy of the local Community Safety Strategy: Camelon and Tamfourhill will be a safer, happier and more attractive place to live, therefore a number of those key outcomes remain very much relevant and ongoing. The types of activities and programmes that will be developed will always be young person led, involve the wider community and will be an empowering and learning process for the participating young people. The published Development Plans proposed youth activities also strongly reflect the types of activities that young people themselves expressed as strong preferences through the work led by our Youth Action Group over the summer of 2023, namely: Arts Projects, Improving outdoor spaces, Sports & Games, Campaigning and learning new skills through training and recognised accreditations.

Here is a pictorial representation of the 5 strategic outcomes for the SCYAP:

Young People will have better connections with the wider Community

Young people will improve their mental and physical health and wellbeing

Young people will have increased opportunities to take part in activities that address community safety and reduce their risk taking

Young people will increase their social skills, confidence to learn and levels of attainment

Young people will grow as active citizens, expressing their voice and enabling change

Underpinning these outcomes and proposed areas of youth action will be the values that have been identified over our Summer Programme 23 and these should be reflected in all the work developed and delivered by the SCYAP and in terms of the work undertaken with the wider community:

The Community will therefore be improved through making it Safer, More Positive, Greener, Mindful, Calmer, More Respectful, Creative, Expressive, Inclusive, Aware and Diverse.

Documents for reference:

SCYAP Key Outcomes and Development Plan (Full document)

scyap-development-plan-sept-23 Download

Camelon and Tamfourhill will be a safer, happier and more attractive place to live

community-safety-strategy-for-camelon-and-tamfourhill Download

Young People and Community Safety in Camelon and Tamfourhill

young-people-and-community-safety-priotities-recommendations Download

community

Launching the Safer Communities Youth Action Project

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Review of the Summer Programme 2023

Staff, volunteers and young people who all took part in #SummerProgramme23

#YouthAction #Summerprogramme23

Rather than arrange a high-profile launch for our new local Youth Project we believed it would be more effective to get young people involved from the outset and use the summer school holidays as an opportunity to have young people immediately participating. The Summer Programme 23 provided an array of outdoor learning activities, sports, creativity, accredited learning opportunities, and community development projects and this was delivered with the view to involving young people directly with the planning of the Youth Action Projects longer term aims and priorities.

The Youth Action Group and Community Arts Project:

An important outcome from the Summer Programme has been the formation of the Youth Action Group who had initially got involved through the Summer Programmes community arts project and who were also undertaking their Dynamic Youth Awards as part of that project. This was ostensibly an arts project which was concerned with creativity and enabling young people to design logos and images for banners and publicity materials for the new youth project, but it was built around a strong commitment to youth empowerment and where peer consultation was utilised to ensure that the confirmed priorities for future local youth action were relevant and meaningful. The process and workshops were initially focused upon young people identifying what they felt were local community assets and similarly encouraged them to identify areas and locations they felt required improvement and development. Underpinning this approach was a commitment to empowerment and giving young people a greater voice in the community and a means for them to take collective action to bring about positive change for themselves and the wider community. The group consulted their peers at the twilight sports, fun in the park sessions and at the Tamfourhill community fun day and encouraged young people to take part in the consultation through t-shirt making and supporting them to vote on their priorities through using designed themed badges and ballot boxes. This enabled the Youth Action Group to confirm five key themes which they believed were the most important for future local youth action, would be relevant and meaningful and would best reflect young people’s aspirations for their local community.

The Five Agreed Themes that will form the basis of the Projects work and activities over the next three years are:

Arts Projects to improve the appearance and quality of the local area.
Developing community green spaces and parks through new facilities, opportunities and environmental improvements.
Sports and Games, building on the success of the Twilight Sports Programme.
Campaigning on youth issues and having an effective voice within the local community and beyond.
Skills and Training through nationally recognised accreditation opportunities and gaining certificates and awards.

There will be a wide array of opportunities for local young people to now be involved with these activities and projects and the intention will be to take this forward in partnership with local groups and organisations along with our partners from other voluntary agencies, statutory services, and Falkirk Council. The Youth Action Group themselves will be working on a number of local improvement projects over the next few months which will put young people and their aspirations right at the centre of local community developments.

The Junior Sports Leadership Award and Community Capacity Building:

This programme was delivered as a Dynamic Youth Award and was designed to provide an opportunity for some of the young people who regularly attended the Twilight Sport programme on a Friday evening to develop their leadership, organisation, and communication skills, facilitate confidence building and to focus that process on their interest in sport. An important aspect of the Twilight sports is to build local capacity and therefore to embed the programme in the longer term. This will require building the capacity of local people to become qualified coaches and skilled instructors who can deliver the programme locally and this award represents the first rung on that development ladder. We are absolutely delighted to announce that we now have 6 junior sports leaders who it is hoped will now be further involved in a peer leadership role at the winter twilight sports programme when it gets underway in November.

Summer activities and Learning Programmes:

The summer programme provided a wide range of fun sports and nature activities in local parks along with some more challenging outdoor learning activities like days in canoes on the canal, a visit to a trout fishery in Balmule in Fife, bike maintenance classes and sessions which focussed upon mindfulness, environmental clean ups and survival skills in the woods. Young people could undertake accreditation through the Dynamic Youth Awards that were offered as part of the Community Arts Project and the Junior Sports leadership Award and Saltire volunteering certificates will be issued to those young people who took part in the environmental clean ups and paddle pick-ups on the canoes.

93 young people completed session evaluation forms over the 6 weeks of the programme, and here are some of the key findings from that feedback:

88% really enjoyed the activity session they attended

What did young people learn that surprised them:

What would they remember about the activity?

Qu (5) How much do you feel that you have learnt today about teamwork and or working in a group? (Score between 1 for you never learnt anything to 10 Yes, I learnt a lot about teamwork today)

85 responses to this question were returned with an average score of 8.4

Qu (6) How much do you feel that you personally have used different skills like decision making & problem solving at today’s activity session? (Score between 1 if you felt you used no skills and 10 Yes, I used loads of these skills today)

82 responses to this question were returned with an average score of 8.4

Here is a breakdown of the ages and genders of the young people who took part over the programme:

AGE	MALE	FEMALE	NON-BINARY	NUMBERS
12 years and under	28 (21%)	65 (48%)	5 (4%)	98 (72.6%)
13-15 years old	21 (16%)	16 (12%)	0	37 (27.4%)
TOTAL	49 (36%)	81 (60%)	5 (4%)	135

Breakdown of participating young people by age and gender.

14 Dynamic Youth Awards were successfully achieved, 1 High 5 Award and 8 Saltire Volunteering certificates will be issued.

I would like to acknowledge and thank the following individuals and organisations who supported, delivered and contributed to a magnificent #SummerProgramme23 of #YouthAction.

John Wells at the Well Wild- A therapeutic approach to Forest school and Bushcraft

Sarah Diver: Community artist who worked with the Youth Action Groups Community art project

Martin Wylie Community Sports Hub Officer at Falkirk Council for delivering activities for the junior Sports Leadership Award

Gregor Watson at the Falkirk Wheelers for the rollerblading at the summer fun in the park sessions.

TCV and Laura Hindle

Scottish Canals for canoeing

Balmule Fishery

Ginger our mini bus driver

TTRO: All the committee for their positive encouragement and volunteering

TCH: Use of the Hall , Hub , kitchen and lots of support

Falkirk Council and the school food and activity funding

Ryan Flaherty at Forth Environment Link for bike maintenance drop-ins & Dr Bike

Next month’s blog will feature a review of the #Connectingwiththeoutdoors programme, the Youth Action groups Mindfulness and sensory benches project which is scheduled for a local park in Tamfourhill and news and details about the Twilight Sports Indoors winter programme.

The Safer Communities Youth Action Project supports young people to have an effective voice and take #YouthAction:

community

Podcast featuring the Community Climate Action Plan for Camelon and Tamfourhill and news of local environmental activities in April.

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I would like to begin this months blog in a unique way by providing the link to a recent podcast which was broadcast by the Scottish Community Climate Action Networks 1000 Better Stories Series which was focused upon the Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP) for Camelon and Tamfourhill. Please have a listen as the community safety engager along with Maya, Olivia and Ms Stroud from Falkirk High School chat about their experiences of creating our CCAP.

https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?from=embed&i=wtp6p-13d4e9c-pb&square=1&share=1&download=1&fonts=Arial&skin=f6f6f6&font-color=auto&rtl=0&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=7&size=300

1000 Better Stories : The Story of the Camelon and Tamfourhill Community Climate Action Plan

At the CCAP Core Group meeting on the 27th March it was agreed to implement the following aspects of the plan for this spring:

Develop the raised beds at Tamfourhill Community Hub and adjacent community woodland and support other local community growing projects.

Organise the planting of trees, including fruit trees at different locations of the community and supported by Tidy, Clean & Green, Our Place and the Forth Valley Sensory Centre.

To work with the Forth Environment Link to deliver additional food and cooking workshops and also in partnership with Forth Environment link establish a new bike maintenance Hub which will train up local people and potentially start a local bike library.

Organise a canal clear up and conservation day for pupils from Falkirk High School.

Support Tamfourhill Community Hub with their energy efficiency audit and explore options for installing a sustainable and non carbon based heating system.

Support local volunteers who are setting up a Rubbish uplift and collection service for the local area.

Work with local groups and organisations to confirm regular monthly community litter picks targeted at key locations.

SPRING CLEAN UP 2023

And finally I would like to highlight this fantastic community event which is scheduled for this Saturday 8th April being organised by Tidy, Clean and Green in partnership with Go Forth and Clyde as part of the Keep Scotland Beautiful Spring Clean 2023. Please go along if you can the details are below or contact tidycleangreen@gmail.com

community

Twilight Sports Drop -in Resumes and new innovative Youth Action Project to be launched.

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The Twilight Sports programme was piloted over the spring and summer of 2022 as part of the wider community safety strategy for Camelon and Tamfourhill, and the pilot phase of the Programme was made possible through funding and support provided by the Camelon Community Sports Hub and Police Scotland. The Pilot project took place on Friday nights in local parks and was focused upon providing sporting and healthy activities for local young people and the intention was to address some of the community safety concerns and risky behaviour that many young people are vulnerable to getting involved with at the weekends. The local community Police Officers and the Fire and Rescue Services from Larbert and Falkirk were regular visitors to the sessions and took part in the different sports that were on offer, including: the Falkirk Wheelers and Rollerblading, fun football, Rugby, and outdoor nature activities. The Programme was also enhanced through the Dr Bike Service provided by the Forth Environment Links Active Travel Hub with their free servicing and maintenance of push bikes which has greatly contributed to the local community safety agenda. The sessions were a great success, were very well attended and are widely recognised as an important and enjoyable community activity.

Twilight Sports Interview for TV

The success of the pilot Programme has now attracted longer term funding and the Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill Project is overjoyed to announce a three-year funding package from the Falkirk Community Schools Fund (2008) which will embed the twilight sports programme for the next three years and enable additional youth outreach activities to be developed throughout Camelon and Tamfourhill. I will further detail in a future blog the vision and plans for this additional funding which will form a significant strand of a new local Youth Action Project. This Project will be focused upon connecting with young people throughout the community over the next three years and I would like to thank the Falkirk Community School Funds for generously supporting the work of the Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill Project and recognising the essential community support provided by the Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents Organisation. This is a really important investment in our community and young people in particular and the outreach programme will again be aligned to the broader objectives of the local community safety plan.

The Camelon Community Sports Hub and Police Scotland have also continued to support and fund the Friday night Twilight sessions and along with our existing partnership with the Falkirk Wheelers we have now also entered into an exciting new partnership with the Warriors in the Community, who will now be responsible for the footballing aspect of the Twilight Sports Programme throughout all of 2023. The Warriors In the Community are part of Stenhousemuir Football Club and they have been developing innovative community involvement projects for a number of years and we are certain that this new partnership will facilitate lots of new footballing and personal development opportunities for local young people. The Falkirk Wheelers who will continue to work on the programme are also a dynamic community-based sports organisation, and it is great to see the enthusiasm that local young people have for rollerblading and the level of skill and ability that has been nurtured over the programme. This Programme is an excellent example of partnership working where different agencies and sports clubs have come together to provide a quality sporting and youth work development programme whilst also addressing local community safety priorities. The Programme winter drop-in programme resumed on Friday 3rd February, its open to all 10–16-year-old from the Camelon and Tamfourhill areas, all equipment is provided as is a snack with something to drink and it’s all free of charge. The full programme with additional youth work activities will return to local parks in the spring when we hope the weather improves and we will off course have the lighter evenings.

The Rising Energy Costs and their crippling impact upon Tamfourhill Community Hub

It is off significant concern that the costs for heating and lighting the Tamfourhill Community Hub have risen to astronomical levels since the autumn of last year. The payment of the current energy bills are not sustainable, and the Hub could not remain operational at its existing levels if long term sustainable solutions are not identified and implemented. These circumstances will not be unique to Tamfourhill and the Third sector and all charities with premises to be maintained and managed will be dealing with this energy crises. I personally feel that Governments along with regional and national agencies have been slow to respond to this crises. I would therefore ask that tangible support is more forthcoming and that regional and national networks gather and confirm an immediate plan of action focussed upon the smaller community organisations and support them to access some shorter-term relief whilst also confirming a longer-term strategy for the Third Sectors sustainability. Asset Transfer is again a big issue as Falkirk Councils Strategic Property Review has identified around 130 community buildings which may have no futures without an Asset Transfer or leasing arrangement with the various communities. In this respect Tamfourhill Community Hub has very recently been through a less than streamline process to asset transfer the Hub over to the Hall Committee. My understanding is that the Council now have a dedicated community team in place and a ring-fenced budget to facilitate any asset transfers which take place as a consequence of their Strategic Property Review. I would hope that these circumstances can also be beneficial to Tamfourhill in at least the short term. I also acknowledge that not everyone is on board with the science and social narrative of the Climate Emergency and global warming, however I am absolutely certain that communities which are already disadvantaged through economic inequalities will have to take long term radical and innovative action and explore alternative options for creating energy efficient and affordable community spaces and buildings. I am aware that the Tamfourhill Community Hub committee are giving this matter priority and I also know that they will want to avoid at all costs losing the current programme of activities and services which operate from the building and that moving the costs onto user groups is entirely unrealistic and socially unjust. From a community safety perspective, the loss of any provision from the Hub would be devastating to Camelon and Tamfourhill, I could not underscore the importance of the current programmes and their contribution to local community cohesion. On a more positive note, our Community Climate Action Plan identified options for carrying out energy efficiency audits of the Hub and there is the potential to secure part funding for alternative energy sources like heat pumps and solar panelling. The long-term sustainability of the Hub will be reliant upon grossly improving energy efficiency and generating energy through new sources independently and for that to happen then new green technologies will be essential. In the shorter term the bills mut be paid and I would want to support the Hall Committee in any way that I can to get the Hub through this significant challenge. I do have an optimistic outlook that there can be a sustainable future for the Hub through shorter term relief and through securing the longer-term use and development of new green reusable and sustainable technologies.

Community Safety Highlights for January and February 2023:

The Open Doors Community Safety Event took place on Friday 20^th January, and I would like to thank the Forth Valley Sensory Centre for being such wonderful hosts. This was the busiest of the recent events with lots of quality engagement taking place and it was especially positive to involve the Sensory Centre and many of their regular users with the community safety partners who were in attendance. We also welcomed for the first time Home Energy Scotland who set up a well utilised advice stall which also included support and resources to encourage better use of our domestic water supplies through reducing waste and increasing water efficiency. The success of this event is reliant upon the commitment and inputs of all the Partners so I would like to express my personal gratitude to everybody from each organisation who has supported and contributed to this programme over the last few months. The intention is to continue running community safety open doors events which provide local people and organisations with the opportunity to directly engage with services around any relevant issues or concerns and to introduce their own ideas and suggestions for improved local community safety. I recently attended the inaugural meeting of the Camelon, Tamfourhill and Bantaskin Community Council and I am certain they will also want direct involvement with the Open Doors Events. I will be meeting with the Partners in the next few weeks and I will provide further details as to how these events will be rolled out going forward.

Community Safety Partners at the Forth Valley Sensory Centre
Info stalls
Home Energy Scotland
Open Doors
Some of the Partners

Congratulations to the John Muir Discovery Group who received their Awards at ta recent John muir presentation evening which was held in Tamfourhill Community Hub. This was very much a local project with the group of 12 young people, discovering, exploring, and conserving wild places around their community, including: The Forth and Clyde Canal, Easter Carmuirs Park, Antonine Wall and the woods around Tamfourhill. The Awards presentation evening was also an opportunity for the group to share their experiences with family friends and other young people who attend the Monday evening youth club.

Family and friends attending the recent John Muir Presentation evening.

Pocket Places Programme and improved road safety in Camelon are two distinct projects which are linked by the notion of the Low Traffic Neighbourhood, improved road safety and the promotion of active travel. The Easter Carmuirs Pocket Places Steering Group met recently and looked and design proposals for a new layout of the school campus as phase one of the Project and the introduction of zebra crossings on the surrounding streets as phase 2 of the Project. Further consultation and community involvement will be required in relation to phase 2 of the Project and that engagement work is planned to take place towards the end of February with hopefully also some preliminary design work being implemented within the school playground. I am also coordinating and supporting a partnership approach to improving road safety and encouraging safe active travel in Camelon around Nailer Road, Stirling Road, and environs. The local primary school, Early Years Centre, the Sensory centre and the Management Committee of the Camelon Community centre have all been working on their respective street reviews and this process is now nearing completion. A published report with a series of recommendations will be available in the next month or so and thereafter there will be a community event or conference held to look at how the key stakeholders can respond and where possible ensure that the recommendations and suggested improvements are acted upon and actioned. I would like to thank Forth Environment Link who have worked closely with me in coordinating and supporting the different partners to carry out their own bespoke street reviews and studies. I will off course keep the community updated with both of these projects.

camelon, community, Our Place, tamfourhill

And now….

24/02/202223/02/2022 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

17/02/202216/02/2022 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

community

Family Fun for the Future Last Friday

15/02/202214/02/2022 bighosie

The sun shone on the Juniors Car park and the people gathered for Fun for the Future Community Safety event last Friday 11^th February. A good turn out with a variety of outdoor activities for the family, including make your own bird feeders, cooking marshmallows on an open fire and some den building and all taking place on the grass area and on the car park. I would like to thank TCV , Tidy, Clean and Green, Go Forth and Clyde and other local volunteers who made all the outdoor activities an enjoyable success. This activity programme is all about illustrating how that space can be better used and for it to be a safe space for local young people and families. Please watch out for further community safety activities taking place at that location including litter picks, pop up parks and outdoor learning opportunities.

Inside the Camelon Juniors Social club there were tabletop workshops for everyone to take part in , one was facilitated by Aniela from Camelon Arts Project where every person got a chance to design their own community wall mural. A wide range of ideas and creativity were used, and I look forward to examining the creations in greater detail as I am sure some of these themes can be worked upon and can form the basis of a more permanent community mural for the wall outside the football ground. I ran a workshop where I encouraged everyone to choose and prioritise the facilities , equipment, and types of activities that they would like to see included within a local safe play facility. Again, the results were wide ranging and interesting, and I will of course be reflecting upon many of these ideas and collating the results into a report which will be used for further community discussions. The third discussion table was facilitated by our two community Police officers PC Robert Hill and PC Amy Muir, there were some free goodies to take away and lots of discussion about keeping the community safe and secure. It is absolutely clear to me that the permanent installation of CCTV and adequate lighting at that location are paramount local community safety concerns.

As I pointed out too many people last Friday, we are a very long way away form any permanent play facilities or play parks getting built at the location or anywhere else in the Carmuirs area, however these events are part of a wider community discussion that I am very keen to keep going and I would like to encourage more people to come forward and engage with these events and community conversations. I know talk can be cheap but the plan over the coming months will be to support a programme of ongoing environmental improvement for that area. This will involve hands on experiences, training opportunities, focus groups and off course lots of fun activities for the youngsters and their families to regularly take part in. We may be a long way from making permanent structural changes to that area but through the work of the Tidy, Clean and Green Community Group and the resources they have secured to commission a consultant there will be a wide array of environmental improvement work being carried out around that neighbourhood. This will be enabled through the Community Renewal Fund that has been secured by Tidy, Clean and Green where the Juniors car park, the old Brown Street park and surrounding areas will be a very lively and active location over the spring and summer months. This is about community engagement and involvement and there will be loads of learning opportunities, but they will be delivered in a fun and enjoyable way. Please keep an eye out for further activities and events , I have some people’s contact detail which is great, but I will also ensure that all the environmental programmes and opportunities planned for the next few months are well publicised and they will feature prominently on the Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill Social media platforms and other local Facebook pages. As always please get in touch with me: John R Hosie Community Safety Engager, communitysafetyengager@tamfourhilltro.co.uk 07391524528

The temporary ice rink was a very popular outdoor activity

camelon, collaboration, community, tamfourhill

Your Community Calendar is here

09/12/202108/12/2021 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