Tag: environment

community

Twilight Sports Winter  Programme , Youth Participation in October  and our Awards ceremony:

bighosie

The Clocks have gone back, and the nights are fare drawing in and that means it’s time for the SCYAP Twilight Sports Winter Programme to begin, which again this year will be hosted by Tamfourhill Community Hub. I would like to convey our thanks and gratitude to the Camelon Community Sports Hub who awarded us a grant a few months back to cover our winter programme 2025/26.

This funding injection from the Camelon Sports Hub  coincides with the ending of our 3 years funding from the Falkirk Community Schools Fund 2008 ,which has been the main source of support for all of our youth action programmes and activities and not least the Twilight Sports Programme. This funding support has been in place since the Twilights Sports was established after an initial pilot phase back in  2022 . Having met with the Falkirk Schools Fund Trustees relatively recently we are unclear when further funding from them will become available and indeed whether a continuing application would be successful or not. At this stage we can only thank the Falkirk Schools fund for their significant financial commitment over the previous 3-year period and also be equally grateful that the local community sport Hub similarly recognises the  worth and benefits of this unique form of community-based youth provision. The longer-term aim is to be able to sustain and further develop the programme over the next few years. I will of course keep the community and all our partners and stakeholders  updated with all potential options and  developments. For the time being lets  look forward to a 12-week winter indoor programme starting on Friday 31st October as detailed below and with the full involvement of our partners the Falkirk Wheelers , FEL, our young football coach, the regular volunteers and staff and the fantastic support from Tamfourhill Community Hub.

The October holidays afforded lots of opportunities to progress both the Youth Participation Project and the interlinked Right to Play Article 31 activities  over at the Games Court in Easter Carmuirs. An initial game of rounders involving 12 local young people and 3 members of staff got the ball rolling in many directions. We chalked up different methods for choosing teams and getting games started, and the game of rounders was nonstop laughter and some competitiveness as eventually  bad light stopped play. We reconvened for three days on the 15th, 16th and 17th October and began the process of taking the ideas from the Rounders evening and converting them into hand painted decorative signage which will now be mounted onto the Games Court perimeter fencing. Oot Skoot you are oot, Rock, paper scissors, knots and crosses and a new scoreboard for the cage will all feature along with some of the play images created by the Participation group through their consultation event at Lock 16 back in September.

Our Volunteering Matters Action Earth Project made significant progress in Easter Carmuirs park on Monday 13th October where  our volunteers Rachel and Alex led on a very busy bat and bug box building workshop. Six new boxes were constructed involving 12 volunteers, mainly young people and younger children  but also a couple of family teams. It was also really positive that most of the SCYAP volunteers  took part in the Green Action Trusts Neighbourhood trees project through a workshop conducted around the park. We would like to convey our thanks to our colleagues at Under the Trees who  made a huge contribution to a successful Wild Connections Falkirk’s Greener Future locally in the Easter Carmuirs Public Park.

The outdoor learning theme for this week was also explored and enjoyed by members of our Youth Participation Group who spent an afternoon at the Well Wild Project in the Rough Castle Woods. The Group learnt how to build and start a fire with flint and steel and then how to manage that fire safely to cook a chicken casserole. Using tools was another feature of the session and we also made time  for some nature therapy and off course time to play in the woods and reminding ourselves of Article 31 the Right to Play and to play safely and manage risks.  

On Thursday 16th we held a wonderful Youth  Awards ceremony for family and friends at Tamfourhill Community Hub. Well done and a massive congratulations to all the young people who received their Youth Awards Certificates at the Awards ceremony. High 5, Dynamic & Youth achievement and Saltire Awards. A very sincere well done from everybody at SCYAP, the TTRO and Tamfourhill Community Hub. Most of these awards were gained through young people’s  involvement over the Summer Programme 2025 but there was also some longer-term outstanding volunteering commitments being recognised and it was with a sense of personal pride and joy that we made all of these awards. What an amazing group of young people all committed to Youth Action and developing their own skills, knowledge and experiences. Youth Scotland

And finally, as always I like to conclude on a happy note, I am therefore very  excited to announce that the SCYAP funding application to FEL Climate Action Next Steps fund was successful. This was a strong application based on the implementation of our Community Climate Action Plan and the priorities and key themes identified by young people themselves at  our climate action events held back in February and March of this year. Its very uplifting to recognise that FEL have supported our climate action events and the work of the Climate Action Core Group over the last 3 years and have now further invested in the young people of Tamfourhill, Camelon  and Bantaskin to make significant positive contributions to local climate action.

community

The Right to Play, Youth Participation and Climate Week

bighosie

SCYAP was successful in securing a Community Empowerment Grant  from Falkirk Council which is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. As a Youth Action Project we were keen to encourage further youth participation and to link that with wider community developments. The key aspects of a  Youth Participation approach , include; Taking part, young people having a say and being listened to , being involved with decision making, being  involved through your own choice, contributing to the community, enjoying activities and working with others and gaining national youth awards. Our new Youth Participation Project was targeted initially at young people who were not regularly involved with any of our previous or ongoing youth action activities and the programme began with an introduction and programme planning session at the end of August

A Dynamic Youth Award programme has begun and includes a wide variety of challenging activities which focus on teamwork, decision making, skills development and community involvement . Creativity and outdoor learning feature significantly throughout the programme and the Group had a brilliant day when they attended the recent Scottish Canals Open Day which was held at the  old Barrs factory in Tamfourhill.  This open day was an opportunity for Scottish canals and their partners at Historic Environment Scotland  to showcase the traditional  skills and the Centre  for Excellence that will operate from this building. The Open Day  also provided a unique opportunity for our  Youth Participation Group to contribute through their interactive games stall which promoted Article 31 of UNRC: The Right to Play  

UNCRC Article 31

I have a right to rest, relax and play

Adults should make sure children have the chance to play and relax in a safe, supportive and stimulating environment.

Governments should make sure children can be part of cultural and artistic activities.

When decisions are made about activities in the community, adults should include children in planning these.

Want to come out to play?

Our commitment to the  promotion of  Article 31 is being further explored through the second strand of our Youth Participation  project: A series of arts  drop-in sessions will take place at the games court on Mariner Avenue in Easter Carmuirs on the 15th, 16th and 17th October. If you are between 10-18 years old please pop along in the afternoon between 1pm-4pm, perhaps play some games, tell us about the rules and then design and build signposts and boards which illustrate these games. Part of this process will be involved with the design of new box seating for the Cage , and the process kicks  off next Wednesday 8th October at 5.30pm when you can come down for a game of rounders, get some free hot dogs and also tell us about the games and sports that are played at the Cage. This community arts aspect  of the Participation Project is aligned to proposals highlighted within the Camelon Community Action Plan in relation to improving communal spaces and increasing opportunities  for local young people.  

Scotland’s national climate week runs from 29th September until 5th October, and this is an opportunity to consider what climate action we can support and take which will contribute to tackling climate change and making our communities greener and sustainable.

Climate Week is an important awareness raising tool and to coincide with this I am very pleased to announce that we will be beginning the process of reinstating the community orchard that was recently decimated on the canal towpath next to Camelon Juniors football ground. We are extremely grateful to Scottish Canals who have found resources to replace the heritage fruit trees and the support of their Environment manager with the process of preparing the ground and the planting of the replacement orchard. We will be working on the towpath on Thursday 2nd October with the Carmuirs Youth Action Group who worked so hard and took so much pride with the planting of the original orchard back in February

Following on from the reinstatement of the Camelon Community Orchard we are excited  to partner with Under the Trees Outdoor Learning for an event called Wild Connections: Falkirk’s Greener Future that will bring a whole host of climate related activities to Easter Carmuirs Park on Monday 13th October from 1pm-4pm. SCYAP through funding accessed from Volunteering Matters Action Earth will provide volunteering opportunities to build and decorate bat and bug boxes. Forth Climate Forest will deliver a Neighbourhood trees workshop and Under the Trees have a climate scavenger quiz with prizes, crayon recycling on the campfire and acorn planting and a climate lab with climate experiments to explore. Although this is a young person led event the whole community are invited to participate, and the only restriction is that under 10’s must be accompanied by an adult of 16+ years old

And finally , SCYAP is overjoyed to acknowledge that we have 24 National Youth Award Certificates to present to young people , these in the main were gained through taking part on various activities during our Summer Programme 2025.  The overnight survival programme, community arts  project and its Stand up for Nature theme, the angling project and the wonderful active travel mural and arts installation at Camelon Railway Station. This included two Silver Youth Achievement Awards for our young youth action volunteers Leo and Victoria, my congratulations to you all, an outstanding achievement.

community

Railway Station Arts Project Officially Opens, Experiential Learning in the Wild Outdoors and a Photographic Review of #Summerprogramme2025

bighosie

Climate Action through Saving Nature, Learning life skills through Bushcraft and Survival activities and having fun through connecting with  the local Canals and parks, these were the main  themes of the SCYAP Summer Programme 2025. The highlights included the opening of the Environmental improvements and community arts project at Camelon Railway station on Wednesday 16th July when Tracy Stevenson Scotrails Community Rail Executive joined local organisations including: The Fire and Rescue Service, FEL, Falkirk Council , FVSC and local community activists, when the new artwork was officially opened with the ribbon being ceremonially cut by Lucy Auld. Lucy gave total commitment to this project , giving up lots of her own time to work on the project and she was supported by other members of our Youth Action Group, the original designs had been worked up by her P7 Class at Carmuirs Primary School. Lucy will gain a Dynamic Youth Award for her outstanding contributions to this Project along with her friend from school Oliver Mcarthur who will gain a High 5  Award.

https://www.scotrail.co.uk/about-scotrail/news/youth-led-art-biodiversity-project-transforms-camelon-station

https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/people/young-people-help-transform-station-access-path-in-camelon-5229985

The days celebrations then moved onto Nailer Road Park where SCYAP hosted a community  active travel day which presented a number of different and fun approaches to active travel. This included our regular partners the Falkirk Wheelers who provided inline skating around the park. FEL again supported our activities with their adapted and led bike rides also around the park , which encouraged a wide range  of participants including families and older people. Falkirk Council Energy and Climate Change Team  also provided a stall in the  park on the theme of sustainable communities. This active travel event was linked to the illustrations detailed on the mural at Camelon railway Station and these ideas are also aligned to our community climate action plan, similarly young people’s priorities for local climate action were also picked up by  our Summer Programme arts project when we supported 12 young people to Campaign For Nature.

Standing up for Nature, Appreciating Nature , Helping Nature, Understanding Nature, and Calmness in Nature were all statements from the group of young community artists when we began to plan our summer arts project. The Climate Action Events that SCYAP facilitated back in February and March had clearly demonstrated that young people were most concerned about how climate change was negatively impacting upon the plants, forests and animals around them, this in fact was a clear priority for young people in terms of taking positive climate action. We identified 4 aspects to the natural world around us: Sun, Water, Earth and Air, and we began to explore the areas around Tamfourhill and at the YAG bench on the canal. The Group developed their sketches into 4 large banners which depicted these aspects of nature, and this enabled them to learn new skills in screen printing, calligraphy, drawing and sewing. One of the group Anya was particularly interested in digital creativity, so she got further involved with the project and designed the poster which is detailed below. These images will be displayed around the community in the coming weeks along with a wider #Youthaction visual campaign called: Standing up for Nature, so please look out for the group’s creations appearing in public spaces around Camelon and Tamfourhill,  we plan to  run a competition where you can report your sightings of any of these images and win  climate action prizes.      

When I heard the storm and looked  out, I made haste to join it: John Muir    

SCYAP has formed a really good working relationship with the Well Wild project, and we have successfully developed programmes and activities that have an excellent synergy with our  key outcomes, and which take an innovative approach to experiential learning. Our  Bushcraft and Survival programme ran over a week and cumulated with the overnight survival experience at the  Well Wild Project  in the Rough Castle Woods. I would like to congratulate and acknowledge the resilience and adaptability of our group on the overnight experience when they had to contend with a period of prolonged overnight rain, a gathering storm and a degree of discomfort. Their skills were put  into action, teamwork and supporting each other were critical, fire lighting and their shelter building were all put to the test. The night was filled with screaming owls protecting their territory, startled foxes passing through the woods and difficult weather conditions. John Muir the Scottish conservationist and explorer  famously exclaimed in response to a rising tempest in the Sierra Mountains in North America that: “When I heard the storm and looked out, I made haste to join it” The SCYAP Group in their own fashion did similar and their  learning was consequently substantial and will have impact well beyond the 18 hours they spent over night in the woods, with  a plethora  of life skills  being developed. Each young person remained focused on achieving their personal Dynamic Youth Award learning targets and it will be an absolute pleasure to later present their certificates.  

Summer Programme 2025 in a compendium of photos:

 

Unfortunately, some Bad news:

Everyone connected with SCYAP were absolutely deflated and disappointed to be informed that the only Community Orchard in Camelon has been wiped out by extensive ground clearance on the canal towpath. The planting of this orchard was a joint project that was planned and implemented with Scottish Canals and involved considerable SCYAP funding and resources. The members of the Carmuirs Youth Action Group along with our community volunteers who planted and then maintained this orchard are upset and angry with this inexplicable action. I want to reassure the community that as an organisation we are looking into the circumstances that have led to this, our understanding is that  Scottish Canals now have a team investigating this incident which they view as an act of vandalism which has been  carried out on their Land. We will off course follow this matter up until some sort of resolution is found, we will report back through our social media and other channels when we have an unequivocal explanation of who was responsible and what actions are being taken.

Let’s conclude with some good news:

We are very  pleased to announce that we were successful in our application to the UKSPF Community Empowerment Small Grant Fund and we will therefore be implementing two new opportunities for local  young people 10-18 years old. These projects will run from September through to December and will involve creativity and  community improvements through an arts drop-in initiative and also the delivery of an accredited groupwork programme. The funds are administrated through Falkirk Council and are well aligned to the SCYAP five key outcomes and aim to also address aspects of the recent Camelon Community Action Plan. A central aim is  to include young people and volunteers who are not regularly involved with any of our current project’s and especially those that are linked to National Youth Awards. I will in next month’s blog  explain how young people and volunteers can take part and highlight the benefits to young people and the wider community.   

And finally, we were also successful with our second round of funding from the Volunteer Matters Action Earth Fund, which is resourced by Nature Scot and the National Lottery Community Fund. This is all about tackling climate change and promoting volunteering in the community and we will be linking the activities to our Climate Action Plan and the priorities identified by local young people  earlier this year. This Project will be taking place in the autumn and again we will highlight in a future Blog  how you can get involved. 

community

Camelon Action Plan , Youth Empowerment and Climate Action.   

bighosie

This is my last Blog of 2024 , and I would like to finish the year on a positive  and upbeat tone. I will be highlighting the recent Youth Action work with young people where we have provided opportunities for giving them a meaningful  voice within the Camelon Community Action Plan and in their achievements through gaining various national Youth Awards.

The Camelon Community Action Plan is concerned with confirming  a 10-year strategy and vision for Camelon that includes local improvements and priorities that are agreed by the local community. This process is well aligned to the SCYAP Key Outcome: Young people becoming active citizens, expressing their views and enabling change and Young People having better connections with the community.

SCYAP therefore worked with the Councils Community Planning  Officer and facilitated a number of youth engagement workshops  with P7 classes at Carmuirs and Easter Carmuirs primary schools and young people who attended the Twilight Sports in Easter Carmuirs Park. A wide array of aspirations were documented through a mapping and photo auditing process, some of these issues will form a part of the finalised CAP but there were also a number of specific local youth action  projects which SCYAP is now very enthusiastic to move forward.

  • The installation of new benches and planters  into Easter Carmuirs Park based on the mindfulness benches that the Youth Action Group designed and installed for the Basketball Court and Park in Tamfourhill back in 2023. This Project will hopefully be taken forward in early 2025 by Easter Carmuirs Primary 7 class as part of their Youth Action in the Community Programme. There will be further community consultation about these benches and this process and how to get involved will be highlighted on our social media in the new year.
  • In addition, the P7 Class will also be clearing up the park and  planting an orchard in Easter Carmuirs Park as part of  the Community Volunteering Action Earth Project which is funded by Nature Scot.
  • Carmuirs Primary School P7 and the Youth Action Group will both potentially  be contributing to a community arts project at Camelon Railway Station along with other environmental improvements and biodiversity activities at the railway  station and other local green spaces in Camelon.

              

It was with great pleasure that on Friday 6th December that I awarded 14 Dynamic Youth Awards to young people who had gained these awards through their involvement on our Summer Programme 2024, this included the Community arts project; The fantastic animals woodland trail, The Junior Sports Leadership Award and the Bushcraft and overnight survival programme. This is a great credit to all the young people, and I would want to also give special mention to Jorga Muir who earned 2 Three Star Dynamic Youth Awards and Leo Cierpikowski who received a certificate of distinction for his  outstanding contributions to local youth action. The awards ceremony took place at Tamfourhill Community Hub and was attended by parents, families and friends and included a  power point presentation from Jorga and a display of photographs from  the various award activities that took place over the summer.   

I have previously highlighted in our blog and  Facebook page the new partnership we have agreed with the Scottish Federation of Coarse Angling which has arisen from an interest amongst  young people in fishing the local canals. This programme is a further accredited opportunity for the 8 young people in the Group and we started with  a session in the Hub where we learnt how to set up a float rig and make a loop knot. Unfortunately, due to the freezing conditions we have had to cancel our planned trips to Magiscroft Coarse Fishery, however we will reschedule this trip for the new year along with other indoor sessions looking at fishing tackle and techniques.  

I have previously written about our plans to relaunch the Community Climate Action Plan for Camelon and Tamfourhill and I am now able to confirm the dates for three young person led Climate Action events which will form the basis for the Plans  relaunch:  

  • Friday 7th February 2025 10am-2pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub: P7 local primary schools.
  • Sunday 23rd February 2025 11am – 3pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub: Young people From the local area.
  • Friday 7th March 2025 10am-2pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub SI & S2 from FHS

Staying on the Climate Action theme there is  great news  that Tamfourhill Community Hub has begun installing a  sustainable  and renewable energy efficient system  which  includes cavity wall and roof insulation , positioning  solar panels on the roof of the building and with a ASHP heat pump system along with a number of new energy efficiency measures and a battery storage system. The Tamfourhill Energy Efficiency and Net Zero project  received 80% funding from the Scottish Governments Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) with 15% match funding also  being  secured from the Scottish Power Networks Net Zero Fund. This really is a success story with the Hub leading the way in Falkirk district on Scotland’s journey to net zero, this project will have significant positive environmental impacts, reducing our  carbon footprint whilst massively reducing the Hubs energy costs.  This project was originally stated as a longer-term aim of the Local Community Climate Action Plan which was also linked to the local community safety strategy so on many levels both  personal and professional I am overjoyed to have played a supporting role with the Hubs committee in bringing this environmentally  progressive project to its actual realisation.  

Finally on behalf of the staff and volunteers at the Safer Communities Youth Action Project and the Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents Organisation we wish everyone a very merry Christmas  and a guid new year.    

community

Summer Programme 2024, Tackling climate change with Tamfourhill Community Hubs journey to net zero and supporting creative recycling youth action:

bighosie

Tackling climate change and facilitating local environmental improvement are the keynote highlights of this month’s Safer Communities Youth Action Projects blog.

The great news is that Tamfourhill Community Hub has secured sufficient funding to retrofit the building with a  sustainable  and renewable energy efficient system  which will see the installation of solar panels on the roof of the building with a ASHP heat pump system along with a number of new energy efficiency measures and a battery storage system. The Tamfourhill Energy Efficiency and Net Zero project has received 80% funding from the Scottish Governments Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) with 15% match funding being recently secured from the Stirling and Clackmannanshire Environmental Trust and the final 5% being committed by the National lottery’s new Awards for All programme. This really is a success story with the Hub leading the way in Falkirk district on Scotland’s journey to net zero, this project will have significant positive environmental impacts, reducing our local carbon footprint whilst massively reducing the Hubs energy costs.  This project was originally stated as a longer-term aim of the Local Community Climate Action Plan which was also linked to the local community safety strategy so on many levels both  personal and professional I am overjoyed to have played a supporting role with the Hubs committee in bringing this environmentally  progressive project to its actual realisation.      

It is then absolutely fitting that the new recycled plastic bottle lid mural was formally unveiled on the exterior wall of the Tamfourhill Community Hub  on Thursday  6th June  

 Reduce, Reuse & Recycle:

Tackling Climate change through creative Youth Action in Camelon & Tamfourhill

The Safer Communities Youth Action Project in collaboration with community artist  Sarah Diver have been tackling climate change through creativity and Youth Action. Groups of young people have been out litter picking around Lock 14 on the Forth & Clyde Canal and other locations in Camelon and Tamfourhill to survey the number of plastics and other significant forms of litter that are being discarded. The bigger plan was to come up with innovative ways to recycle plastics into a useful and decorative community-based arts project. The recycled plastic bottle top mural is both an artistic creation which will brighten up the external wall of the Tamfourhill Community Hub  and a hands-on way of exploring climate change and environmental damage through direct action. This has been a great learning experience for the groups from Carmuirs Primary School, Falkirk High School and the Community based  Youth Action Group. Young people made posters located at school and at Tamfourhill Community Hub to collect bottle lids for the artwork. School groups attended led walks and litter picks and identified things in their local area which were important for them to protect including: animals, birds, insects, trees,  plant life and importantly each other.  The finished mural was officially opened on Thursday 6th June when the young people from Carmuirs Primary School created their own commemorative badges  made entirely from  recycled plastic. The Project has been part funded by Forth Environment Links Climate Change Seed  funding  and  the Falkirk Community School Fund 2008.  The mural project forms part of a wider conservation, biodiversity  and Climate Change Project which has been developed and delivered by the local Youth Action Project . This has involved wild gardening and planting pollinators, tree planting in local parks and paddle pickups on the canal  as part of the national upstream battle to stop plastics getting into our waterways. #Upstreambattle

Summer Programme 2024

We have another summer of exciting youth action planned and much of this programme has been funded through the Scottish Governments School Holiday Food and Activity fund. There are opportunities for 12–16-year-olds to get involved with community arts projects, a junior sports leadership award,  an overnight survival challenge with the Well Wild project, angling, water-based activities on the canal and some nature, conservation and cooking based activities. Every young person who is registered onto the programme will be given an opportunity to use the summer programme as the basis to gain either a High Five or Dynamic Youth Award with some of the young volunteers working towards their Youth Achievement Awards, to book onto the activities please go to this link:  

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

The full programme with booking information is detailed below:

 

Summer fun in the outdoors 2023

community

Climate Change and Creativity

bighosie

Youth Action in March 2024:

Our Youth Social Action throughout February and March has been focused upon tackling climate change, encouraging biodiversity and facilitating learning through creativity and public arts projects. We are grateful for the Climate Change Seed Funding we received from Forth Environment Link as this has enabled us to collaborate with the  local schools, the Youth Action Group , Scottish Canals, Tamfourhill Community Hub and local volunteers. This approach has allowed the SCYAP to tackle local  environmental issues and priorities in a creative way and in that respect I would like to thank our Community Artist Sarah Diver for her amazing inputs with the ongoing recycled bottle lids public mural project and her T-Shirt making at our Fab Feb  climate change  workshops.  We have also worked closely with Scottish canals Environmental Manager  Olivia Lassiere  and Rebecca at their activities team who have significantly contributed to our Climate & Biodiversity Action Day at the Falkirk  Wheel, our citizen science and towpath pollinator planting sessions  and with several paddle pick-ups along the canal through Camelon and Tamfourhill.  Encouraging active travel and the notion of the low traffic neighbourhood has also been on our agenda and it has been inspirational to work with @MakeitGlasgow from the wonderful Maryhill, who have been facilitating the creation and design of much required seating through the creation of six new benches for the canals towpaths. This Project has been enthusiastically supported by the Youth Action Groups  from Carmuirs and Easter Carmuirs Primary Schools and the Community based Youth Action Group who have all been identifying themes through a mapping process and then designing and making ceramic and clay tiles for these new benches. The FEL funding has thus provided us with addionality to our ongoing Youth Action Programmes and enables aspects of our community development approach to be underpinned with improved biodiversity and very practical  environmental improvement activities for young people which are also aligned to our Community Climate Action Plan. In addition, Rachel Timblin as part of her involvement with the Scottish Wildlife Trusts Pioneers Programme has been able to also support some community activities that have involved planting pollinators and building bird boxes and involved groups from Tamfourhill Community Hub, SCYAP and the Camelon Early Years and Childcare Centre.  

The groups from the local schools are all being supported to complete Dynamic Youth Awards and this approach is demonstrating how experiential learning and wider achievement can be recognised and effectively accredited. This wider community development approach is  evident within all of our current Youth Action Projects where strong links between young people , the wider community, local agencies and the schools are being established. Here are some key examples of local youth action that have been happening over the last 6 weeks:

The Recycled Bottle Top Mural Project

  The Recycled Bottle Top Mural Project involves groups from Carmuirs Primary School , the Community based Youth Action Group and a group from Falkirk High School who are all tackling the problem of littering  and in particular the environmental damage caused by  plastic bottle tops. Climate Change and environmental improvement were key issues that young people had identified  in the summer of 2023 through their involvement with the Safer Communities Youth Action Projects Development plan.

The recycled bottle tops mural project is funded in part by Forth Environment links Climate Change Seed funding. Tackling climate change creatively is the focus of this project where the different groups of young people have carried out community litter picks and gathered plastic bottle lids and instead of them ending up in landfill to take hundreds of years to breakdown are being used to create a community mural which itself will contribute to community improvement. This is an  upcycling project which is facilitating young people’s expressive and creative skills, improving the environment whilst raising awareness of climate change at a community  level. This Youth Social Action approach has a dual benefit  where there is community improvement and also a direct benefit to the participating young people where their involvement has enabled them to gain Dynamic Youth and Saltire Awards which are nationally recognised certificates of achievement

The New Canal Benches Project with We Make  It Glasgow.

This Project began with groups from the local primary schools and the community YAG mapping out the  local canals and the key locations and sites in their community. We looked at different perspectives of the canal, its central role through the history of Camelon and Tamfourhill , its polluted past and its more recent regeneration as a location for recreation, active travel and improved biodiversity. The young people have been designing ceramic and clay tiles based on these different themes and the  natural environment around and in the canal which  they identified  as being significant. The finished benches will be decorated with these individualised tiles and each groups bench will present a distinct story about that groups involvement  with the design and making of their tiles. This is a much-needed addition to local community safety and active travel on the canal  towpath which  will provide new bespoke seating for anybody who is walking, cycling or just wants to sit and ponder the natural environment around  them.

Designing tiles
Focused on making tiles for the canal benches

Easter Carmuirs Primary School Climate Change Project

The Primary 7 class from the school have been undertaking  a climate change project with great enthusiasm and positive commitment as part of their Dynamic Youth Award Programme. Last week the class took part in a Climate & Biodiversity Action Day at The Falkirk Wheel with the aim of tackling climate change. This was an empowering learning experience as we looked at our Carbon footprints, the environmental damage of plastics and glass, marvelled at the biodiversity in the canal and the excellent water quality, discussed active travel to and from school, two bags of rubbish were also cleared from the canal from canoes, and congratulations to everyone who received their Climate &  biodiversity Action Day Certificates for taking part and contributing to our  #communityclimateactionplan. The towpath and canal also received an extensive litter pick as part  of Keep Scotland Beautifull’s national  #upstreambattle campaign to address the issue of plastics polluting our seas by preventing them getting into our waterways in the first place. The Group also planted pollinators around the Ochiltree Ave access point to the  canal towpath so we can all look forward to  a riot of colour and biodiversity on the towpath this spring.     

citizen science and biodiversity
Certificates for the biodiversity and climate change day at the Falkirk Wheel
#Upstreambattle
Access to the towpath
Preparing the ground for pollinators
Hard work
Stomping in the seeds

Carmuirs Primary School : Dynamic Youth Award Group

This Group has been following an issue based and activity programme of Youth Action in the community on their journey to achieving a Dynamic Youth  Award. This has been a very diverse programme where we have covered outdoor learning ,nature therapy , survival skills, canal clear up, planting pollinators, cooking and a workshop on alcohol and substance use. This Group has excelled in the  outdoor learning environment where  their den building skills were notable as were  their skills with using tools and lighting fires with natural materials. A Group goes through many stages of development and this Group from being very tentative have evolved through an   experiential  learning  process to be a creative and resilient group with a host of skills and positive attributes.  

Getting the plastic out our waterways
Sailing by
Another can removed
Listening to the well wild instructions
An amazing shelter
Hot cup of soup on a cold day
Beer goggles
A good night turned bad

Easter Carmuirs Pocket Places Project

I was really pleased to attend the concluding session with the SUSTRANS pocket places team at Easter Carmuirs Primary School last week to get a  tour of the installations and new features which were designed with the school and community to improve safe access to the school and encourage greater levels of active travel to and from the  school. The new seating and planters are visually very impressive and provide  an excellent new social space for parents and carers to meet when dropping of and picking up the youngsters at the school. New layouts and fencing in the school campus better manage vehicular traffic in the playground and create a much safer route and space for active travel in and out of the school. The installation of an extensive new ramp and expanded pathways make a significant contribution to more inclusive  access around the school. I had originally got involved with this project back in the early  days of the Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill Project and the development  of our local community safety strategy, it was therefore very rewarding to see this long-term project come to fruition.   

    

Twilight Sports in  the Easter School Holidays

After a very busy and high energy winter twilight sport sprgramme concluded at Easter Carmuirs Primary School on Friday 23rd February, I am happy to announce three twilight sports sessions for the Easter School holidays. We have been involving young volunteers with the Twilight sports and this is a feature we will build upon over the Easter holidays with young people receiving development training and the  opportunity to gain certificates in first aid, sports leadership and with food and hygiene. The programme over Easter will include football and rollerblading but there will also be opportunities to get involved with biodiversity and conservation activities in the park like tree planting and  some basic Bushcraft skills. As always food and drink will be provided and its all free for 10–16-year-olds, the programme is detailed below, please contact john@ttrohub.co.uk if you require any further information. (The full summer programme will return on Friday evenings in June)

camelon, community, Our Place, safety, tamfourhill

Keep Camelon and Tamfourhill clean, tidy, and green:

bighosie

Welcome to my second weekly blog which will be focused upon some of my thoughts regarding the initial responses from the Community Safety Survey.  I felt it would be useful to focus upon one theme each week and to get the ball rolling in the process of agreeing the likely community safety priorities, and what projects and activities can potentially be developed to address these local concerns.

You can find a summary of the survey responses at www.surveymonkey.com/stories/SM-DGDS9QRD/

This summary focuses on two of the themes and has been collated at the 6 July 2020. Please remember that in order to be entered into the prize draw to win a Tablet you must have completed a survey by the 7 August. You can find the survey at surveymonkey.com/r/7T2DVL8

Although the broader theme of environmental issues and open spaces has so far not been a particularly significant one, the detailed results within that theme have confirmed that 83% of respondents were either greatly or fairly concerned about: dog fouling, discarded rubbish/littering and fly-tipping. This therefore suggests that a priority area for development must involve clearing up badly littered spots/locations, keeping these areas clean and tidy and ensuring that the community, local businesses, and other agencies play an important and successful role with that process. I recently took some photographs of obvious locations that are strewn with litter and which are unsightly and a potential health risk. I also gave consideration as to how these areas could be improved and kept tidy whilst also contributing to the biodiversity and amenities within our local community. I’ve put them together in the video at the end of this weeks blog. This illustrates the negative areas and offers some possible ideas for transforming these locations for the benefit of both the community and the need for greater biodiversity.

Keep Scotland Beautiful:  Clean up Scotland Campaign

I have been researching anti-litter projects in different communities and I have found the work carried out by Keep Scotland Beautiful to be helpful, in particular their “Clean up Scotland Campaign.” This provides a workable template for Camelon and Tamfourhill and registering our local Projects with Keep Scotland Beautiful would facilitate many local benefits. Their approach is more than just about tidying up an area through holding litter picks, although that activity does feature, but in addition their tool kit provides guidance on developing your own local anti-litter campaigns. This involves publicity techniques, networking approaches and strategies for involving community groups, schools, local businesses, statutory agencies, and the media all working in partnership to successfully transform trouble spots into positive, recreational, and sustainable locations. The Organisation highlight their ISM approach, that stands for: Individual, Social & Material, and these three interrelated factors underpin their suggested approach to local community tidy up Projects.    

Here are some details lifted directly from Keep Scotland Beautiful Tool kit for Community Clean Ups.

Larger group actions:

Organise and register a Clean Up with us Clean Up Scotland is our widest reaching community campaign and so far over half a million people have been involved.  As a rapidly developing and widely recognisable volunteer activity, by organising a Clean Up you will be setting the example for others in your community and showing them that it really is possible to make a difference.  By wearing the bright recycled tabards, we supply, your group will also be providing others with a behavioural ‘nudge’, reminding people that littering will not be tolerated by the community.  It is really easy to register your Clean Up with us and to get advice and resources to make it a great success.  There is lots of useful information on the Clean Up Scotland pages of our website, but the community projects team are always happy to answer any of your queries by phone or email.

If you would like to register your Clean Up event, please visit: www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/register

“My walk to Tamfourhill Community Hub”