news – Page 2 – Safer Communities Youth Action Project

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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Connecting with the outdoors in all seasons:

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This may not sound like a very seasonal topic to be highlighting in this the last Safer Communities Youth Action Blog for 2023, however our recent partnership with the Well Wild – A Therapeutic approach to Forest Schools and Bushcraft is proving to be an exciting and inspirational way of supporting both local youth action and our ongoing #ConnectingwiththeOutdoors programme. The nights may have got darker and the weather colder and wetter as we have moved through the autumn and into the winter, but these conditions can in fact add value to the quality of our outdoor experiences whilst continuing to facilitate positive mental wellbeing.

https://www.well-wild.co.uk/

After our successful summer programme 23 and our ongoing Connecting with the Outdoors programme where we have enjoyed a wide array of outdoor experiences, including: water-based activities on the canal in canoes and a fantastic cruise with the Seagull Trust, angling at different fisheries and locally at the Falkirk Wheel, archery, Bushcraft and survival skills out in the woods at Tamfourhill and Rough Castle. These sessions received very positive feedback from the members of the Recovery Community , local volunteers and the young people who had taken part over the summer. These outdoor activities are also underpinned by a therapeutic and mindfulness approach to being in the outdoors and this was reflected in our Mindfulness Monday Programme with the Forth Valley Recovery Community and supported by Scottish Canals. The positive value to our mental wellbeing through engaging with the outdoors has been well documented and our Falkirk Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing funding from the Scottish Government is focussed upon these very attributes. The primary aim is to better connect people with their community through them engaging with the natural assets and wild green places within Camelon and Tamfourhill. This process will facilitate improved mental and physical wellbeing and encourage greater community cohesion through connecting people with natural local places. The Project was also very much concerned with raising awareness of the benefits of being outdoors and how activities in nature can have a lasting positive impact upon your mental and physical wellbeing. A very successful aspect of our Connecting with the Outdoors Programme has been how it has enabled people to come together in groups to form supportive relationships and share learning and outdoor experiences and this aspect has been recognised and expressed by the members of the local Recovery Community and other local volunteers. The local Recovery Community will be undertaking a programme of four consecutive sessions with the Well Wild Project starting in early January and I will regularly highlight these sessions on our social media platforms in the New Year.

The Recovery Community angling at the Lilly Loch in North Lanarkshire

Having noted how positively local young people in particular were responding to outdoor learning and our previous successful John Muir Award Group and linked to our key outcome: Young People will improve their mental and physical health and wellbeing, forming a partnership with the Well Wild Project based in the local Rough Castle Woods made absolute sense. That Project had also positively engaged a group of local young people with an innovative programme of restorative justice in response to some acts of vandalism and with the support of our Local Community Police Officers we have begun a new collaborative approach to delivering outdoor learning through Bushcraft , survival skills and mindfulness . The Well Wild Safer Communities Outreach Programme will endeavour to connect with young people who may be at risk of becoming involved with Anti-social behaviour and other community safety concerns through a programme of street-based outreach engagement, through our Twilight sports programme and through linking with the local schools. A key aspect of this collaboration with the Well Wild: A therapeutic approach to Bushcraft and forest schools, is to utilise that local facility and approach as a means for young people to build a wide array of social skills which will improve their resilience, self-esteem, confidence, problem solving skills and ability to adapt to challenging circumstances. The therapeutic underpinning of the outdoor learning aspect of this project will offer a unique opportunity for some local young people to tackle personal issues and better equip them to deal with challenges that they may be facing at home, in the community and at work or in education.

The accreditation aspect which can be provided through the SCYAP will facilitate an important method of enabling young people to acknowledge their own learning and achievements and this is well aligned to another of our key outcomes; Young people will increase their social skills, confidence and levels of attainment. The new year will bring in several new Youth Action Groups who will directly benefit form this new local partnership and work has just begun with a group of P7 young people at Carmuirs Primary School. Potentially there are three additional groups from Easter Carmuirs Primary School a group from Falkirk High School and the continuation of our community-based youth groups one of whom took part in an introduction session in the Tamfourhill woods a couple of weeks ago.

And to finish with the outdoors theme the Scouting movement are keen to start activities in Camelon, Tamfourhill & Bantaskin, I am sure there would be lots of local young people interested in getting involved , however volunteer leaders would be required to get this established in the area.

I recently met with representatives of local scouting. They are trying to see if there is any demand for scouting locally. They are looking at the possibility of starting scouting in the area for the 4-14 age groups and potentially also older age groups. They are particularly interested at this stage if any adults over the age of 18 who might be interested in getting involved as leaders in the initiative

Please get in touch with John@ttrohub.co.uk or on 07391524528 or contact Falkirk District Scouts directly at: development@falkirkscouts.org.uk

coach, Our Place, Support

Community Coach Announcement

20/01/202219/01/2022 Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill

Community Coach Blog, Dan Rous, 20 January 2022

This is a transcript of the video shared on social media today. If you’ve landed here and would rather listen in, the video is also inserted at the foot of this blog.

Hi there. Dan here, your Community Coach. I’m bringing you a very different blog this week as it’s me talking directly to you. I have something important to share so wanted to do it personally rather than just type it out. (Although you’ve chosen to read this instead so ignore that bit!! To be honest, I wouldn’t listen to me either!!)

So what is this important piece of news? Well, quite simply, I am here to announce that, with regret, the time has come for me to move on from this role with Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill. An opportunity has presented itself to me which I pressed into and found it to be of interest to me on many levels. So I will be finishing up as your Community Coach at the end of February.

I have genuinely loved every second of the last 21 months as I’ve walked alongside you, the lovely people of Camelon and Tamfourhill. The time will come to review things properly but for now, the highlights have been:

the creation of some new resident led organisations, especially Tidy Clean Green,
helping bring the THRIVE to Keep Well programme to the area, supporting and encouraging local women through that,
Supporting community growing activities in collaboration with residents and organisations in the area, including securing funding for community tool sheds and planting trees and bulbs in the area,
Bringing a bicycle repair scheme to the area that will be kicking off again soon with a new local group,
Helping existing local groups access relevant funding and other development support,
Facilitating the Fun in the Park event in Easter Carmuirs Park,
Bringing new training opportunities to local people,
Helping people with CVs and Job Applications and now seeing them in work,
Raising the profile of the area both with local authorities and organisations, but also nationally, to help a move towards bringing positive change.

There has been so much more but those stand out for me just now.

Of course, there are disappointments as well. Many things are left undone (either not started or paused midway through) and some groups have not moved forwards. With a quick scan around, many will say that nothing has changed and you could be forgiven for thinking that way. But in collaboration with John as we work alongside you, so much foundational change has happened and the future does look brighter – it just might take longer to get there than anyone hoped. Of course, Covid hasn’t helped us and it’s been frustrating to say the least not to be able to do many of the things we wanted to. But we must not be downhearted. There is so much to celebrate and, because I live here, I will continue to celebrate all that is good around here.

After the end of February I’m not going to disappear completely – it’s not in my nature to do so. (Sorry!!) There’s a couple of things that I’ll put my weight behind as a community volunteer but more on that at the appropriate time. I cannot remain in this community and not get involved. Hopefully others of you will continue to step forward and get involved in being the change. We cannot sit back and wait for things to happen. Unless we throw our collective skills and experiences together into the ring, the area will just stand still.

So there you have it. That’s the news for now. We’ll update you on what the plans are for a replacement for me in due course. Maybe there’s an opportunity for one of you to get involved? In the meantime, I will continue at pace to fulfil what is required of me. If you have any suggestions, questions, or need some support or guidance with something for you or your organisation to develop, then get in touch in the usual ways.

Take care. Stay safe. And keep getting involved.

Until next time…….

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

Video version of the above text