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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 20% match funding also  being  secured from the Scottish Power Energy Networks Transmission 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.    

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The Return of the Twilight Sports Programme, and does anyone want to go fishing ?

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The nights are darker, and winter is here, so I am glad to illuminate the gloom by announcing that  the Twilight Sports Winter Programme returns on Friday 8th November from 6pm-8pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub. The main activities will be football and rollerblading and on the 8th we will also have Dr Bike in attendance who will service your bikes for winter and issue every cyclist with a light. The Programme is open to all 10 – 16-year-olds and food and drink will be provided, and this is all free of charge thanks to our funders at the Falkirk Community Schools Fund and the National Lottery Young Start Programme. There will be some special sporting activities on the programme, and these will be confirmed and announced nearer to the particular date, the regular programme is detailed on the attached flyer.

I am very disappointed that the Twilight Sports  Programme will not be visiting Easter Carmuirs Primary School this winter and this is due to Facilities Management  banning rollerblading from  all Falkirk Council  school halls and gymnasiums. We did not want  to deliver part of the Programme without our valued colleagues and partners the Falkirk Wheelers, so the decision had to be made to not make use of the school hall at Easter Carmuirs. I know this is to the disadvantage off young people from that neighbourhood, but we would consider some type of safe transport provision  for these young people ,if there was demonstrable intertest. I would like to explicitly put on record my opposition to this ban and I am particularly frustrated at how an engaging healthy sporting activity like this can be spuriously removed from the community and indeed the school curriculum. There is inconvenience to us locally and community safety concerns however there is also a much bigger picture here where young people are being prevented from participating in a very  healthy sporting activity that addresses health inequalities , reduces the attainment gap and facilitates positive social development. There has been objections raised, and an informal campaign being promoted by the Falkirk Wheelers and we fully support all of  their actions and would encourage parents , careers and concerned individuals and groups to approach elected members or highlight the matter in any local or national forums. A summary to the background to this situation can be found here:   https://falkirkwheelers.co.uk/mitie_ban.php I would also like to use this opportunity of thanking the Committee at Tamfourhill Community Hub who have been willing to accommodate the entire winter Twilight Sports programme from November through to February, it is very much appreciated.

On a much more positive note, I am delighted to report on the  formation of a new partnership between the SCYAP and the Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling, which will deliver a bespoke angling programme for local young people. I am aware that many young people enjoy fishing on the local canals, and we have also ran fishing trips as part of our summer programmes, so this new partnership will provide an excellent  accredited learning opportunity. The course will begin on Thursday 14th November at Tamfourhill Community Hub at 6pm and will involve some indoor sessions and then coached angling sessions at Magiscroft Coarse Fishery, the local canals and a trout fishery. All the participating young people will be able to gain a national award and the programme will includes: water safety, fish biology, fish welfare and safe handling of fish, fishing tackle and tackling up and of course the best methods and approaches to catching fish. There will also be volunteering opportunities provided and the potential to then go on to gain an angling coach qualification , this is a fully funded package and there will be no cost for the young people or volunteers. If you are interested  then please contact me directly at john@ttrohub.co.uk and more details about the SFCA can be found here: https://www.sfca.co.uk/

The Community Climate Action Plan has to date facilitated many opportunities and a wide array of  activities like community growing initiatives, encouraging biodiversity, active travel and the  Tamfourhill energy efficiency and net zero hub project, and this has involved various groups and schools throughout  Camelon and Tamfourhill. The time felt right for a relaunch of the CCAP and in line with the ethos of Youth  Action it seemed very appropriate to revisit the Plan  and involve young people with confirming the current priorities for tacking climate change at a community level. The SCYAP were recently successful in securing another FEL Seed Grant with the purpose of relaunching our CCAP and fully involving young people with that process. In partnership with FEL we will be holding a number of roadshow events in the community where young people and the existing CCAP Core Group members can revisit the original plan and enhance those actions or indeed set new local climate change actions. These events will provide a hands-on experience with different activities being available that involve active travel, community growing, examples of sustainability and creativity with the arts, and all involving some element of fun based consultation. I will keep the community updated with this project and how young people and others can get directly involved. The key will be to take  part in meaningful activities  but to also further develop our plan to include a very strong youth led  programme of actions.

  

Another environmental improvement opportunity has been made possible through   the Volunteering Matters  Action Earth Project. This will be about establishing several community orchards around the local area, and I hope that a variety of groups will come on board with this activity.  I again will highlight this Project on our social media platforms and in the meantime if anybody has a particular interest with establishing community orchards then please do get in touch with me directly: john@ttrohub.co.uk

Next months blog will be focused upon the Camelon Community Action Plan and in particular  the youth consultation process and the developing work of the Nailer Road Safer Streets Group.

community

Supporting Young People’s Readiness to Learn and Getting on Yer Bike

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 I  want to use the main section of this month’s Youth Action Blog to celebrate our recent #Summerprogramme2024 and to align aspects of the successes of that Programme with the findings of the  recent Youthlink publication:  The Role of Youth Work in Supporting Young people’s readiness to learn. This report is also particularly relevant to the recent work that SCYAP carried out in partnership with local schools ,as the Youthlink report notes: The factors impacting upon school attendance and engagement are complex whilst it also acknowledges that school cannot effectively tackle these issues alone. Evidence is presented that highlights the invaluable contribution of a Youth Work approach and how that methodology  can positively contribute to successfully addressing the Scottish Governments Attainment Challenge.

A SCYAP key outcome is that Young People should increase their social skills, confidence to learn and their levels of attainment. This was achieved on two levels  through our Summer Programme, firstly by the variety and quantity of national accreditations that young people undertook over the summer.  Our Evaluation report notes that 18 accredited programmes were completed, including 14 Dynamic Youth Awards, 2 High 5 Awards and with 2 older young people significantly progressing their Bronze Youth Achievement Awards. The second level is not as quantifiable but would include the development of  a wide array of soft skills or what are sometimes referred to as core skills, including; resilience, confidence, decision making, forming positive peer relationships, improving their capacity and confidence  to learn  and a willingness to take on new challenges. The participating young people did this in spades over the summer, the comments and reflections of our  partners at the  Well Wild  Project absolutely highlight these very attributes and the feedback from all the staff and partners involved with the programme delivery scored this facet a very high average of 9.4 on their feedback survey responses. This is similarly reflected in young people’s own evaluation and feedback forms with 72% indicating they had learnt new skills and scoring on average 7.4 on a scale of 10 in  relation to how their confidence to learn had improved through their involvement with the programme. This process is very apparent within the Youthlink report :  Youth work offers young people a wider range of pathways for learning and achievement that can be offered in the classroom, providing more personalisation, choice and agency in learning  This fits very nicely with the experiences of our Group who undertook the Bushcraft and Survival programme,  further the Youthlink report notes  that the success of  a youth work approach is because young people enjoy experiential learning and different contexts for learning, including practical learning and learning outdoors in the community. Young people value the opportunity that youth work gives them to shape their own learning and develop a greater sense of personal agency. This was very much echoed in the work that was undertaken in the Community Arts Project and the Bushcraft and survival programme , John Wells of the Well Wild Project noted in his evaluation feedback that:

The entire  experience was Young person 

friendly and ensured that their learning outcomes/ targets

were met in full. Their learning targets  had all been 

chosen by the young people  themselves, and they had identified what 

they would like to gain out of this Bushcraft programme and overnight wild camping

experience.

And further John explains:

They learned how to build trust, good relationships, and the importance of working as a team & also have gained the ability to work on their own independently how to take instructions and how to learn from their mistakes

And in relation to learning in different contexts and outside in the community, Sarah Diver Laing our Community artist noted that:

It was nice to see the young

people directly engage with the

outdoors and I felt there was the

right balance during this

programme of imagination,

creativity, play and engagement

in places and the community.

These young people then have not only gained a recognised certificate of achievement  they have evolved in confidence and in their ability and willingness to learn , and this is also a positive outcome for the young people’s capacity to learn within the school curriculum and beyond and will impact positively upon the wider community.

Another significant highlight of the #Summerprogramme2024 was the Junior Sports Leadership Award, and it was really great to see some young people who have been regular participants at the Twilight Sports  over the last few months take that involvement onto another  level. I have every confidence in this Groups ability to now lead on delivering sports and games sessions with their peers and  with  younger children, An array of skills in planning , leadership and communication were developed and underpinning all of these attributes was a notable growth in confidence and self-belief. The Group members are now being linked in with the Active Schools coordinators and hopefully  they will get further involved with sports leadership activities within their respective schools. An important aspect to this is community capacity building and it would be the SCYAP longer term aim to support these young people to become sports leaders and coaches at our Twilight sports programme and other community-based sports and youth provisions.

My concluding remarks about our Summer of activities relates to our significant key outcome: that Young People will have better connections with the wider community. This featured heavily in our evaluations and feedback responses and undoubtedly this has been a significant success. We focus our activities on local assets like the Tamfourhill Community Hub , the local parks in Easter Carmuirs and Nailer Road and our outdoor learning is generally focussed on the canals and  local woodland. We support young people to be visible in their own community and to link in with local community assets and other projects and organisations. Underpinning all of this is our commitment to make community Learning and development a fun experience and one that is built around the views, circumstances, needs and aspirations of the young people themselves.

SCYAP #Summerprogramme Evaluation report is available in full here:

summer programme 2024 Evaluation reportDownload

Youthlink report: Role of Youth Work in supporting young people’s readiness to learn :

Click to access The-Role-of-Youth-Work-in-Supporting-Young-Peoples-Readiness-to-Learn-.pdf

On Yer Bike!

We are fortunate to have the support of volunteers without whom we could not deliver this range and quality of programmes and activities for young people and indeed link that Youth Action in a meaningful way with the wider community. In that respect I would like to take this opportunity to both thank and highlight the contributions over the last year and beyond of Rachel Timblin. Rachels contributions are dynamic and varied and go way beyond the activities delivered by SCYAP, in particular her work with community growing , the Scottish Wildlife Trust and with support services for people impacted by Hepatitis B. Rachel is also a stalwart of the Twilight Sports Programme and quite simply the programme could not run without her involvement and support. It therefore was fabulous and fitting that Rachel was recently awarded with a bicycle from FEL as part of their  Free Bikes For Forth Valley Volunteers Scheme, more information about this initiative can be found here: https://felscotland.org/news-and-events/free-bikes-for-forth-valley-volunteers/

Here is Rachel being presented with  her new bike by FEL staff at a recent Twilight Sports session in Easter Carmuirs Park:

Thanks Rachel

#Summerprogramme2024 can be viewed here:

Summer prgramme 2024 SCYAPDownload

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 20% match funding being recently secured from the SP Energy Networks Transmission Net Zero Fund. This really is a success story with the Hub who are 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

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

bighosie


Twilight Sports returns for the summer season 2024 on Friday 7th 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.

community

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 7th 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 9th 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 12th and Tuesday 13th 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

Preparing the ground for pollinators
Rubbish collected
Litter Survey

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

community

Connecting with the outdoors in all seasons:

bighosie

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
Working with knifes

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.

enjoying marsh mallows on the fire
Checking out the wild flower meadow in the woods
Tamfourhill Woods

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

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