tamfourhill – Safer Communities Youth Action Project

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 31^st 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 15^th, 16^th and 17^th 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 13^th 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 16^th 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

30/09/2025 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 15^th, 16^th and 17^th 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 8^th 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 29^th 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 13^th 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

07/08/2025 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 16^th 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

Light Nights and Twilight Sports and the launch of the Camelon CAP

28/05/202529/05/2025 bighosie

The seasons seem to move so quickly and with the arrival of the lighter nights and with such an amazing spring we have speedily arrived at the start of this year’s Twilight Sports Programme. We look forward to welcoming lots of regular faces and hopefully plenty of new ones to the opening session on Friday 30^th May 6pm-9pm in Easter Carmuirs park. Once again we will have the Falkirk Wheelers providing the Skating and the football being provided in conjunction with Stenhousemuir FC Community Foundation. The full programme is detailed below and over the 12 weeks we will have all the usual big games , food and drink , a monthly barbecue, nature based and creative activities and Forth Environment Links Dr Bike in attendance for 6 weeks of the programme providing their fabulous bike maintenance service. Dr Bike along with our regular visits from the Fire and Rescue Service and community police officers are reminders of this programmes community safety approach. The origins of the Twilights sports are to be found in the Our Place Community Safety Strategy for Camelon and Tamfourhill and we continue to align the Twilight Programme to that purpose. This is achieved through providing local young people a safe place to socialise, take part in games and sport , form positive relationships with the different services and link into other community learning opportunities all on Friday nights in local public parks.

The Community safety strategy remains a relevant framework for supporting wider local Youth Action, and that has been reflected over the last six months with the SCYAP and local young people’s ongoing role and involvement with developing and confirming the Camelon Community Action Plan. The Falkirk Community Planning Partnership describes a community action plan (CAP) as a participatory tool that helps community members identify and address the problems, needs, and potential within their community. It also aims to encourage community involvement and management of their environment. A community action plan can include various programs and activities that are designed to improve the quality of life and well-being of the community The Camelon CAP was officially launched last Tuesday evening 20^TH May in the Forth Valley Sensory Centre and it was an amazing experience for some of the young people involved with SCYAP , along with members of our Youth Action Group , young people from the local primary schools, staff and volunteers to all attend the multi-agency community launch and provide three youth action stalls. I cannot praise the young people highly enough, they were brilliant ambassadors for their peers, schools, youth project and the community and they provided a real sense of community participation throughout the event. The Link to the Camelon CAP is below:

Click to access CamCAP-Apr2025.pdf

Our Community artist was also in attendance at the launch and aligned to the CAP ethos and its engagement process we showcased our two big community arts and environmental improvement projects. The nature, active travel mural and totem pole installations for Camelon Railway Station were well received by the leader of the Council and the representatives of the other organisations and the mural in particular also received lots of interest from local people. The benches and planter for Easter Carmuirs Park was also very popular and people got a chance to add their decorative prints to a scaled version of the bench. There is a diary of sessions and workshops for community involvement and participation with the Railway Station project , young people just turn up at the workshops at Tamfourhill Community Hub and the sessions at the railway station will operate on a drop-in basis. The plan is to hold an official opening of the Railway station art installations along with an active travel day in mid-July, and we will off course publicise that day’s events and how you can get involved. I would like to personally thank Scotrail for their funding towards this project and the support of Network Rail.

programme details community arts at Camelon Railway station Download

Our third stall was presented by our young volunteer Leo Cierpikowski and highlighted and celebrated our various Youth Awards programmes and activities. Leo himself has recently begun his Silver Youth Achievement Award after successfully gaining his Bronze. His Silver challenge is focussed upon further developing his leadership skills and community involvement. This young man is an outstanding role model and community activist and can have a significant leadership role with the relvevant aspects of the Camelon CAP.

The SCYAP Summer Programme 2025 is scheduled to begin on July 4^th, and it will be a programme that includes creativity, community projects, outdoor learning and an overnight survival experience, canal-based activities and lots of summer fun in the park. In next month’s blog I will publish the full programme and details of how to get booked onto the sessions.

community

Successful Climate Action Events and our Easter programme 2025

28/03/2025 bighosie

The Community Climate Action Plan for Camelon and Tamfourhill was developed by a core group of local partners and that process was facilitated by Keep Scotland Beautiful throughout the spring and summer 2022. The Plan has facilitated a number of local climate action projects, including: The very recently completed Tamfourhill Energy Efficiency and Net Zero Hub Project, a wide array of environmental improvement projects, community growing initiatives and young person led community arts recycling projects. Although this Plan continues to be a valuable framework for tackling climate change at a community level, SCYAP believed it could be greatly enhanced and reinvigorated by organising young person led Climate Action Events. These would involve various hands-on workshops facilitating experiential learning, were empowering and giving young people a meaningful voice, encouraging further collaboration between the community, schools and relevant agencies and successfully identifying young people’s priorities for future community-based climate action in Camelon and Tamfourhill. The Climate Action Events were delivered through February and March 2025 and were part funded through the FEL Seed Grant Funding and the SCYAP core youth action funds. The intention is to now confirm a delivering plan for local young person climate action over the next 12 months which will be fully aligned to our existing CCAP.

Climate Action event 7th March programme Download

83 Young people, 10-15 years old took part in 3 Climate Change Events held at Tamfourhill Community Hub , involving Carmuirs and Easter Carmuirs Primary Schools, Falkirk High School and members of the SCYAP Youth Awards Group. They all participated in a number of themed workshops, including:

Recycle, Reuse , Reduce: Our SCYAP Community artist delivered a workshop focused on sewing, using left over materials and fabrics and which attempted to share skills in sewing and reusing materials as a way or example of how to reduce waste. The young people were tasked with creating badges which contained a symbol of a climate opportunity they felt was most important to them and based upon the Falkirk Schools Climate Agreement. It was noted that young people felt most connected to protecting the natural environment and wildlife, with energy and transport also being important – waste and food growing seemed to be much less important.

Waste Management : Falkirk Council facilitated an interactive workshop around the councils approaches to waste management and highlighting the environmental impacts of waste, litter and fly tipping.
Sustainable food networks: This workshop was delivered by FEL and involved watching some video footage and discussing facts about the environmental impact of world-wide food production and some food tasting took place.
Active Travel and reducing our Carbon footprint: These sessions were delivered by FEL Project Officers and Falkirk Councils Energy and Climate Change Coordinator. In the first activity young people were asked to indicate which actions they thought would result in the highest Greenhouse Gas reductions using counters on a table and the groups then talked through discrepancies between beliefs held by the general public and the reality of potential Greenhouse Gas emissions reductions. Young people indicated which actions they would be willing to take using counters, they also discussed the practicalities of taking on these actions and weighing up other concerns with making those emission savings (e.g. financial cost, time, and convenience) the second activity was focussed upon making suitable net zero adaptations in the Communithy and encouraged creativity and problem-solving, with participants sharing their thoughts on how to improve the environment. Over 150 ideas and observations were submitted, covering a range of topics such as reducing pollution, active travel, increasing green spaces, and using renewable energy sources. The workshop helped the young participants understand the importance of sustainable living, showing them how small changes in their communities can have a big impact on the planet. The event emphasised practical actions like better waste management, more eco-friendly transport options, and the need for greener buildings. Finally, was an opportunity for every young person to have a go at the very popular smoothie bike: At this activity the young people spoke about how the energy we create from our own bodies can be used to help the environment, from walking or cycling to school, to powering a blender that would usually be powered by electricity, by bike and therefore our bodied energy. The fruits that were used in the smoothie bike were all healthy and fairtrade and this emphasised the positive impact that healthy food can have on our bodies and on the planet. This approach was further emphasised by the opportunity for every young person to make their own fruit kebab as a low carbon snack

Helping Nature & the Environment: This input was delivered by volunteers from SCYAP and the Scottish Wildlife Trust and had 2 distinct elements, firstly; young people were tasked with building bat boxes, bird nesting boxes and bug hotels, it was very hands on and very much enjoyed by the young people with 14 boxes being built over the 3 events, and secondly: groups of young people were accompanied to the woodland area beside the Hub to carry out a survey and analysis of the different habitats and places for wildlife, and taking consideration of some of the challenges and risks to these habitats, especially in relation of littering. This session concluded with a litter pick of the woods and later the installation of the bird, bug and bat boxes along with a hedgehog house.

Plenary and casting your votes session: Each event concluded with an opportunity for every young person to cast 2 votes, a first and second preference vote for their priorities for local climate action. The intention was for young people to cast their votes in line with their experiential learning over the day, and there were six themed ballot boxes for casting their votes:
Campaigning for Climate Change
Community Growing Projects
Environmental Improvement Projects
Encourage Active Travel
Helping Nature & Encouraging Biodiversity
Recycle, Reuse & Reduce

The Next Steps:

Having collated the voting returns as detailed above an action plan will now be proposed for young person led climate action in Camelon and Tamfourhill. Although priorities vary between age groups the feedback from partners workshops allied to young people’s voting response indicates that the key areas for future activity should be focused upon:

Encouraging active travel
Campaigning for local Climate Action
Helping nature and encouraging biodiversity
Community growing projects.

A draft report with recommendations for a young person led climate action plan will be presented to the next meeting of our CCAP Core Group on 22^nd April 2025, I will off course present that outcome in Mays SCYAP blog, with the view to full implementation from the summer of 2025. Watch this space !

Any finally:

Our Easter Programme 2025: All activities are free, food & drink are provided, you just turn up and if required registration forms will be issued. The Twilight Sports sessions are open to all 10–16-year-olds and I am pleased to advise that Dr Bike will be in attendance along with the smoothie bike at each twilight sports sessions over the 3 locations , the snacks will be pizzas and make your own fruit kebabs.

The Canal benches celebration on Friday 11th April 12noon to 4pm is being hosted by our Youth Action Group and is open to all the community, we would advise however that anyone under 10 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. The programme on the 11th will include: arts & creativity, nature activities, active travel, an angling taster opportunity , a barbecue with fruit kebabs and live musical entertainment.

Thanks to our partners: FEL Scotland Falkirk Wheelers Go Forth and Clyde Make it Glasgow

Further details available at: john@ttrohub.co.uk & 07391524528

community

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

31/10/2024 bighosie

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 8^th November from 6pm-8pm in Tamfourhill Community Hub. The main activities will be football and rollerblading and on the 8^th 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 14^th 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

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

24/06/202424/06/2024 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 6^th 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:

community

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

23/05/202423/05/2024 bighosie

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.

community

Fab Feb Youth Action Activities

02/02/202402/02/2024 bighosie

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

community

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

31/10/202325/01/2024 bighosie

Twilight Sports returns for the winter programme 2023-24

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

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

Mindfulness and Sensory Benches installed in local park:

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

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

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

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

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

Young People will have better connections with the wider Community

Young people will improve their mental and physical health and wellbeing

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

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

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

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

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

Documents for reference:

SCYAP Key Outcomes and Development Plan (Full document)

scyap-development-plan-sept-23 Download

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

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

Young People and Community Safety in Camelon and Tamfourhill

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

Tag: tamfourhill

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

The Right to Play, Youth Participation and Climate Week

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

Light Nights and Twilight Sports and the launch of the Camelon CAP

Successful Climate Action Events and our Easter programme 2025

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

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

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

Fab Feb Youth Action Activities

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