Youth Action in March 2024:
Our Youth Social Action throughout February and March has been focused upon tackling climate change, encouraging biodiversity and facilitating learning through creativity and public arts projects. We are grateful for the Climate Change Seed Funding we received from Forth Environment Link as this has enabled us to collaborate with the local schools, the Youth Action Group , Scottish Canals, Tamfourhill Community Hub and local volunteers. This approach has allowed the SCYAP to tackle local environmental issues and priorities in a creative way and in that respect I would like to thank our Community Artist Sarah Diver for her amazing inputs with the ongoing recycled bottle lids public mural project and her T-Shirt making at our Fab Feb climate change workshops. We have also worked closely with Scottish canals Environmental Manager Olivia Lassiere and Rebecca at their activities team who have significantly contributed to our Climate & Biodiversity Action Day at the Falkirk Wheel, our citizen science and towpath pollinator planting sessions and with several paddle pick-ups along the canal through Camelon and Tamfourhill. Encouraging active travel and the notion of the low traffic neighbourhood has also been on our agenda and it has been inspirational to work with @MakeitGlasgow from the wonderful Maryhill, who have been facilitating the creation and design of much required seating through the creation of six new benches for the canals towpaths. This Project has been enthusiastically supported by the Youth Action Groups from Carmuirs and Easter Carmuirs Primary Schools and the Community based Youth Action Group who have all been identifying themes through a mapping process and then designing and making ceramic and clay tiles for these new benches. The FEL funding has thus provided us with addionality to our ongoing Youth Action Programmes and enables aspects of our community development approach to be underpinned with improved biodiversity and very practical environmental improvement activities for young people which are also aligned to our Community Climate Action Plan. In addition, Rachel Timblin as part of her involvement with the Scottish Wildlife Trusts Pioneers Programme has been able to also support some community activities that have involved planting pollinators and building bird boxes and involved groups from Tamfourhill Community Hub, SCYAP and the Camelon Early Years and Childcare Centre.
The groups from the local schools are all being supported to complete Dynamic Youth Awards and this approach is demonstrating how experiential learning and wider achievement can be recognised and effectively accredited. This wider community development approach is evident within all of our current Youth Action Projects where strong links between young people , the wider community, local agencies and the schools are being established. Here are some key examples of local youth action that have been happening over the last 6 weeks:
The Recycled Bottle Top Mural Project
The Recycled Bottle Top Mural Project involves groups from Carmuirs Primary School , the Community based Youth Action Group and a group from Falkirk High School who are all tackling the problem of littering and in particular the environmental damage caused by plastic bottle tops. Climate Change and environmental improvement were key issues that young people had identified in the summer of 2023 through their involvement with the Safer Communities Youth Action Projects Development plan.
The recycled bottle tops mural project is funded in part by Forth Environment links Climate Change Seed funding. Tackling climate change creatively is the focus of this project where the different groups of young people have carried out community litter picks and gathered plastic bottle lids and instead of them ending up in landfill to take hundreds of years to breakdown are being used to create a community mural which itself will contribute to community improvement. This is an upcycling project which is facilitating young people’s expressive and creative skills, improving the environment whilst raising awareness of climate change at a community level. This Youth Social Action approach has a dual benefit where there is community improvement and also a direct benefit to the participating young people where their involvement has enabled them to gain Dynamic Youth and Saltire Awards which are nationally recognised certificates of achievement
The New Canal Benches Project with We Make It Glasgow.
This Project began with groups from the local primary schools and the community YAG mapping out the local canals and the key locations and sites in their community. We looked at different perspectives of the canal, its central role through the history of Camelon and Tamfourhill , its polluted past and its more recent regeneration as a location for recreation, active travel and improved biodiversity. The young people have been designing ceramic and clay tiles based on these different themes and the natural environment around and in the canal which they identified as being significant. The finished benches will be decorated with these individualised tiles and each groups bench will present a distinct story about that groups involvement with the design and making of their tiles. This is a much-needed addition to local community safety and active travel on the canal towpath which will provide new bespoke seating for anybody who is walking, cycling or just wants to sit and ponder the natural environment around them.
Easter Carmuirs Primary School Climate Change Project
The Primary 7 class from the school have been undertaking a climate change project with great enthusiasm and positive commitment as part of their Dynamic Youth Award Programme. Last week the class took part in a Climate & Biodiversity Action Day at The Falkirk Wheel with the aim of tackling climate change. This was an empowering learning experience as we looked at our Carbon footprints, the environmental damage of plastics and glass, marvelled at the biodiversity in the canal and the excellent water quality, discussed active travel to and from school, two bags of rubbish were also cleared from the canal from canoes, and congratulations to everyone who received their Climate & biodiversity Action Day Certificates for taking part and contributing to our #communityclimateactionplan. The towpath and canal also received an extensive litter pick as part of Keep Scotland Beautifull’s national #upstreambattle campaign to address the issue of plastics polluting our seas by preventing them getting into our waterways in the first place. The Group also planted pollinators around the Ochiltree Ave access point to the canal towpath so we can all look forward to a riot of colour and biodiversity on the towpath this spring.
Carmuirs Primary School : Dynamic Youth Award Group
This Group has been following an issue based and activity programme of Youth Action in the community on their journey to achieving a Dynamic Youth Award. This has been a very diverse programme where we have covered outdoor learning ,nature therapy , survival skills, canal clear up, planting pollinators, cooking and a workshop on alcohol and substance use. This Group has excelled in the outdoor learning environment where their den building skills were notable as were their skills with using tools and lighting fires with natural materials. A Group goes through many stages of development and this Group from being very tentative have evolved through an experiential learning process to be a creative and resilient group with a host of skills and positive attributes.
Easter Carmuirs Pocket Places Project
I was really pleased to attend the concluding session with the SUSTRANS pocket places team at Easter Carmuirs Primary School last week to get a tour of the installations and new features which were designed with the school and community to improve safe access to the school and encourage greater levels of active travel to and from the school. The new seating and planters are visually very impressive and provide an excellent new social space for parents and carers to meet when dropping of and picking up the youngsters at the school. New layouts and fencing in the school campus better manage vehicular traffic in the playground and create a much safer route and space for active travel in and out of the school. The installation of an extensive new ramp and expanded pathways make a significant contribution to more inclusive access around the school. I had originally got involved with this project back in the early days of the Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill Project and the development of our local community safety strategy, it was therefore very rewarding to see this long-term project come to fruition.
Twilight Sports in the Easter School Holidays
After a very busy and high energy winter twilight sport sprgramme concluded at Easter Carmuirs Primary School on Friday 23rd February, I am happy to announce three twilight sports sessions for the Easter School holidays. We have been involving young volunteers with the Twilight sports and this is a feature we will build upon over the Easter holidays with young people receiving development training and the opportunity to gain certificates in first aid, sports leadership and with food and hygiene. The programme over Easter will include football and rollerblading but there will also be opportunities to get involved with biodiversity and conservation activities in the park like tree planting and some basic Bushcraft skills. As always food and drink will be provided and its all free for 10–16-year-olds, the programme is detailed below, please contact john@ttrohub.co.uk if you require any further information. (The full summer programme will return on Friday evenings in June)
