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

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

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

Climate Change and Creativity

25/03/202426/03/2024 bighosie

Youth Action in March 2024:

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

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

The Recycled Bottle Top Mural Project

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

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

The New Canal Benches Project with We Make It Glasgow.

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

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 23^rd 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)

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: #YouthAction

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

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

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:

Climate Change and Creativity

Youth Action in March 2024:

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