GROUNDWORK IN ACTION ANNUAL REVIEW 2016
GROUNDWORK CHANGES PLACES AND CHANGES LIVES ONE GREEN STEP AT A TIME. We’re the community charity with a green heart. We’re passionate about creating a future where everywhere is vibrant and green, every community is strong and able to shape its own destiny and everyone can reach their potential. We’ve been working for 35 years to build better, greener lives in the places that need it most. We help people to carry out thousands of projects each year. We’re committed to practical action to build stronger communities with better local environments, to tackle climate change and combat fuel poverty, to improve skills and get people back into work and to inspire the next generation of community champions and green leaders.
3,500
350,000 DAYS OF VOLUNTARY ACTION BY ADULTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE
PROJECTS DELIVERED
£62 M 3,000
8,500
43,000
PEOPLE SUPPORTED INTO TRAINING, EDUCATION OR EMPLOYMENT
TONNES OF CO² EMISSIONS AVOIDED
HOUSEHOLDS SUPPORTED WITH ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY VISITS
INVESTED IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE UK
19.3 MILLION M
2
OF LAND IMPROVED OR MAINTAINED
3,000 TONNES OF WASTE DIVERTED FROM LANDFILL
16,500 TREES PLANTED
A HELPING HAND FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES
It’s now 35 years since Groundwork was established as an experiment to help people build a better quality of life in areas beset by social and economic challenges. The principles underpinning the Groundwork approach were practical action and partnership working. The early Groundwork pioneers adopted the ‘self-help’ focus of the global development movement and heeded the early warning signals of climate change. The mission was to be enterprising, solutions-focused and to help councils, communities and companies work together to bring about change, often with very scarce resources. Helping local authorities deliver more for less, equipping communities to take more control over their neighbourhoods and unlocking private resources to support public services were the priorities then. They’re also the priorities now. Groundwork’s strategy for 2020 commits us to creating better places, improving people’s prospects and promoting greener living and working. It also commits us to targeting our support in those places that need it most, to working preventatively to save bigger and more expensive problems arising in future and to managing our own business to ensure maximum resources are invested in front line delivery. We’re making good progress. We’ve improved more green spaces than we planned in the last year and our Green Doctors are well on their way to bringing energy and water efficiency advice to more than 100,000 households. We’re working steadily towards our target of helping 10,000 people progress into further education, training or work.
We won’t rest on our laurels and we’ll keep innovating. As councils continue to make difficult funding choices, we will need to apply all of our learning and ingenuity to ensure our rich tapestry of green spaces is maintained and used to full effect in keeping people well and combatting climate change impacts. We will need to improve our practice and prove our worth in helping people with health conditions and disabilities back to work. While doing this we will need to raise our profile and capture the impact of our work more powerfully to build new business partnerships and unlock the resources we need to drive our delivery. Thank you to those who are already helping us change places and change lives in every part of the UK. If you share our vision of a society of sustainable communities please give us your support.
Graham Duxbury Chief Executive, Groundwork UK
WE CREATE BETTER PLACES It has been proven without doubt that having access to good quality green space – a local park, allotment or play area – improves our health and wellbeing, supports children’s educational and social development and can help tackle isolation and loneliness among older people. Supporting local people to decide how their neighbourhood is planned and managed also leads to stronger and more resilient communities. The projects we deliver and the funds we distribute give people of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to have a meaningful say about the quality of their local environment and to get practically involved in improving and managing spaces that benefit them and their community.
Supporting the places that matter to people
Parks and recreation
Our national partnership with Tesco, funded by the Government’s 5p carrier bag charge, has helped us to provide grant funding, support and online resources to help communities get more involved in managing and developing their local spaces. We’ve launched an online ‘community project toolkit’ to provide a wealth of advice, guidance and support for communities wanting to create and sustain successful projects and our national network of experienced local ‘enablers’ means we can help groups apply for funding, recruit volunteers, work effectively with councils and businesses and ensure their projects have maximum impact.
Our work in Harpurhey, Manchester, has helped to bring much-needed green space to an inner-city area. As part of our United Futures partnership with United Utilities we have worked with the local community to plant a community orchard, in the process bringing together volunteers to create something special. We have helped volunteers to establish the Friends of Queen’s Park Group to help promote the park to the wider community and to manage the orchard in the long term. There are nearly 6,000 Friends Groups active in their local parks and green spaces across the country and we believe that supporting them with skills and funding will be a crucial part of ensuring this vital green infrastructure continues to deliver benefits to communities long into the future.
Preserving our natural heritage We are working with communities across the UK to safeguard much loved heritage sites for future generations. Thanks to Heritage Lottery and Big Lottery funding we are supporting groups and heritage experts in Lancashire on a three-year project to restore Rivington Gardens, built on the edge of the West Pennine Moors by millionaire soap magnate Lord Leverhulme in the early 20th century. In the North East our ‘Land of Oak and Iron’ project is preserving the surviving traces of the region’s industrial heritage as well as the outstanding natural features along the River Consett.
KANE
“IT’S ABOUT FEELING YOU’RE A PART OF SOMETHING.” “I used to work in the community, but when you retire you lose part of who you are. I enjoy coming here. It’s very social, it’s very physical and you feel like you are doing something for the community. “Volunteering with Groundwork has had a huge impact on my health and wellbeing. It makes you feel good when you’re out in the fresh air and you’ve got endorphins going round you. It’s exercising and it’s meeting new people. It’s so important. “We work with children at the local school and together we have planted over 7,000 trees. These children didn’t know what an acorn was or what an oak tree looked like and we were able to help them learn. It’s about feeling you’re a part of something. It’s brilliant.”
“IT FEELS GREAT TO BE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.”
Louise has been volunteering for over four years at Silverdale Country Park, a 200 acre green space in the West Midlands managed by Groundwork on behalf of the Land Trust.
“Before I started volunteering I used to spend a lot of time at home which I found to be quite boring at times. Since joining the Green Aiders team I’m out and about so much more learning new things. It’s even helping me with my own garden which is a bonus. “One of the best things about volunteering is working outside in the fresh air as I find it very therapeutic. I enjoy working in a team too and getting to know them better. “When we take on a garden we focus on weeding and tidying it up and planting flowers the residents want. But it is worth it. It’s great to see people’s reactions after we’ve finished their garden and you can see the excitement in their face. I really enjoy what I’m doing – it feels great to be making a difference.” Kane volunteers for Groundwork as part of the Green Aiders project across Hertfordshire, Luton, Bedfordshire, and Cambridgeshire. The programme helps elderly, disabled, or vulnerable adults manage their gardens so that they don’t become overgrown, which can attract burglary and vandalism.
LOUISE
WE IMPROVE PEOPLE’S PROSPECTS We believe that a person’s background or circumstances shouldn’t hinder their future prospects and we are committed to ensuring that those we support receive the help they need to realise their true potential. Our unique approach is designed to benefit both the individual and the environmental, social and economic fabric of the neighbourhoods in which they live.
Unlocking the talents of young people
Constructing a future worth working for
Groundwork’s ‘Achievement Coaches’ provide early intervention support to young people needing extra help in school through a combination of one-to-one mentoring and group activities with their peers. Evaluation of our recent programmes found that 87% of participants, who had been identified by their teachers as being at high risk of becoming NEET, went on to improve their attitude, attainment or attendance at school, with 96% making noticeable improvements in their motivation, or self-confidence.
We have continued to develop programmes and build relationships with like-minded organisations, businesses and all levels of government to give young people the best start in life by helping them to achieve at school and progress to further education, training or employment. We also give people who are out of work the chance to improve their skills by volunteering and by supporting them into fulfilling employment, including apprenticeships and the establishment of social enterprises.
Creating the next generation of volunteers
Crestra Ltd is a construction training business set up by Groundwork in Derbyshire to provide real work experience for jobseekers while delivering a range of projects that provide new facilities for local communities. Projects delivered have included the refurbishment and restoration of void properties, the creation and installation of parks, allotments and play areas and most recently new house builds. All have helped to enhance the appearance of local neighbourhoods and improve property and community safety while providing local people with skills and traineeship opportunities to help them on the road to employment.
Groundwork is helping to build the character and resilience of 16 – 17 year olds by delivering the National Citizen Service (NCS). NCS is the government’s flagship programme for young people, giving them a taste of adventure through outward bound activities and then helping them plan and deliver a community project in their local area. Groundwork has enrolled nearly 1,000 young people in NCS this year in the North West, North East, Yorkshire and South East, with the success of the programme demonstrated by the number of NCS ‘graduates’ who are supporting new intakes and continuing their volunteering.
CEDRIC
“AT ONE TIME I COULD HAVE BEEN DEAD, BUT NOW I’M ALIVE.” “I didn’t need shouting at. I needed help. It was meeting new people, talking to different people and knowing that these people feel the same way as I did that helped a lot. “My life’s changed. I’m eating better. I feel better in myself, I’ve got money and I’m more independent. I’m now working. I’ve got a car, which is something I’ve never had. I’ve got money, which I’ve never had much of. Plus, I got to keep my house. At one time I could have been dead, but now I’m alive. “Thank you to Groundwork for changing my life and giving me the confidence to take my life back. I want to get back to where I was. I know it will take time, but I will get there.”
“WORKING WITH THE GREEN TEAM IS GIVING ME THE SKILLS I NEED TO ACHIEVE MY GOAL.”
Sandra took part in our Roots to Wellbeing project in Warrington. Roots to Wellbeing supports people who are long term unemployed to improve their health and help them find work.
“Before joining the Green Team I was working in electronics but I much prefer working outdoors instead of indoors. Every summer I spend time helping out friends with their gardens so working on community gardens is great. “I enjoy working with the other lads – we have good banter! We’ve made some great progress. Every day I notice that something new has been achieved – it’s a good feeling. “I’m currently working towards qualifications in employability and horticulture as well as improving my Maths and English. In the future I want to run my own gardening business so working with the Green Team three days a week is giving me the skills I need to achieve my goal.” Cedric is currently volunteering on the CDAHerts Community Garden in St Albans as part of a Groundwork Green Team, a skills and development programme for young people giving them practical work experience while improving local environments.
SANDRA
HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE MAKE THEIR MARK Young people have a pride in their community but want it to be cleaner, safer and offer them more things to do. Many community groups involved in managing and improving open spaces find it hard to engage with young people, often seeing them as part of the problem rather than part of the solution. We work to help more young people have their say on the issues that matter to them and help community groups to involve more young people in creating better local places. At a time when funding for community projects, green spaces and youth services are all under pressure we need creative ways to make what little money there is in the system go further. Young people have a crucial role to play in identifying a way forward – so we’re committed to helping to inspire passionate young green leaders better able to take an active role in local decision-making and recruiting their peers to be advocates and ambassadors for the cause.
Young Green Leaders Groundwork is working across the UK to deliver ‘Our Bright Future’ – a programme of youth-led environmental action funded by the Big Lottery Fund and led by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. We will recruit 1,000 young people to lead local environmental initiatives in Northamptonshire, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and the North East and will work with an additional 700 young people across London to undertake environmental audits in their schools, provide training and work placement opportunities. With support from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation we will develop our national campaign by reaching out to more young people through exciting campaigns and providing practical support to community groups to help them attract young people as green space champions.
Children in deprived areas are
9x less likely to have access to good green space and places to play
36%
KEMO JAMIE
of young people say local councils should spend any additional public funds available for youth services and facilities on the upkeep of local parks
32%
69%
of 16-24 year olds from lower income families say they never visit their local park or green space, twice as many as young people from higher income families
of young people said they could be motivated to volunteer in parks and green spaces
“ My local park was my life saver growing up. It was a safe place I could go and hang out with my friends. To me, parks are about getting active, meeting people and connecting with your community.�
JAMIE
“WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND THAT PEOPLE DON’T SEE US AS ROWDY TEENAGERS.” “Volunteering has made me more aware of what’s around me and what the issues actually are. One of the issues we’ve noticed is that there is a divide between generations with people thinking that young people are out doing ‘whatever’ and that’s not the case. We want to ensure that we are a part of the community and that people don’t see us as rowdy teenagers. We all want to use our time well to break down those barriers. “I think that there is a worry with young people about things like exam results and how grades can hold us back – but there are resources that can help us. Some people are sorted, some people are worried and some people don’t have a clue – but that’s ok too. “Volunteering has helped me to not only feel more involved with the community but to be an active member rather than watching everyone else doing it. Young people do have a lot to give because they always have new ideas. When those ideas aren’t listened to or shouted out – they should be!” Jamie, 16, is a young volunteer from West Sussex. She took part in the National Citizen Service programme to help her local community.
CASSIDY
“THEY THINK WE ARE IGNORANT OR DON’T KNOW ENOUGH. I THINK THAT’S RIDICULOUS.” “Since I started volunteering I’ve learnt there are so many different things that I love doing. We recently took some young children pond dipping and that was great fun. I feel like I’m learning and then passing it on to them. “The best thing about volunteering is that you get an experience. When you’re in school you’re in a comfort zone and you do the same things every day, but when you volunteer you get a taste of what it’s like after school and in the real world. I think more young people should volunteer – it helps you to learn and try new things. “I think that the media and the older generation can have a negative outlook on young people. They think we are ignorant or don’t know enough. I think that’s ridiculous. I’m quite proactive with the things I can change, such as signing petitions and emailing my MP. I think volunteering helps to shed the image and show that we are willing and able to do things.” Cassidy, 15, is a young volunteer from Wigan. She joined her local Groundwork Green Leaders programme and is helping to take action to preserve her local environment.
WE PROMOTE GREENER LIVING AND WORKING Building more sustainable communities means not just changing places and changing lives but also changing behaviours. Through our projects we help individuals, households and whole organisations think and act differently to reduce waste, conserve natural resources and cut carbon emissions as well as encouraging a healthier, greener day-to-day lifestyle.
Using water smartly
Greening Business
Last year Groundwork’s expert advisers delivered smarter home visits on behalf of Thames Water to over 29,000 households in London and the South East, helping residents to save an average of 90 litres per household per day – the equivalent of filling 372 Olympic swimming pools. A further 5,300 visits to houses in Oxford and Newbury resulted in additional savings of 50 million litres of water.
Living more sustainably is not just about protecting the environment for future generations but it can also help people reduce household bills and improve health and wellbeing. For businesses, ethical practices and community engagement can bring a range of benefits – cutting costs, increasing productivity and enhancing customer loyalty. For families, it encourages small changes with big implications such as growing vegetables to promote healthier eating, saving money on electricity or water and providing opportunities to get back to nature to combat stress and encourage physical activity.
Our Go Green4Health project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, has provided a ‘community prescription’ of physical activity for communities across Wales to help promote health and wellbeing while reducing pressure on the NHS. The programme helps communities take up physical activity designed to prevent ill health and improve the management of chronic conditions from depression to heart disease. Participating GPs refer patients to our Coaches who support them to increase their physical activity in the natural environment through free or low cost activities such as walking, cycling and practical conservation tasks.
As well as providing communities with the information and support they need to reduce waste, cut costs and adopt healthier lifestyles, we are committed to helping businesses reap the benefits of more sustainable practices. Groundwork is a key part of the Business Energy Efficiency Anglia partnership, part funded by the European Union Regional Development Fund. Through the programme we are providing 1,750 SMEs across Suffolk and Norfolk with energy efficiency audits and access to grant funding to help them introduce new technology. In the North West, meanwhile, our experience of supporting business and promoting health is being used to help accredit companies in the national Workplace Wellbeing standard, designed to help organisations demonstrate their commitment to supporting the wellbeing of their staff.
On track to a healthy lifestyle
ELWYN
“ SINCE I’VE VOLUNTEERED AT THE ALLOTMENTS I FEEL LIKE A DIFFERENT PERSON.” “I’ve always loved the idea of growing my own vegetables. A friend of mine had an allotment at Colin Glen so I put my name down on the waiting list. At first, I had half a plot and when the other half became available I got that too. “I’ve made loads of new friends since I started volunteering. There’s a good community spirit amongst the allotment holders. I enjoy helping out around the site in general as well as working my own allotment. I like being here as I feel relaxed and at ease.
“I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT WHEN OUR GREEN DOCTOR TOLD ME WE COULD SAVE £900 A YEAR SIMPLY BY SWITCHING SUPPLIERS.”
In the past I’ve suffered from bouts of depression for many years but since I’ve volunteered at the allotments I feel like a different person. Being involved at the allotments has really helped me and means I have more to talk about to my family – it’s the best hobby I’ve ever had.” Sean volunteers at Colin Glen Allotments, Community Garden and Healthy Living Centre in West Belfast. The site provides local residents with the space and support to grow and cook their own food.
“Our bungalow has always been quite cold, especially for my wife who feels the chill easily. Our Green Doctor installed a reflective panel behind the radiator to keep in the heat and, as our boiler is quite old, told us who we should speak to get a new one for free. He also told us we’d be entitled to a Warm Home Discount. “When you get older, there’s a fear about who to speak to about things like bills, especially when you don’t have access to a computer. I couldn’t believe it when our Green Doctor told me we could save over £900 a year simply by switching suppliers. It was definitely the highlight of the visit and I’m so grateful for the help.” Elwyn was visited by a Groundwork Green Doctor in Wrexham thanks to the British Gas Energy Trust ‘Healthy Homes’ programme. This offered free support to households living with fuel poverty as a way of alleviating chronic health conditions.
SEAN
WE CREATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR ACTION Partnership working is in our DNA. It was a founding principle of our approach over thirty years ago and it’s still fundamental to the way we work now.
We are working with high street retailers, Tesco and One Stop, on community grants schemes funded by the government’s 5p charge on carrier bags. Since its launch in October 2015, Tesco’s ‘Bags of Help’ scheme has so far provided over 1100 community projects with a share of £11.5m.
We’re proud to have worked with a wide range of business partners to deliver social impact including United Utilities, Thames Water, Deutsche Bank, DHL Foundation, PwC, Skanska, Siemens, Tesco, One Stop and Marks & Spencer. We also benefit from the support of the Big Lottery Fund and Heritage Lottery Fund and work closely with government departments, devolved assemblies, local authorities and housing associations across the UK.
Our relationship with the housing provider Affinity Sutton last year channelled grants totalling £117,000 into local community projects ranging from events, arts and crafts, play equipment, sports and green space redevelopment.
We have had a very successful year managing grants on behalf of the Department of Communities and Local Government to support its ‘community rights’ programme around neighbourhood planning and local economic development.
We are also working with the DHL UK Foundation, on Transform IT! A small grants programme, that last year alone saw over 200 volunteers donate over 2000 volunteer hours and provided grants to community projects totalling £50,000. The last year of our Communities Living Sustainably programme funded by the Big Lottery Fund has seen the work of 12 local partnerships around England come to fruition with the production of reports, good practice guides and toolkits designed to help other communities deliver their own sustainability schemes and to help public bodies and other stakeholders understand how best to support them.
Our relationship with the PwC Foundation has seen PwC employees regularly fundraise to support Groundwork Green Teams around the country – employment support programmes that give participants real-life work skills and disciplines while undertaking valuable environmental improvements in their communities. The Siemens UK Legal & Compliance team has chosen Groundwork as its charity of the year. Siemens employees are raising funds through a range of fun activities as well as volunteering with community projects across the country. Meanwhile, interns at Deutsche Bank are raising funds to help Groundwork support young people who are not in education, employment or training to improve their prospects.
‘Lily’, a fiberglass cow exhibit at Surrey’s ‘Cow Parade’ was sponsored by Skanska and will be auctioned to raise funds for Groundwork.
“At Skanska we really take pride in our approach to the environment and being a responsible, sustainable business. We also love the idea of being able to contribute to a lasting legacy in the communities around where we work. So it’s great when our people get to volunteer with a partner like Groundwork who care so much about both the environment and the communities in which we work.” Adam Crossley, Director of Environment, Skanska
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT We rely on the support of a huge range of individuals and organisations to achieve the change set out in this report. If you share our vision of a society of sustainable communities, we want to hear from you. Work in partnership with us We are focused on bringing about as much change as possible in the places that need it most. We can’t do it alone. We can work with you to improve lives in a particular neighbourhood or city or collaborate on a programme that has UK-wide impact.
Volunteer with us Your time and skills could be of huge value to our work. We can help you undertake team challenges to improve a community allotment or children’s play area or help you become a mentor to young people to help them succeed in life.
Make a regular donation
Pledge a gift to us in your will
We want to provide long-term support to people and communities in need. Regular donations can help our Green Teams improve more green spaces or our Green Doctors help more people struggling to cope with their bills.
We know that people’s first priority when making a will is to provide for their loved ones, but many people also want to leave a legacy that benefits many more people in the future.
Organise an event or join one of our challenges Perhaps you’re a group of work colleagues looking for an exciting challenge. We can help you have fun while you make a difference by organising your own fundraising activities or signing up to climb a mountain or jump out of a plane.
Become an Ambassador We are building a network of Ambassadors providing strategic support to our mission. If you feel you can put something back into the place where you live or where you grew up or can help us reach out to more supporters we would love to hear from you.
Become a Friend of Groundwork Have you benefited from our work? Were you once part of the Groundwork family? If you have a story about our organisation we would love to hear it so that we can use it to inspire others.
Become a business member Sign up to support Groundwork and get involved with volunteering in local communities.
GROUNDWORK
2020
Groundwork 2020 is our strategy for how we intend to have a positive impact on the communities we exist to serve.
15,000
100,000
PEOPLE PROGRESSING
PEOPLE HELPED TO
INTO TRAINING OR EMPLOYMENT
REDUCE THEIR ENERGY AND WATER USE
10,000
2,500
1,000,000
YOUNG PEOPLE
OPEN SPACES
DAYS OF VOLUNTARY
MORE MOTIVATED TO LEARN AND ACHIEVE
IMPROVED OR LOOKED AFTER
ACTION TO IMPROVE LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Our goal is to be a significant, radical, national force for driving change in attitudes, behaviours, places and prospects in the communities that need it most.
Please help us continue to make a difference www.groundwork.org.uk @groundworkuk facebook.com/groundworkuk
Groundwork UK is the operating name of the Federation of Groundwork Trusts, a company limited by guarantee. Company Registration Number: 1900511. Charity Registration No: 291558