Space to Grow by Rob Bowker

www.btcv.org/scotland

BTCV Scotland

Creating Space to Grow All over Scotland people are coming together to improve their surroundings and quality of life. Using the local environment as a focus and tool for change, individuals can increase their own skills, confidence and well being, whilst communities become stronger, healthier and more self-sufficient.

here are increasing opportunities for people to enhance their local neighbourhoods and green spaces – the parks, gardens, back courts, allotments, woods, nature reserves, ponds and waterways. To foster this community action BTCV Scotland has developed the Space to Grow programme, funded by the Big Lottery Fund. Further support for BTCV Scotland’s community work is provided by The Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage.

Between 2008 and 2012, Space to Grow aims to involve some 15,000 people in over 100 areas, particularly in disadvantaged communities, from rural villages to urban housing schemes. By being both attractive and relevant, the programme’s activities encourage and value the contribution that people of all ages, backgrounds, cultures and abilities can make. Toryglen Space to Grow has three main themes: Active and Connected Communities...... 2-3 Healthy Communities............................ 4-5 Learning Communities........................... 6-7 The common thread running through these activities is the involvement of local people – what they can give and what they can gain.

Blackness

Space to Grow

If you feel that Space to Grow can assist in your local environmental project, contact your nearest BTCV Scotland office (see page 8).

Active and connected commun Action to regenerate and breathe new life into communities takes many forms including improvements to housing, transport, education, and leisure facilities. Public participation in these areas varies but the great advantage of environmental action is that everyone can do something, from putting up a window box to setting up a local environmental group. And, this isn’t just for the committed conservationist. Community projects can use peoples’ skills in gardening, construction, organisation, fundraising and publicity, including website development – people contribute whatever they can, according to their own interests and talents.

Community Action Many people are passionate about their own ‘place’ – be that their back garden, street, local ‘bluebell’ wood, or wider neighbourhood. To encourage this interest, BTCV Scotland’s Community Project Officers are engaged in various environment schemes across the country. Recent examples include:

In Toryglen, South Glasgow, BTCV is working closely with the Toryglen Gardening Club to make a real difference to the area. Local volunteers are involved

In Girvan, South Ayrshire, the enthusiastic Make it Happen! group are transforming a derelict piece of ground at Knockcushan into a community garden. This will be a learning resource and hub of activity for all the community, including the adjacent Invergarvern School for children with special needs. To help get things going the group received a grant from BTCV’s Chestnut Fund and BTCV Scotland’s local staff and volunteers also provided a helping hand to clear the site of rubble and overgrown vegetation. To take their ideas forward and further develop their community garden, the group have ambitious fundraising plans.

Toryglen

katie stewart

In Aberdeen, volunteers from various walks of life, including the local Green Gym, have been developing an allotment project. As well as the initial tasks of preparing the ground, laying paths etc, the volunteers have learned to grow organic vegetables which they share between themselves. The allotment also has a strong educational role of showing the wider community what is possible. Through information leaflets, interpretation boards and guided tours, regular participants and visitors alike can learn the principles of organic gardening and related topics such as healthy eating. The project demonstrates that you don’t have to be an expert to get involved.

in weekly projects to transform underused greenspaces into herb, flower and vegetable gardens. And nearby, an important area of woodland, wetland and grassland is being managed and enhanced. Access is also being improved allowing local people to better enjoy this natural asset on their doorstep. And, opportunities exist for local residents to gain experience of running environmental education activities with the area’s schools and local youth project. The overall aim of the Toryglen initiative is to equip local people with the skills and confidence to carry on the work in future without the direct support of a BTCV Scotland officer.

Girvan clare tasker

Other examples of neighbourhood action include: l Back court makeovers l Community clean-ups l Local park improvements l Environmental artworks l Developing school nature areas l Building path networks

Aberdeen

l Creating community woodlands. l Recycling projects

BTCV Scotland

nities

8 www.btcv.org/network

“Completing the Community Mentor programme has really enhanced our knowledge of the conservation and environmental sectors. It’s been a steep but very interesting learning curve.”

“The topics covered were amazing and gave us a good insight into different environmental projects. From my own perspective I’m keen to pass on my knowledge to the younger generation.” willie forey

terry forey

Community Mentors The projects highlighted opposite illustrate the role that BTCV Scotland’s staff and volunteers can play in stimulating community action, but for grassroots projects to succeed local people must be at their heart. with this in mind BTCV Scotland has developed the Community Mentor programme. Community Mentors are individuals able to inspire, motivate and lead their neighbours to come together to improve their local area.

Brothers willie and Terry Forey (top) are members of the Drumchapel woodland Group which they set up with the help of the Forestry Commission. They became Community Mentors to increase their own skills and help their group care for Garscadden wood, by Drumchapel housing scheme in Glasgow. In 2008 the group’s efforts were recognised in the Scotland’s Finest Woodlands Awards.

Space to Grow

In addition to the direct help BTCV Scotland provides ‘on the ground’, further support is available through the Community Local Action Network (CLAN). CLAN provides information (including a regular Bulletin), advice, funding factsheets, discounted training, tools and plants, plus invitations to events and other opportunities for groups to share their experiences. CLAN members can also access BTCV’s insurance scheme which currently enables over 70 independent groups in Scotland to organise their environmental activities with the peace of mind provided by essential insurance cover.

CLAN encompasses a fantastic spectrum of environmental and community groups. Here’s a small cross section: Alva Glen Heritage Trust 8 www.alvaglen.org.uk Borders Organic Gardeners

8 www.bordersorganicgardeners.org.uk GreenFerry Trust

8 www.greenferry.org.uk New Caledonian woodlands

8 www.newcaledonianwoodlands.org Lothian Conservation Volunteers

8 www.lcv.org.uk Scottish Badgers

8 www.scottishbadgers.org.uk The Green Team

8 www.greenteam.org.uk

Full CLAN membership costs £35 per year but if groups don’t require the full package of benefits they can still join CLAN as Registered members free of charge and receive the CLAN Bulletin plus news of environmental events and campaigns being run by BTCV and other organisations.

FCS

The programme provides participants with the chance to learn some of the practical ‘nuts and bolts’ of developing a community project such as health & safety, understanding biodiversity, group organisation, and fundraising. After their initial training period Community Mentors continue to receive support and guidance from BTCV Scotland to help transform their ideas into reality.

Community Local Action Network

New members to the network are always very welcome! ➜ Volunteers from Morvern Community Woodlands building a woodland shelter for community events.

Healthy communities Environmental projects provide great opportunities for people to come together in green settings to improve their health and well being, both physical and mental.

BTCV Green Gyms® First established in 1998, BTCV’s popular Green Gyms provide a fun and friendly (not to mention free!) way to get some fresh air and exercise whilst improving the environment into the bargain. A typical Green Gym session lasts approximately three hours and, depending on the participants’ capabilities, activities range from light exercise eg bulb planting to something more strenuous such as drystane dyking. Increasing levels of physical activity helps reduce the risk of obesity and related problems such as diabetes and heart disease. Retired mechanical fitter Ian Lawrie (right) is a regular Green Gym volunteer in Linwood, Renfrewshire: “Once you’re retired you don’t want to sit in the house all day. I enjoy the exercise at the Green Gym, but it’s not like work – nobody’s breathing down your neck all the time. You meet all sorts of people and do all sorts of activities – building nest boxes, working in school grounds and improving the local community garden. We’ve also spent a few days cutting Rhododendrons for the countryside rangers at the nearby Muirshiel Country Park. The Green Gym has plenty of variety and what’s really good is being able to produce something at the end of the day.”

Through a range of delivery methods, BTCV Scotland wil expand the Green Gym network over the next four years by offering three types of volunteering opportunity: l Long Term projects (BTCV directly or community Green Gyms) l Short Programmes (or Discover Green Gym) l School Green Gyms Fife Green Gym in action

BTCV Scotland

8 www.btcv.org/greengym

Healthy Walks

giles lamb

In recent years BTCV Scotland, in association with a number of health authorities, has organised a series of healthy walks programmes in Glasgow, Ayrshire and Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire. Regular walking with a group of like-minded people provides a safe and sociable way for people to stay active. Depending on participants’ fitness levels, walks have ranged from short rambles in and around urban areas through to longer (and more challenging) walks in the hills and countryside to locations such as Ben Lomond, Glencoe and Loch Katrine (right).

Roshni Hafeez (above) participated in one of BTCV Scotland’s ‘Healthy Hillwalking’ programmes. Although born visually impaired Roshni is involved in many community activities and has encouraged others to access the countryside and enjoy what’s on their doorstep: “Hill walks have been incredibly healing for me. For years, blind people were not encouraged to take part in any kind of exercise for health and safety reasons which made no sense at all.” As Roshni has discovered, it’s good to walk!

Keep Well Drawing on its experience of both Green Gyms and Healthy Walks, BTCV will be developing a number of ‘Keep Well’ projects in different parts of the country. Working with NHS Trusts and Community Health Partnerships, the aim of Keep Well is to actively identify people at greatest risk of ill health and tailor green exercise activities to their needs.

Space to Grow

Learning communities BTCV Scotland provides numerous opportunities for people to learn new skills, improve their confidence and enhance their job prospects, a key element being ‘learning through doing’.

Environmental Training Programme Many people are keen to learn fresh skills whether for work related reasons, or for a community project, or simply for the satisfaction of learning something new. To meet this demand BTCV Scotland offers short courses, typically one or two days, covering a wide and expanding range of topics. Each course is conducted in a friendly, informal atmosphere and led by experienced trainers. Courses with a ‘community’ focus include: l Inspiring Communities l Community Gardening l Environmental Education l Involving Young People l Leadership Skills

Kieren Jones from Stirling has been a regular training course participant: “BTCV courses allowed me to continue learning new skills after I graduated from university. I’ve been on courses as varied as Freshwater Invertebrates, Butterfly Transects, Amphibians, Phase 1 Habitat Surveying, and First Aid. For any biological science graduates like myself, or people looking to learn more about the environment, I can’t recommend them enough. You not only learn from experienced instructors but you also have the chance to make good contacts and meet like-minded people.”

Other training themes cover practical conservation skills, traditional rural crafts, aspects of Scottish wildlife, and habitat management. Topics are as varied as drystane dyking, willow working, wildflower identification and caring for woodlands. These courses can be attended as one-off events or may be part of a more structured learning programme (see opposite). Scheduled BTCV courses are run in Aberdeen, Ayr, Jupiter wildlife Centre (Grangemouth), Stirling, and Oatridge College (west Lothian). Courses can also be tailored to the needs of a particular community group and so be held closer to home.

BTCV Scotland

8 www.btcv.org/training

peter baxter

www.btcv.org/naturaltalent www.projectscotland.co.uk www.btcv.org/vo

Maren Flagmeier

Employment Training For many people involvement with BTCV Scotland is a stepping stone to better job and educational prospects. Depending on individual circumstances this can range from simply getting into the work ‘routine’ through to the acquisition of specialist skills. And for some, participation in conservation projects helps improve their numeracy and literacy skills. With these points in mind BTCV Scotland runs several training schemes: Natural Talent This is a full time paid apprenticeship scheme for people to specialise in a particular aspect of ecology or habitat management. And, it’s not just Scotland’s high profile and ‘glamourous’ species and special places which are worthy of study. Equally important are the ‘ordinary’ plants, insects and animals, and their habitats, which make up so much of our biodiversity. Natural Talent allows people of all ages to turn their conservation passions into professions. Maren Flagmeier specialised in the small but fascinating world of bryophytes (mosses, liverworts and hornworts): “The Natural Talent scheme has been the ideal way for me to keep learning and to turn my interest in bryophytes into a career. Having previously studied ecology and forestry, the apprenticeship has been an ideal continuation of my interest in the natural world and bryophytes in particular. Being taught specialist identification skills by the experts has been really fantastic

James McGarry and rewarding. Immediately after my apprenticeship I was employed as a seasonal ecologist with Scottish Natural Heritage before commencing a PhD on Scottish Liverwort Heath at Aberdeen University with further opportunities for bryophyte contract work.” ProjectScotland ProjectScotland is the national charity which helps young people realise their potential through volunteering. ProjectScotland’s volunteering projects change the lives and aspirations of young people whose youth and energy give an enormous boost to the capacity of the voluntary sector and the communities in which they volunteer. The demand from young people is huge. Since its launch ProjectScotland has exceeded its targets placing over 2,500 young people into structured and rewarding volunteering placements with over 300 non-profit organisations across the country. Volunteers receive £55 per week plus travel expenses and mentoring support throughout their placement. BTCV Scotland is one of ProjectScotland’s largest partners and offers three month placements, mainly within the organisation itself but also with other partner bodies such as Volunteer Cairngorms. James McGarry, from Ayr, was a ProjectScotland volunteer in nearby Auchinleck: “Before volunteering with BTCV I was on the New Deal looking for jobs, but without success. I heard about BTCV through a community centre in Ayr and thought it would be a good idea because I enjoy

Merle Cartwright working outdoors. During my placement I did various things like cleaning up gardens, worked on a Miners’ Memorial Garden and I helped plant-up the grounds of a local nursing home. Through the placement I managed to get skills and qualifications I would never have dreamed of getting before.” After his placement James secured a full-time job working on energy pylons. Volunteer Officers It’s a key policy of BTCV to involve volunteers in helping to run the organisation. Volunteer Officers (VOs) are people who give a regular amount of their time to BTCV and In return they gain valuable experience in planning and organising BTCV’s conservation projects. Volunteer Officers have a great track record of using this experience to progress into full time jobs, including within BTCV itself. Merle Cartwright benefitted from her time as a Volunteer Officer in Glasgow: “Taking on the role of a BTCV Volunteer Officer led to a wide and varied learning experience. No two days are ever really the same and you acquire valuable experience in leading and organising groups, with plenty of practical skills gained too. The extensive training programme offered by BTCV goes hand in hand with the project work undertaken, and is a more formal way of tracking your progress. You feel a great sense of fulfilment on the completion of projects. There’s no doubt that being a VO with BTCV is a great way to springboard a career in the environmental sector.”

Space to Grow

Managing volunteers Many organisations, including BTCV, depend greatly on the effort and enthusiasm of volunteers. But do the organisations and their volunteers get the best out of each other? Over the next three years BTCV Scotland is hosting the Volunteer Manager Development Project (VMDP) which is managed by Julia Duncan. Julia’s post is specifically funded by The Scottish Government through the Forum for Environmental Volunteering Activity (FEVA) to develop a series of networking and training programmes that support volunteer managers from a range of environmental organisations across Scotland. Just a few months after its commencement over 20 volunteer managers had already signed up to VMDP including representatives from the Green Team, National Trust for Scotland, North Glasgow Community Food Initiative, the

Contact us BTCV Scotland Head Office Balallan House, 24 Allan Park, Stirling FK8 2QG tel 01786 479697 fax 01786 465359 e-mail scotland@btcv.org.uk

A VMDP training event. If you’re managing environmental volunteers, it’s good to talk! Redhall Walled Garden and the Water of Leith Trust. To find out more about the Volunteer Manager Development Project and associated training and networking opportunities, visit:

8 www.feva-scotland.org

Aberdeen 01224 724884 e-mail aberdeen@btcv.org.uk green gym gg-aberdeen@btcv.org.uk tel

Auchinleck (Ayrshire) tel 07917 460488 e-mail auchinleck@btcv.org.uk Ayr 01292 525178 / 525010 / 525250 e-mail ayr@btcv.org.uk tel

Coatbridge (north lanarkshire) + fax 01236 700457 e-mail healthy-walks@btcv.org.uk green gym gg-northlan@btcv.org.uk tel

Crosshill (fife green gym) tel + fax 01592 861555 e-mail gg-fife@btcv.org.uk

Through its varied operations BTCV and the many members of the Community Local Action Network (page 3) are helping enhance Scotland’s biodiversity – the variety of life. This is most directly achieved by volunteers improving or creating green spaces and

Broaden your horizons BTCV provides a fantastic range of volunteering opportunities within Scotland, but it doesn’t stop there. Hundreds of conservation projects, working holidays and Thanks to the many individuals and organisations who support, or participate in, BTCV Scotland’s local initiatives.

wildlife habitats. Such conservation projects often involve the use of wildlife friendly ‘native’ plant species, many of which are grown in BTCV’s own wildflower nursery at the Jupiter Wildlife Centre, run with the Scottish Wildlife Trust. And, whether through practical experience ‘on the job’ or specific training events (page 6), people of all backgrounds are learning biodiversity skills and knowledge with BTCV which they can use in their own lives and environments to improve prospects for Scotland’s wildlife.

8 www.biodiversityscotland.gov.uk

training events are held throughout the rest of the UK. And, we have links with similar environmental organisations across the globe. So, whether locally or internationally, you can help change the world and yourself with BTCV.

Edinburgh 0131 332 8700 e-mail edinburgh@btcv.org.uk tel

Glasgow (milngavie) 0141 956 6816 e-mail glasgow@btcv.org.uk tel

Glasgow (Toryglen) 0141 613 2763 e-mail a.mordin@btcv.org.uk tel

Grangemouth (Jupiter Green Gym) 01324 471600 e-mail gg-jupiter@btcv.org.uk tel

Inverness (munlochy) 01463 811560 / 07764 655710 e-mail inverness@btcv.org.uk green gym gg-inverness@btcv.org.uk tel

Johnstone (Renfrewshire Green Gym) tel 0141 842 1330 e-mail gg-renfrewshire@btcv.org.uk Oatridge (West lothian) 01506 859081 e-mail oatridge@btcv.org.uk tel

Community local action network 0141 956 6816 e-mail clan@btcv.org.uk tel

8 www.btcv.org BTCV Scotland’s community and environmental volunteering activities are supported by: cstg 07.08 GB/RB/Sev

Boosting biodiversity

01302 388883

fax

01302 311531 e-mail information@btcv.org.uk

Editor: Graham Burns. Photos: Graham Burns plus Clare Tasker and Katie Stewart (p2), Forestry Commission Scotland (p3), Giles Lamb (p5), Peter Baxter (p7).

BTCV Scotland