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Celebrating National Mentoring Day

intandem is a Scottish mentoring programme which supports young people looked after at home. Volunteer mentors make the programme possible and the reason we’re able to make a real difference in the lives of young people.

A consistent, caring mentoring relationship gives children and young people the foundation to overcome trauma experienced in the past and most importantly intandem, offers a place for a young person to have fun. Mentors also create happy memories with young people.

To celebrate National Mentoring Day, Rachael who volunteered as an intandem mentor with partner charity Move On  shares what it’s like being a mentor and why she got involved.

What interested you in becoming a volunteer mentor?

Hello, I’m Rachael! I’m 27 years old and live in  Midlothian.  I’m a full-time civil servant with a keen interest in photography.

I was interested in doing something to help kids in my local area and to give something back to the community. After a bit of research, I thought mentoring would be a great way to support and encourage a young person.

What sort of training did you do before becoming a volunteer mentor with Move On?

I took part in a comprehensive training programme with Move On before being matched with a young person . The training took place every Saturday for 10 weeks and covered areas such as: child protection, prejudice and discrimination, boundaries and identifying different types of abuse.  I attended each session and completed supplementary homework tasks.

What support is available to you as a volunteer mentor?

I had a dedicated development worker from Move On who was always on hand to give advice, updates and support. Move On also run regular training sessions which are open to volunteers to sign-up.

What sort of activities did you do with your young person?

We enjoyed swimming, trampolining and library visits to read my young person’s favourite book ‘Grampa’s Great Escape’ by David Walliams. On some occasions we would visit a café for a bite to eat and a chat. During Covid-19 we mainly went for walks in the local area. We would always take a pair of binoculars for birdwatching and an instant camera to take photos for my young person’s journal. We also list the birds that we see on our walk.

What did you enjoy most about being a mentor?

The thing I enjoyed most was our conversations. . He made me laugh and I enjoyed being in his company. He is intelligent and funny and always had a great story or interesting fact to tell me. I found it very rewarding. We had such a good trusting relationship and I am pleased that he felt able to talk to me about anything he wanted to.

What’s your best mentoring memory 

For my young person’s birthday, we went to the cinema to see the movie ‘CoCo’. We got popcorn, chocolate and tango ice blasts! We both enjoyed the movie so much we spent the whole car journey home singing the main song ‘Remeeeeeember me…’ from the top of our lungs.

What difference does having a mentor make to the life of your young person?

I think a mentor can make a huge difference to the life of a young person.

A mentor is someone who genuinely cares and always has an open ear to listen to the good things and the bad without judgement.

A young person can enjoy new opportunities, try something new, develop socially and grow in confidence.

What skills has being a mentor taught you? 

I have developed strong communication skills which I think is central to a successful mentoring relationship. I have found that active listening is key to understanding how a young person is feeling. Being responsive, by showing interest, empathy and understanding, made my young person feel confident in talking and sharing things with me. These transferrable skills are essential in many areas of life.

intandem is a national mentoring programme, managed by Inspiring Scotland and funded by Scottish Government and The Robertson Trust. Intandem supports a  portfolio of 13 partner charities, providing weekly mentoring for young people aged 8-14 years, living at home on a compulsory supervision order or in kinship arrangements.

Find out more on becoming a volunteer mentor.

Supporting Women, Reducing Harm: Supporting a National Conversation

In April, Inspiring Scotland’s Perinatal and Infant Mental Health team co-hosted Supporting Women, Reducing Harm, the first-ever national conversation on how services should care for families affected by substance use in the perinatal period.

This event was in partnership with Scottish Government, Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland, NHS Scotland, third sectors partners and women with lived experience.  It followed the  2021 report Supporting Women, Reducing Harm.

Evidence shows that using drugs or alcohol during pregnancy and the postnatal period negatively affects the physical and mental health of both mother and infant. There is a recognised need to improve the services available for substance-using women and their infants during this time and this was the starting point for the Supporting Women, Reducing Harm event.

The conversation brought together individuals and organisations with expertise in maternity and child care, substance use, and maternal and infant mental health, alongside women and families with lived experience, to develop recommendations on models of service provision for Scotland.

The attendance of so many stakeholders ensured a dynamic discussion that reflected the broad experiences of the participants. Over 300 people joined the day, representing many different sectors across the breadth and width of Scotland –  the Borders, to the Shetland Isles.

“One of the things that made this event so special was that it brought together a cross-sector audience from Scottish Government, NHS, local authorities, charities and more. Bringing together and leveraging that level of collective insight and experience will be key for unlocking the challenges that face women and families in Scotland.” Leanne Anderson, Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund Manager, Inspiring Scotland

Prior to the online session, women with lived experience were interviewed to help shape the agenda and discussions.  During the day, Sharon Graham represented the voices of lived experiences and spoke impactfully, clearly stating that now is the time for action:

“We had a coming together of professionals and lived experience, working in collaboration due to having one thing in common, wanting the best outcome for those we support. The time has come to change the “us and them” scenario and for action to happen.”  Sharon Graham, Voice of Lived Experience

The event had really positive feedback from the attendees:

“This was an incredible, inspirational and truly exceptional event – very heartfelt and it was so good to see how many people were in agreement of supporting women and the challenges life brings to them. Captivating and extraordinary.  So pleased to see the collaborative recognition of this and great to hear from real people with lived experience” Attendee

“The passion and wish to collectively make a change was palpable. It felt like the right feet were around the table.” Attendee

Several key themes emerged:

• It is important to take the time to listen to women involved and find out what their needs actually are (not to make assumptions)
• A wide range of third sector organisations play an important role in delivering flexible, non- stigmatising support
• Joined up services and solid wraparound care are critical as they make it easier to access support and avoid women having to repeat their story multiple times to different services
• There is a greater awareness of the need to reduce stigma, given the clear impact that stigma has on women and their families accessing services

At the start of the session, Angela Constance MSP, Minister of Drugs Policy, announced a short-life working group to further examine the issues and make recommendations for future support.  Kevin Stewart, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, closed the day, thanking participants and assuring us all that the work would be taken forward.

In terms of next steps, Scottish Government are currently developing the process for membership of the short-life working group, more information on this will follow in due course, and Inspiring Scotland are creating a report based on all feedback received on the day.

We would like to thank all partners and attendees involved in the event and especially those with lived experience. Thank you for sharing your experiences so openly and honestly to help improve support for families across Scotland.

Further information

• Read the full set of Supporting Women Reducing Harm Event slides and feedback
• Read the original Supporting Women Reducing Harm Report
• Read the report ‘Families Affected by Drug and Alcohol Use in Scotland’

Matt Baker guests blogs on Creative Communities programme after attending its showcase earlier this Month.

Artist and founder of the Stove Network, Matt Baker guests blogs on Creative Communities programme after attending its showcase earlier this Month.  

Firstly, I’d like to congratulate everyone who took part in the Creative Communities programme – from those who first thought up the idea and made it possible – to everyone who has been involved in the 46 communities across the country. As an artist myself I know how exposing and vulnerable it is to put your artwork out in public view and I want to say a particular big up to everyone who has works in this wonderful show – you are all legends!

I am a community artist and when I look at works like these I find myself dreaming a little and reaching into what people are wanting to say about their world. And then imagining a little further into what was happening when they were made. I see the chats, the new friendships formed, the deals made in families to make the space to be there, conversations about shared places and people, the advice given on local issues, the dreams of change, the new skills learned and the new understandings of who we are as people.

Through this lens we see something fundamental about this approach to creativity and culture. We see how taking an active part in making culture, as participants, gives us so much more than the satisfaction of self-expression and making something to show to others. It creates new connections in communities, new stories and knowledge that bind people together in deep ways. Ways that combat the isolation and anxiety that plagues our society and leads to breakdowns in people, families and the fabric of community that should support us all.

As well as health, and skills, and justice benefits, these projects can spark new confidence and ideas that lead to new projects to improve places and sometimes even new enterprises and businesses.

Research study after research study has shown active participation in creativity leads to happier people and happier places. And yet we have all grown up with the idea that culture is not made by the likes of us, it is made by special people and our role is just to admire it, not be part of making it. Projects like this give us a glimpse into another possible world. A world where it is completely normal for everyone to be creative and be part of making the culture of Scotland.

• Imagine if at school all our creativity had been nurtured, be that in singing, gardening, cooking, den making or making up stories.
• Imagine if every town and village had a community festival where everyone took part and it was one of the ways that places welcomed new people into being part of their future.
• Imagine too what such a vision would mean for those working in the arts. Long term jobs working alongside communities, jobs that would support other parts of their careers and help make amazing art that would put us on a world stage as a country, where we value things differently and put people first.

If we are going to move to a way of doing culture in Scotland that is centred on participation, then we need a plan that brings into being creative projects in education, in health, in community development and regeneration.

And we also need a progression pathway of projects like Creative Communities that work at the grassroots of places and start to build networks and skills so that larger projects can then take root in those places and arts workers can gain experience too. The sister project of Creative Communities is called Culture Collective, it currently has 26 projects of regional scale running around Scotland. Reading the Creative Communities report and looking at the great work in this exhibition, it seems obvious to me that Creative Communities could work as a learning pathway towards a Culture Collective project in these places in the future.

As a country we have a wonderful folk tradition of collective creativity through stories, songs and ceilidhs. In the context of Covid, the mental health crisis and the climate emergency we can see that the old solutions are just not work working anymore. They are tearing us further apart. We have to try something new, something that brings us together again. Creative communities has been showing the way in 46 places around the country and as we say in Dumfries “may it continues on!”.

Find out more about the showcase event.

Find out more about Creative Communities programme.

10 ‘Beautifully Ambitious’ Years of Link Up

Andrew Magowan, Link Up Programme Manager shares his reflections on  Inspiring Scotland’s Link Up Programme turning 10.  

My colleague described our plans for the celebration as “beautifully ambitious”.  True, but the phrase is also a great way to capture the essence of Link Up since its launch in 2012.

Link Up was never really a programme, more a way of working; a mini movement seeking to harness the strengths and will of local people to affect change. Our aspiration was significant: to embed an approach that tackles disadvantage by empowering local people to help themselves, each other, and their community.

It’s impossible to do justice in this blog to what has been achieved and learned over the past ten years. But in keeping with our theme, I like to think we were ‘Truthful, Useful and Hopeful’[1].

Truthful

Whilst we have made critical steps towards our aspiration, it remains work in progress. However, thousands of Link Up participants have made material improvements to their lives, setting themselves on a path to a brighter future. Equally, Link Up has initiated community responses that are offering significant potential to deliver wider and enduring change.

Such successes run through our work, but I trust never in a sugar-coated way. We have always tried to shine a light on the reality of people’s lives. Those lives are often challenging beyond belief. And as we have demonstrated time and again, people’s journey is all too often marked by a cycle of crisis-stabilisation-recovery-crisis-stabilisation…etc.

As a corollary, achieving meaningful progress takes time, often years. It is a position we accepted from the outset, giving our workers permission to operate at the pace of the individual, recognising that their (and/or other community members’) sustained presence in the life of that person is often the most valuable gift we can provide.

Interestingly, Link Up’s unorthodox way of working (often pastoral) proved challenging for many of our hosts in the early days of the programme. However, we had courage in our convictions, and by sticking to our principles and evidencing the power of our approach, most hosts became strong advocates and, with our workers, key enablers of our day-to-day work.

We also sought to challenge convention on the nature of a programme like Link Up. It would be easy to frame it solely in terms of community development. We prefer to explain our approach as being as much about human development as it is about community development.

Where we have more to do is in influencing the wider adoption of the learning from Link Up. The economics of public spending is largely behind this. However, there is a need to influence a wider rethink on why and how we invest in communities. Critically, to have greater ambition, supporting communities to ultimately become regenerative. More on this below.

In part, our inability to realise this influence, is a function of how we framed our language. For too long we adopted a ‘build it and they will come’ mentality i.e. establish Link Up, people will make change happen and problems will be overcome. What we are learning now is that we need to illuminate the ‘line’ from individual action to collective action, to co-production of local solutions, to broader place-based working, to the creation of a regenerative community.

Useful

Since 2012, we have sought to measure the impact of our work and understand how that impact has been affected. This has helped to inform and shape policy and practice in numerous areas including asset-based working, place-based working, trauma-informed practice, health inequalities, community empowerment, community safety, public sector reform and Covid responses.

Whilst our work has shone brightest on aspects of social regeneration, particularly in relation to health and wellbeing, it is also highlighting a development approach to the creation of a regenerative community. This is one in which local people and organisations overcome the seemingly intractable problems that blight so many places and are delivering sustained and progressive renewal in social, economic, environmental and democratic terms.

At the heart of this approach, is an understanding that we are dealing with a human and therefore, relational system.

This framing has been at the core of our way of working since launch. It is writ large through everything we do: our pace; being interested in and taking time to understand people’s lives; creating welcoming spaces without agenda; focusing on human, not statutory needs; illuminating and using people’s strengths to build connections and make change happen; intensive 1-2-1 support. Our local workers have been the driving force for this.

Our 2016 paper, provided insights into the personal and situational factors that make our workers so effective in this regard. For me, it remains a ground-breaking piece of work that informs how we identify, encourage, recruit, develop and support the workforce that will be essential in taking our aspirations for renewal in our communities to scale.

The role our workers play is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually draining. It is testament therefore to their resilience and perseverance, that almost half of our 17 workers have been with us for over seven years, two since 2012. It’s a fact that I am perhaps most proud of because it talks to the quality of care and support we have given our workers.

For our workers, four things stand-out:

1.  giving them space and encouragement to be themselves and not be afraid to take risks;
2.  acting as a supportive buffer between our workers and their host by helping the latter to understand the challenges of a worker’s role;
3.  regular emotional and practical support including access to psycho-therapy support, reflective practice sessions and continuous professional development (e.g. trauma, bereavement and suicide informed practice; mediation and conflict resolution; nonviolent Communication);
4.  removing the burden of most fundraising and reporting responsibilities.

Hopeful

The principal enabler of the above and everything that Link Up has achieved, has been Scottish Government. Ten years ago, they chose to invest in a programme that was arguably at the cutting-edge of community-based work, but one that also carried significant uncertainty in terms of its evolving approach and the impact it would have.

For me, this commitment is a powerful demonstration of the invaluable role Scottish Government can play in taking risks to test new ideas and prove what works and what doesn’t work. It is a role few other public sector bodies would be prepared to take, but one which will be essential if we are to turnaround growing inequalities and rising poverty.

I would also hold up our experience as being an exemplar of strategic partnership working and as such, a model for future relationships. Firstly, Scottish Government’s continued financial support has been instrumental in helping us to leverage additional funds such that 41% of our 2022-23 funding will come from non-Scottish Government sources.

Additionally, our ability to engage with and share learning across Scottish Government Directorates has been mutually beneficial; helping to shape policy and help us to understand how we might contribute to the delivery of national outcomes. I also like to think that being funded by Justice, Health and Regeneration has helped build cross-Directorate relationships, contributing for example, to a wider dissemination of understanding on place-based working.

I trust my Scottish Government colleagues feel we have repaid their trust in terms of impact and the rich learning Link Up generates. Sharing that learning and seeing it inform policy and practice has, I hope, been as energising and motivating for them as it has been for us.

But perhaps the single most valuable outcome of this learning has been what it tells us about the power of local people to make change happen. I recall in the early days of the programme a story about a Link Up participant securing her first job after being unemployed for 15 years. Most evidence suggested she would never work again. And other more recent stories including a woman having the courage to leave an abusive relationship and another changing her life to such a degree she regained access to her child.

These transformational shifts speak to the potential in our communities. A potential that Link Up has only scratched the surface of but is undoubtedly our greatest asset in our fight against inequality.

Taken together, the experience of the past ten years gives me hope; “not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out” (Vaclav Havel). That ‘something’ is the collective understanding that Inspiring Scotland and others^[2] are accumulating on how we build a brighter future for our most disadvantaged communities. If we use it wisely, the type of change we have so long sought for our communities and the people who live there is within reach.

[1] The character of Patricia Westerford in Richard Powers’ 2019 Pulitzer Prize-wining, “The Overstory”, uses these 3 terms as a framework to guide her writing in the final chapter of her.

[2] See especially, Corra Foundation (via ‘Getting Alongside Communities’), Scottish Community Development Centre (via ‘Strengthening Communities’), SURF (via ‘Alliance for Action’), National Lottery Community Fund (via ‘Our Place’), Creative Scotland.

Thrive Outdoors Blog Series: Case Studies- the children’s experience

This month for the sixth instalment of our Botanics Blog series we hear from the two nurseries taking part in the pilot- Outdoor Nursery Edinburgh (ONE) and Edzell. Both nurseries share their own case study on a child’s experience of ‘The Wee Garden’. Hearing about the difference this outdoor space has made to each child is truly remarkable.  

ONE (Outdoor Nursery Edinburgh) Case Study- Rosie* 

There is a particular type of feeling that comes from being in an outdoor environment surrounded by nature. There have been many recent studies that tells us of the benefits of being in nature. It not only lifts us emotionally but physically reduces our production of stress hormones among many others. This is most evident to me when we have children who need support with their emotions – they might be nervous or shy or have other emotional challenges, but the same change happens when we play outside. They are immediately more settled, curious and have the freedom and space to explore. They are able to build on their own learning at their own pace and it is an absolute joy to watch.

Rosie* has recently transitioned to our 3-5 room. It’s been a tough couple of years for everyone but especially for those little ones who need encouragement to find their confidence. We have always supported Rosie* in finding her confidence and as time has gone on, she has slowly come out of her shell.

Over the time that Rosie* has been with us in our 3-5 room she has been gaining in confidence, but most noticeably is when we are spending time outdoors and especially at the Botanics. *Rosie has been able to express herself and make choices about her own learning. She has really enjoyed the experiences set up there, such as the threading, making patterns and has had the space and time to form friendships with others in her class. 

By observing *Rosie at the Botanics, we have been able to see her taking part, asking questions and choosing which experience she is interested in taking part in.By allowing that space and time in an outdoor environment we have seen a growing of confidence that I believe wouldn’t have grown in the same way, had we spent the time indoors. It’s been a real pleasure to watch her find her voice and be able to express herself in what can be a very noisy and hectic world! 

Edzell Case Study- Michael* 

Michael*, aged 3, comes to Edzell nursery full time and has participated in the Botanics ‘Wee Garden’ pilot since the start. At nursery, he was a child who preferred to stay indoors and would not go outdoors spontaneously. He often had to be encouraged and he would give clear explanations as to the reasons why he wished to stay indoors or sometimes he would simply say a flat no. In addition, when we first started, we walked from nursery to The Wee Garden and this often proved challenging as he found the walk plus the time at The Wee Garden quite taxing. Although, we perceived as we wanted him to develop his physical skills and his overall health and wellbeing through participating. However we had to respect his voice and find a balance between what he wanted and the wishes of his parents and the nursery. Therefore, after some discussion with the nursery, Michael’s* parents decided to reduce his hours and build up his stamina, so he stopped doing the visits to the Wee Garden for a short time in the Autumn term and the staff were very intentional in trying to get him more physically active at nursery and building his enjoyment of the outdoors. 

When Michael* returned to full days and came back to The Wee Garden regularly, he was going outdoors regularly at nursery and he was seeing the children extending experiences that they had at The Wee Garden at the nursery, which encouraged him. He chose the date of his return with his parents and he came back with enthusiasm.  Although the walk back and forth was still a challenge for Michael*, he could now cope but when we changed to using the bus to gain more time at the garden, he was very happy! He joined in with all the activities including the mud kitchen, digging, using the loose parts to build dens and ball runs and explored the area in various ways alongside the other children.

Now that we have come to end of the pilot, Michael* has shown a huge improvement in his overall health and wellbeing in several ways. His stamina at nursery has increased so there is no longer a big drop in energy at the end of the week, which was previously sometimes the case. He goes outside regularly with no encouragement, puts on his waterproofs easily, with just a little help to put the legs over the wellies ‘so the mud doesn’t go in’. Michael* was one of the children who benefitted the most form the experience particularly with regards to his physical health. Where he struggled with the walk there and back, he is now physically much more able and has gained increased endurance and now has enough energy to last the whole day. His focus has increased and at home his parents have noticed greater overall stamina and better sleeping. 

 * Please note each child’s name has been changed for safety purposes. 

 Enjoy this blog? Then keep an eye for the very last blog in this series going live on the 18th of March where we share our reflections on the pilot outdoor nursery at the Botanics.  

Join in the conversation or just chat with us at: 

Facebook @ThriveOutdoorsScot 

Twitter @Thrive_Outdoors 

Instagram @thrive_outdoors 

or by email to amy@inspiringscotland.org.uk  

Useful links  

Find out more about Outdoor Nursery Edinburgh (ONE)

Find out more about Edzell Nursery

Read our previous blogs and scroll down to the bottom page ‘Our news’ section. 

Looking after social work and social care staff

The Workforce Wellbeing Fund for Adult Social Work and Social Care will be managed by Inspiring Scotland and provide grants of up to £10,000 until December 2022.

Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care Kevin Stewart said:

“Everyone working across social work and social care has shown an invaluable commitment to delivering a first class service and compassionate care through the most difficult of times.

“This fund is about giving staff anything which makes them feel better and supports their resilience. Applications can be as creative as possible, as long as they focus on our most valuable asset, our people. Grants could be given for activities or to purchase equipment that will improve the wellbeing of the workforce. Ask your staff what they most want or need, and please take advantage of this fund to help them get it.

“Workforce wellbeing must remain a priority as we continue to move through this pandemic and recovery. We will overcome the challenges ahead if we look after our people.”

Head of Funds at Inspiring Scotland Kaylie Allen said:

“We are delighted to be working with the Scottish Government on this programme. The importance of the people providing frontline care and the challenges they have faced delivering the most essential services over the last 18 months cannot be overstated.

“This fund will provide a flexible and easy way for adult social care and social work staff to access support for their own wellbeing.”

The Scottish Government has made £12 million available to support the wellbeing of the health and social care workforce. This new fund, which is open to applications until 29 July 2022, will ensure £1 million of targeted support towards the wellbeing of staff in the social work and social care sector, which faces unique challenges in accessing available funding since it consists of a mix of local authority, private and voluntary sector provision.

Background

Please see the webpage for further information and details of how to apply to the Workforce Wellbeing Fund for Adult Social Work and Social Care.

All applications will be screened by a multi-agency panel comprising of Inspiring Scotland, the Scottish Government and a member of the Oversight Social Work/ Social Care Workforce Wellbeing sub group, ensuring that individuals from the social work/social care sector are involved in the screening process.

Inspiring Scotland are managing this funding on behalf of the Scottish Government. We work with people, communities, charities and public bodies to develop solutions to some of the deepest social problems. We raise and manage funds, working closely with organisations to provide support for their unique circumstances.

Funding to support community-led local development

120 not-for-profit community groups are to benefit from £1.8 million funding to trial new and innovative ways to address local challenges and embrace local opportunities.

The Rural Communities ‘Ideas into Action’ Fund opened to applications from Monday 13 September to Friday 8 October, and is part of a £3 million commitment by Scottish Government to trial new approaches to Community led local development (CLLD) before March 2022.  The successful projects will test new approaches to CLLD from a broad range of themes including mental health & wellbeing, net zero and climate action ambitions and community collaboration.

The original £1.5 million fund was topped up by £300,000 of capital funding to support successful climate action specific projects, and is being delivered in partnership with Inspiring Scotland. The outputs and learning will help inform development of a future CLLD fund for 2022-23 worth £11.6 Million.

The fund is now closed for applications.

Read more about the funded projects.

Additional funding for sustainable islands

Projects delivering strong community climate themes across some of Scotland’s islands will receive a share of almost £600,000 to support sustainability and provide more green travel options.

The projects are delivered through the Scottish Government’s Island Communities Fund, which provides investment for community-led projects that support employment, community resilience and contribute to Scotland’s just transition to net zero and climate resilient living on islands.

This second payment tranche will see funding provided to six additional projects. A second instalment of funding will also be provided to one of the projects awarded money in the first tranche.

The Fund is managed by Inspiring Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government and the 35 successful projects span across 55 islands.

Islands Secretary Mairi Gougeon said:

“Last summer, we received more than 180 applications for this fund which shows us that our islands are focussed on making Scotland a greener and fairer place. They will play an important role in helping us meet our ambitious climate change targets.

“The additional funding will enable even more projects to help people, businesses and communities on our islands thrive.”

Magnus Holbourn of Foula Wool has received two funding instalments through the fund. Speaking about the importance of the fund to his business, he said:

“This is a genuine transformational opportunity for our island business, we have worked extremely hard over a number of years building up a customer base and establishing our Foula Wool product range. To now be able to bring all of the physical processing work that goes into creating the product back to the island, retaining its full value in the local economy is simply a dream come true.

“The fact that all of the yarn processing machines will be running on low carbon renewable electricity generated by Foula’s own off-grid network not only increases overall island resilience but also allows us to significantly lower our business carbon footprint. We are really passionate about the environment and it makes us so happy to know that we are going to be able to produce our product in a responsible way, supporting our community and our unique sheep at the same time.”

Inspiring Scotland CEO Celia Tennant said:

“Inspiring Scotland is delighted to work with the Scottish Government to deliver this increase in investment to the Island Communities Fund. Support for these seven organisations will help island communities from Foula to Arran thrive, retain and grow population, and move towards a net zero future more quickly.”

Background

The total ICF grant commitment delivered by tranche 1 and 2 is £2,586,000.

The initial £2 million committed in tranche 1 has come from the £9.5 million committed to the Islands Programme for 2021/22 and the £586,000 of additional funds is made up of £526,000 transferred from the Sustainable Action Fund, which is delivered by the Domestic Climate Change Division and £60,000 in support of population focused projects to deliver on our National Islands Plan commitment to support the repopulation of rural and island communities.

Tranche 2 funding also includes £9,536.67 that has been reallocated from Tranche 1.

Projects should be completed by 31 March 2022.

Read more about the funded projects. 

Read more about the Island Communities Fund.

Creating resilient and sustainable islands. 

Thrive Outdoors Blog Series: Sharing learning from the Wee Garden

This month for the fifth instalment of our Botanics Blog series we hear from Caroline Walsh an Early Years Outdoor Learning Officer at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Caroline shares her experience of the project so far and the key learnings along the way!

I came into this exciting research project full of ideas. I had a vision in my head which I have been lucky enough to make a reality in a very short space of time.  The brilliant integrated team, working together and having the same aim, have ensured our shared vision became reality.  One month after I started, the identified space was created and named ‘Our Wee Garden’.

The two nurseries involved, ONE (Outdoor Nursery Edinburgh) and Edzell Nursery, are very different. One of the nurseries come for a whole day session every Wednesday and the other comes for two, two-hour sessions two days a week.  The resources are all open ended  to enable free flow, child led and imaginative play.

My vision is to share good practice and instil a love of being outdoors to the children, which will,hopefullylast through their lifetime. There is a memorial bench in RBGE with a quote which I love; it says “to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow”.

My own love of outdoors comes from my late father who took us out as a familyevery weekend whether rain, hail or shine, when the rain came, we built a shelter.   As Billy Connelly says, “there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes.”

Sometimes I create experiences for the children using subtle provocations which result in amazing moments. For example, the rangoli for Diwali (pictured above) inspired a fantastic session where all the children were engaged in collecting various coloured leaves, and creating pictures of ‘mum,’ ‘a rainbow’ and sparking conversations about colour, the season, the changes to the environment around us.  The children were asked if they wanted to go out into the RBGE looking for more leaves, but everyone was so engaged in play, it was a lovely session and a utopic moment to see level 5 (Leuven scale)[i] in practice.

Finding Solutions

There have been issues along the way, but there have also been solutions. An example of this is the spa tap; a fantastic invention to save water use and wash hands where no running water is available. Under the current Covid restrictions the children wash their hands when they come to the garden and when they leave. The two nurseries have vastly different approaches to this. The issue being the site is very wet already, the ground has drainage issues, and the water is sourced from a small sink every morning. So I went on a course where I learned solutions and good practice with other  practitioners .I tried it during my first session back, what had been challenging was now a simple hand washing experience. Sometimes we need to step outside and look in at our practice to find solutions.

The mud has been another learning curve; the site is very boggy and wet. But this too brings so much learning. Like when we first started using the site, there were a lot of frogs around, so the children looked for frogs and we looked at books, learning about their life cycle, sang songs five little speckled frogs which often still is requested.

The challenges have been making sure there is a dry space. At the wettest, even inside the tent was extremely muddy! But we looked to solve the problem by raising the ground using pallets.

A combination of pallets and slabs have created a pathway in Our Wee Garden and the children have been using this in their imaginative play as a train track, using the wheelbarrows back and forward on the track and the sticks at the side of the track as the levers; wonderful!

Shared Learning

I thoroughly enjoy my job and being part of this experience has been a real privilege. Each session I am getting to know the children (and them me) better and observing them and how they use the resources inspires me. To give the children ownership of the space, we created woven willow circles and linked them together to form an arch when you enter and exit Our wee Garden. The children can now independently create woven willow circles.

To avoid cross contamination and keep things simple, we have the rule ‘if you make it at Our Wee Garden then it stays at Our Wee Garden’ and you can choose where it goes. For example threading, and willow circles. Also if you find a leaf or twig outside of the RBGE you cannot bring it in to avoid cross contamination of plant biomatter. This rule is also an important learning experience for the children as they learn about how to take care of the plants in the National Collection – the main Botanical Gardens.

The staff from both nurseries have shared that they like my ideas and have purchased willow for the children to use back in their nursery and they have also taken back other ideas such as threading and shells, fabric scraps and loose parts play materials. A member of staff commented that every week she gets a new idea to try; this was lovely feedback to receive.

After a story about fairy houses the children felt inspired to create their own, some in groups and some independently, the children add to them and look for signs of fairies.  Our Wee Garden does feel magical, there is a great sense of calm and much as I hoped that everyone would feel welcome and want to come play so far that has been my experience. The children engage well and have formed an attachment to the space and myself; some don’t want to leave!  It is so rewarding when a child who does not usually engage chooses to do so in Our Wee Garden, where they feel safe, cared for and nurtured.

Each session by the welcome pebble, I have the day, date and month, (subtle literacy) Each child has a name pebble to find and pop in the repurposed seed box at the start of each session, The children help their friends find their name too. When the pilot finishes, I plan to give each child their name pebble to keep.

What I will take away from this experience is anything is possible; we cannot climb trees or have fires there are boundaries that you wouldn’t have in any other green space, but with the right team and a shared vision it IS possible to have an outdoor nursery in the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh!

Stay tuned as we continue this blog series sharing the next part of this exciting journey on Friday the 18th of February!

Enjoy this blog? Then keep an eye for the next blog in this series where both the up’s and downs of piloting a new outdoor ELC in a botanical garden will be shared as well as the key learnings along the way!

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• or by email to amy@inspiringscotland.org.uk

Promoting healthy and resilient island communities

People living on Scottish islands will benefit from community-led wellness initiatives designed to support them to live healthier lifestyles as funding has now been allocated for the Scottish Government’s Healthy Islands Fund.

The Healthy Islands Fund will help to deliver these initiatives with just over £1.3 million of Scottish Government funding from the wider £30 million Islands Programme.

The fund is managed by Inspiring Scotland with 56 projects spanning across 35 islands. Projects focus on building local capacity to increase well-being, foster connections and promote healthy and resilient islanders and communities – helping them to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Islands Secretary Mairi Gougeon said:

“It’s important that local communities have initiatives that can promote participation and equality in physical activity, as we’ve outlined in our National Islands Plan. We need to ensure that these are locally-led and local community groups who are often best placed to provide these services on our islands.

“The projects that we are funding will help encourage people to live healthier lifestyles and improve their resilience. I’m so grateful to the groups for applying to help improve the lives of the people living across Scotland’s islands and I can’t wait to see them in action.” 

Inspiring Scotland CEO Celia Tennant said:

“Inspiring Scotland is delighted to be the delivery partner for the Scottish Government’s Healthy Islands Fund which supports the aims and outcomes of the National Islands Plan and builds on the work of the Scottish Government’s Island Communities Fund.  The 56 successful Healthy Island Fund Projects delivered on 35 islands will support our island communities to engage in healthy lifestyle choices and in turn support their physical and mental wellbeing.”

 Further Information 

• Read more about the Healthy Islands Fund
• Read more about the funded projects