BTCV Scotland
This 3-year project, 2003-06, with total grant of £233,300 offered including additional allocations in 2003-04 and 2004-05, focused on environmental justice.
Building on a pilot scheme in Nitshill, Glasgow, and East Kilbride which resulted in new play facilities, regeneration of gardens and new paths and gave communities the knowledge and the means to improve their surroundings, it extended the awareness of biodiversity issues to disadvantaged urban areas across the central belt of Scotland, linking people with their local environment.
Each area requires differing approaches. BTCV Scotland flexibly delivered biodiversity awareness in a manner meaningful to a variety of groups - individuals disadvantaged because of long-term illness or drug and alcohol abuse and finding personal benefits such as confidence building and social contact, refugees whose first real contact with Scotland came through this project, or young people, with some activity delivered through primary schools. There was work with vulnerable individuals and groups from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
Glasgow in Year 2 supported 384 volunteers, 162 of whom were new volunteers. This resulted in 1,225 volunteer days. Working in partnership with the Inclusion and Diversity team, a further 599 volunteers were supported, 401 of whom were from Black and Minority Ethnic communities and 308 new to volunteering. The volunteer days were delivered over a range of projects across Glasgow that included food growing and wildflower propagation, habitat management and access improvement, building and installing habitat boxes and litter removal and site tidy-ups.
Amongst the groups, organisations and communities that benefited from the above initiatives were Stobhill Hospital Mental Health Unit, Drumchapel Momentum, Cardonald College Students, Caldercult Primary School, Milton Nursery and Nitshill and Darnley Communities.
Edinburgh has traditionally had a strong volunteer base and the second year saw a continuation of embedding the importance of Biodiversity amongst the 1,043 volunteers supported. 2,196 volunteer days were generated over 2004-05 on activities that included habitat management and access improvement, litter removal and site tidy-ups, biodiversity education and awareness presentations, drystane dyking and dipping platform construction and pond regeneration work.
Groups and communities that benefited included Westburn Woods Youth Project, Gorgie Dalry Community, Edenhall Hospital, Musselburgh, North Edinburgh Art Centre and Prestonpans.
A new Stirling Volunteer Team was able to incorporate 98 new volunteers within its total of 157 individuals who carried out 45 projects on a range of activities that included specific work on access improvement along dismantled railways and meadow regeneration. Early development work took place with Falkirk Council promoting better access to Community Woodlands, and similarly consultations took place to assist in regenerating community parks in North Lanarkshire. The team delivered volunteering work in areas including Dunipace, Gartmore and Foulshiels.
BTCV Scotland also worked with other environmental partners to make their activities more ethnically diverse. For example, in partnership with the National Trust for Scotland and the John Muir Award, BTCV Scotland pioneered an approach to help new arrivals integrate into Scotland's culture and landscape. BTCV Scotland volunteers from Algeria, Albania, Bangladesh, Russia, Scotland, Somalia and Zimbabwe set sail to Arran to get involved in a variety of activities including conservation work, hill walking, and environmental discussions, gaining a greater understanding of their respective backgrounds, beliefs and Scotland's environment.
A pond "spring clean" was organised by the North Motherwell Green Gym Team and had to be done before spawning and nesting started in and around Dunstaff Pond - introducing BTCV Green Gym to new areas in North Lanarkshire. The Fife Green Gym Team undertook projects at Townhill Country Park and Lochore Meadows Country Park and at various other locations throughout North East Fife.
The support provided by the Sustainable Action Grant had an impact on BTCV Scotland's development of links with communities and unlocked some of the potential for creating a culture of self-help based on a greater understanding of the surrounding environment. BTCV Scotland helped create a critical mass of individuals and groups that are more aware, better informed and active in their communities.
With the additional grant BTCV were able to deliver project work across a greater geographic area in 2005-06. BTCV considered that this Sustainable Action Grant project significantly influenced the lives of many people, and allowed a focus of their activities around the themes of awareness and involvement, environmental improvement, inclusion and diversity, and developing skills. BTCV judged that the innovative application of Sustainable Action Grant funding assisted in not only developing awareness but also turning that into actual volunteer activity.
This three year project helped to embed BTCV Scotland's tangible delivery of environmental awareness across Scotland and in particular where disadvantaged communities had struggled to help in their own local areas. The work achieved in this project continued as a result of later funding to BTCV for programmes continuing to develop the capacity of communities to improve the environment and, at the same time, change their lives.
Contact
BTCV Scotland
Balallan House
24 Allan Park
Stirling
FK8 2QG
Telephone: 01786 479697
Email: scotland@btcv.org.uk
Website: www.btcv.org.uk