Welcome to your March Newsletter
There’s such a lot going on!
We have news of several events and a couple of requests.
Vote for us, join us in a community consultation and hear what is happening at the Heart.
First of all, please vote for us.
Edinburgh Community Climate Fund – Vote for the Heart
HONC has applied for funding from Edinburgh Community Climate Fund. Over 50 projects have been submitted and those with the most votes will be awarded grants until the fund of £100,000 is exhausted.
Voting is open to all Edinburgh residents over the age of eight, until 12th March.
The Heart’s proposal is the development of a teaching kitchen which will complement the partnership work we are already doing with Homestart in the development of a community garden within the curtilage of The Heart, and with Mwamba in our ‘pots of herbs’ project.
Other organisations and groups keen to work with us in developing and using the facility include Edinburgh Community Food, Leith Pantry and the Ukrainian community. We also have close links to Friends of Victoria Park and Victoria Allotments who would provide a seasonal input of fruit and vegetables to the kitchen for community use.
Please vote for the Heart.
Vote below or head to Leith Library (or any other Edinburgh Library) and they are ready to help.
Newhaven Community Consultation
Are you interested in local history and heritage? If so, we would encourage you to join Museums & Galleries Edinburgh (MGE) for a discussion of how they can best support heritage within the Newhaven community. The views of individuals and groups, old friends and new perspectives will all be welcomed. The event will be led by Diana Morton, Outreach and Access Manager at MGE.
The last community consultation took place in 2010 and in the intervening years, the Wee Museum at Victoria Primary School formed a focus for MGE’s support of local heritage. However the school community has moved to its new premises, some pillars of the community have passed away, new communities have moved to the area and new groups have been formed.
The consultation is to develop a coherent way forward for MGE to find a solution that meets the needs of the different communities and organisations in the area.
Please come along to find out more or contact Diana Morton, Outreach & Access Manager at diana.morton@edinburgh.gov.uk
The event will take place on 23 March, 6 -7.30pm at the new Victoria Primary School 1 Windrush Drive, Edinburgh EH6 4TN
New event at the Heart
Newhaven resident Gino’s bee journey began in 2014 when he took a beginner beekeeping course and got his first colony of honey bees to care for. He now holds a Beemaster qualification in practical beekeeping, is actively involved with the Scottish Beekeeping Community, keeps bees in Edinburgh, East & West Lothian, and is the recipient of several honey awards.
His three-part Thursday evening course will be a summary of all the important things you need to know about bees, beekeeping, products of the hive, plants, the environment etc…
It is aimed at people with no knowledge or experience, ideal for gardeners or people looking to learn something new or get into beekeeping. Gino’s very keen to persuade people away from thinking of honey as a cheap sweetener and to realise the rare and unique product that it is that captures the landscape in a jar.
Contact Gino at gino@simplyhoney.co
Second Coorie-In
We organised an evening event on February 23rd to welcome people into The Heart and give them the opportunity to connect with each other, to meet the people (artists and organisations) who are based in the building and to try their hand at creative activities. Teas and coffees were on offer and Mwamba provided ethnically diverse hot food which proved very popular.
The evening included a performance by the local Community Choir, taster sessions of Tai Chi and Qi Gong, felting and notebook making, visits to the pottery and violin workshops, as well as the Victorian Schoolroom and Victorian Homelife display. There was even a chance of a free massage and advice from Age Scotland and Ace-It.
Over 100 people attended, not counting the many volunteers helping in various ways, meaning that the demonstrators and tenants found themselves very busy all evening. Visitors loved the “friendly community feel” as well as “visiting each organisation and making connections.”
Here are just a few of the feedback comments we received:
“Watching book binding, seeing the Victorian school and meeting the Heart of Newhaven team!”
“Loved to see the print studio and the pottery.”
“The variety of events available.”
“Ceramics – so lovely and interesting! Ink on Mesh, violin repair specialist, felting, Victorian school. Was really great seeing all. Amazing evening!”
“We loved everything from the Victorian Schoolroom, to the Art, the lovely spaces and friendly members. Food was great.”
“EVERYTHING, BRAVO! Wonderful combination of art, craft, music, history and community initiatives. Also a very welcoming space.”
HONC’s Board is looking for a volunteer with secretarial skills to take on minute-taking for board meetings, etc.
There are also still opportunities to volunteer in various capacities, as well as a couple of places on the Board to fill, in particular for those with legal, financial, marketing or HR experience.
Please check the website for further details or contact admin@heartofnewhaven.co.uk
Finally, welcome to the Leith Folk Club, (LFC) which held the first of its revitalised events at the Heart last month.
To kick things off in their new guise and in a new venue, they held a fundraiser in the old gym hall with music and merry-making for what turned out to be a packed audience.
A spokesperson for LFC said “The money raised will enable us to recover from the last three years and will be used to get us back to doing what we do best – presenting regular gigs featuring the best Scottish and international folk and world music in the Heart of Newhaven, just down the road from our previous venue.
“None of the musicians got paid for their services and the venue was staffed by LFC committee and HoN volunteers. The night was an unqualified success and a collaborative effort, with the door-take shared equally between both organisations.”
To keep up to date with all that is happening go to Heart of Newhaven and hopefully we will see you at the Heart soon.
