Tag: Friendship Benches

Heart of Newhaven update

Welcome to your November Newsletter

For those of you expecting to hear more about the Friendship Benches project, and perhaps even see some of the finished benches, prepare to be disappointed. Bad weather on the chosen weekend meant the decorating work could not go ahead outside as planned and has had to be postponed.

We’ll keep you updated on a revised timetable and let you know when the results can be seen.

Talking of delays, yet more problems with getting the new Victoria Primary School building ready for pupils, has meant that the earliest the Heart can expect to be in possession of the keys to the old site is now January 2022. We will of course update you when we have a more concrete timeline to share.

In the meantime however, time does not stand still.  There is always work going on behind the scenes with the Trustees and volunteers, and new Working Groups are being formed to help make the transition from community vision to community reality.

These groups will be dealing with practical working arrangements for the site, community projects, and communications and marketing. If you would like to help out in any way, please use the Volunteering page on the website to get in touch.

Projects of course are always underway, despite Covid, especially as we ease out of full lockdown.

We recently collaborated with an exhibition entitled Forth Reflections, which was held in Ocean Terminal. Collaborators were Edinburgh Wellbeing PACT and the Forth/Edinburgh Shoreline Project.

This was an exhibition of crafted calico squares made by local residents, who used the squares to highlight a particular stretch of the Forth coast that meant something special to them.

They were used creatively to highlight concerns about pollution but also to illustrate the importance of living near water and how it helps individual well-being. On hand to talk to visitors were some of the Heart’s Trustees and collaborators, who discussed what well-being, one of the Heart’s main community objectives, means and how it can be improved.

Here’s what some of the visitors said:

“Living near the sea, walking, wandering with that Scottish sea breeze, gives me life and energy and reminds me to breathe.”

“I love to look at the ocean because you can lose yourself there.”

“Such pleasure taken in lockdown walking by the sparkling sea, such sadness at the pollution.”

There was more support also, for the Heart of Newhaven Community project as a whole:

“I think the Heart of Newhaven is a very good idea for people to have somewhere to go after we have all been in isolation for so long and it will be very positive to move on.”

“There is a great need of places to go that are suitable for people with disabilities. During lockdown there was nowhere to go and it’s taking time for people to feel comfortable about going out again.”

“The Newhaven area needs a community centre – there is nothing like that here.”

It is exciting to be able to report that the Heart is one of six designated community hubs along the banks of the Forth chosen to host exhibitions and activities associated with the wider Restoration Forth programme.

Restoration Forth has obtained a substantial grant for the many facets it involves, including the restoration of seagrass beds which provide the right habitat for, among other things, the oysters that used to be so plentiful in the Firth.

You can read more about the project and the new funding here:

Seagrass meadows and oysters being restored in major Firth of Forth marine restoration project

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-herald-1130/20211027/281797107205661

Heart of Newhaven Community is happy to be actively collaborating with such exciting initiatives and even more will be taking place once we’re in our new home.

Remember as ever, to check the Heart of Newhaven Community website and social media for any updates or news.

As the nights draw in …

Heart of Newhaven’s October newsletter

All about project updates …


Our friendship benches are now being decorated!

On October 8th, a group of older and younger people  from the New Spin intergenerational project at the Citadel will decorate the first of our six friendship benches, all of which have been made by Mens Shed.

The New Spin group will be working with local artist Johnathan Elders to create patterns for the backs of the bench. Further benches will be decorated in further sessions, so each will be unique. The project is being run with the help of Thrive, to celebrate World Mental Health Day on 10th October.

Fruit tree planting in Victoria Park

Our Greening Team have been busy with plans for the area and pupils from Trinity High and Trinity Primary Schools will be helping to plant some young fruit trees in Victoria Park this winter to enhance the area, by adding beauty, interest and biodiversity.

There are already a couple of small trees in situ, so those will be added to, to create a mini orchard. The trees will be Scottish heritage fruit trees, specially chosen for the site, and will include apple, pear and plum. 

Each one will have its own protective cage, provided by Edinburgh City Council, and the pupils will learn from a Royal Botanic Gardens representative how best to plant and care for them.

We hope to work on more tree-planting and wilding projects in the future, not just in the parks but in the more built-up parts of our neighbourhood, where urban nature needs some encouragement. 

 Keep abreast of the latest news on our Greening Page

Environment Page


And more on green issues

The Heart of Newhaven Community was assessed by It’s Your Neighbourhood, part of the Keep Scotland Beautiful charity recently, and despite it only being the first year of our association with them, we have scored a Level 3, (out of five) which means we are “advancing”.

The score was helped by having achieved our goal of funding from the Scottish Land Fund to acquire the site, as well as successfully engaging with a variety of local communities and groups. Well done everyone involved. The next level is “thriving” and the top level is “outstanding”. How long will it be?

Forth Reflections

On October 22nd from 2pm – 4 pm we are collaborating with an exhibition in the main entrance to Ocean Terminal called ‘Forth Reflections and Expressions of Wellbeing’. The event is being organised in conjunction with the Edinburgh Wellbeing PACT and the Forth/Edinburgh Shoreline Project.

Conceived during the dark days of winter lockdown this project is the passionate responses of well over a hundred different people to a part of the Forth coast that is special to them.

A long storyline of enmeshed crafted memories and visions of the Forth has emerged, linking the Fife, Edinburgh and East Lothian coasts, biodiversity, people and communities.

Each participant expressed their response to their chosen 1km of coast on a calico square and many people have focused on the coast’s local history and wildlife, its beauty and diversity and the many species and memories that have been and are still being lost. While frustration and anger can be seen in many pieces about marine and intertidal pollution, there is also heartfelt hope for the future.

We hope that as many people as possible will call in and have a chat. Not only will it be an opportunity to talk to us about our plans for the Heart in general but we also want to have conversations about wellbeing and what it means to each of us in our community. As inspiration we will be displaying a selection of the calico squares created by local people.

Call in to see the display and have a chat.

Keep watching our website and social media platforms for the latest news, as we await the move of Victoria Primary School pupils to their new home and the handover of the keys for the site from Edinburgh City Council to the Heart.

Heart of Newhaven newsletter

Welcome to your (slightly early) August Newsletter 

And it’s good news all the way.

As some of you may already have heard or read, the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) decision has been announced and we are happy to report that we have secured even more than we had hoped for.

We have been awarded the full cost of the agreed purchase price of the site from the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC), £700,000, and on top of that, we have also been given a further sum to help with some of the start-up costs.

The total amount awarded is £792,000.

First of all, the Board of Trustees would like to convey their thanks to all the volunteers and supporters who have helped us come this far. The community has led this project from the start and will continue to do so. However the hard work is really just beginning. Your support and help will be even more necessary as we move forward.

Here’s what our chairman Rodney Matthews has to say:

“The site of Victoria Primary School IS going to be the Heart of Newhaven Community. 

“This time last year the City of Edinburgh Councilapproved our request to take over the school and reduced the valuation price by £85,000 because of what we’ve promised to do, especially for the very young, the elderly, isolated and most vulnerable.  Provided we could pay them£700,000, they would sell the site to the community.    

“The Scottish Land Fund (SLF) has just given us that whole amount – and more!

“This SLF was set up by the Scottish Governmentto help charities just like ours working to improve local communities in the ways we have set out for the site, in order for it to become a vibrant hub of activity of people of all generations working and playing together; as we have often said, ‘the beating Heart of Newhaven’.

“All approved. We are now poised to sign two contracts:  one with the SLFand the other with the Councilfor vacant possession of the site on a date yet to be announced, dependent on the completion of building works across the road. When we do get the keys, there will be much work to be done to get the building safe and ready for use, so bear with us. We will go as fast as we safely can.

“There will be plenty of exciting things to share to take us on through the challenge of the months ahead right through the inevitably unknown autumn and winter to come and into the spring of 2022  – when you will really begin to see things happen.”

Get more involved

The Board is looking for three new trustees to bring some new blood into the mix. If you live in the area and would like to become more involved, please check our new web page – Trustees

In the meantime …

Friendship Benches

Men’s Shed have finalised the design and size of the benches and are now completing jigs to help with the construction.  As covid restrictions are slowly being relaxed more men are attending and therefore the work rate will increase. They are hoping that all will be ready by early September. Then the fun part will begin as local youngsters are called on to help decorate them.

So come with us into the future … it’s looking bright!

Heart of Newhaven: Past, Present and Future

Welcome to your July Newsletter. This is a newsletter about past, present and future.

First: the past.

We have been receiving plenty of positive feedback from the Pots of Kindness project. If you remember, this involved pupils from Victoria Primary School potting up edible flowers, herbs and vegetables and distributing them to some of the isolated or elderly members of the community, whose details were supplied by the Pilmeny Development Project (PDP). Recipients have been responding.

“What a lovely idea. It is so nice to be part of this initiative. As you know I am housebound, so it is great that I can still be part of the community while being at home. I loved the beautiful letter I received from the pupil – what a fantastic idea. Thank you,” said one.

Mary from PDP received a phone call once one pack was delivered

“Thank you so much for the plant and letter – I absolutely love it. I am delighted with the wee package and the letter from the pupil was adorable. And the man who delivered the package was really friendly – thank you”.

A few weeks later, the same recipient rang Mary to say “My plant has started sprouting – I have it on my window sill and I check it everyday. It was great getting the instructions on how to help the plant grow. I really am delighted to be part of this project – thank you”.

“My spinach has started to grow – I love Spinach and I think I might be like Popeye after this. The letter from the pupil was so sweet – thank you,” said another.

We’re glad it has proved so welcome.

The Present

Our partners at the PDP are organising more volunteer induction sessions so if you would like to get involved, make a note of this date: Saturday 7th August at 11am on Zoom, when you can find out about the different volunteering opportunities available within PDP. Expectations, boundaries and confidentiality will be among the topics for discussion.

Similarly, you can join in the HoNC/ PDP Newhaven Virtual Coffee Group for those living in or around Newhaven on either Mon 19th July at 4pm or Mon 16th Aug at 4pm, both on Zoom.

If you are interested in these events then please contact Norma by Email

Still in the present:

We’re thrilled to tell you that the University of Edinburgh student social media team has included HoNC in the most recent episode of their popular podcast’s third series

The Broadcast is The Broad Online’s podcast and aims to bring local community initiatives to its listeners’ attention. HoNC trustee Judy Crabb and Head of Victoria Primary School Laura Thomson were engaged in discussion on the creation of our intergenerational community centre in the old school in the latest recording.

Lauren Galligan and Jack Liddall were the co-hosts and interviewers. She is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Broad Online. Jack is the Secretary of The Broad and a volunteer with HoNC.

The podcast will shortly be available to listen to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Podbean. We will share a link to the podcast on the Heart’s social media and website as soon as it is available.

Future

Now on to the future. The Men’s Shed members have been busy at work on our Friendship Benches, which we aim to have ready for Mental Health Day in October. We will be organising painting and decorating days with local artist Johnathan Elders over the summer holidays, so watch this space.

In the immediate future, we await the decision from the Scottish Land Fund on our application for the funds required to make good our promise to buy the school site.

We will pass on the news as soon as we can.

Keep your fingers crossed!