The Junction, a health and wellbeing project for young people aged 12-21, has developed and delivered a young person’s mapping project which is based on the principles and features of the Asset Based Approach.
The key feature of asset based working is valuing the potential, skills, knowledge and connections present in individuals and their communities.
During creation of the map staff spoke with young people in their community during streetwork; each map shows where young people hang out, places they feel safe and where they go for support as well as what they saw as the best thing about their area.
The maps were made during May and June at The Junction in Leith, Granton Youth Centre (GYC), Pilton Youth & Community Project (PYCP) and Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG).
Young people attending their regular drop-in at each organisation were given the chance to get involved and those that took part were aged from 12 to 17.
There are 4 maps in total – each is 9ft x 6ft and is made of tie dye material, each map is unique and made up from photos, young people’s comments and opinions about their area.
This is just the beginning; each organisation will be given the map to use as a resource to use with the young people of that area.
Feel free to email any comments you may have about the maps.
Two next door neighbours from Granton are part of a band who will be launching their first CD next Saturday (11 May, 7.30pm) at Hendersons St John’s on the corner of Princes St and Lothian Road.
Kite and the Crane are an indie-folk band who write songs about beauty in the everyday. North Edinburgh residents might well recognise some local scenes mentioned in their songs, especially in ‘Lights across the way’ which is about watching the planes coming in over the Firth of Forth.
Songwriter Hannah Kitchen said, “We’re really excited about launching our first 5 track CD and would love folk from North Edinburgh to make it along. Many of the songs were inspired by, written, practiced and recorded in North Edinburgh – thanks sometimes to the patience of our neighbours!”
Explore the North Edinburgh Cycleways with Edinburgh’s favourite treasure hunt on wheels!
What: The Postcode Challenge, organised by The Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust and The Bike Station. This is a fun, free ‘treasure hunt’ event for cyclists and walkers on the North Edinburgh Path Network, part of the Innertube project and funded by People’s Postcode Trust
Where: The North Edinburgh Cycleways (various entrances to the cycleway including at: Trinity Rd/Lower Granton Road; Ferry Road; Clark Road; Wardie Road; Hawthornvale; Pilton Drive; Scotland St)
When: Sunday 28th April 2013, 11am – 4pm
This coming Sunday is the third Postcode Challenge on the north Edinburgh paths, a fun, free event for cyclists and walkers, a ‘treasure hunt on wheels’ (and foot), with the chance to explore around 27km of continuous off-road routes and to enter into the prize draw at the same time.
Dotted around the network will be ten stands, run by local organisations. Find your first one (you can start anywhere on the route) and they will give you a card. Get the card stamped at all ten locations (five if you are on foot) and bring it back to the event HQ at Fiveways Junction by 4pm to be entered into the free prize draw. As well as the main prizes, many of the stands may have freebies and presents to give away too and you’ll be able to get your bike fixed and have cycling advice from Hart’s Cyclery, Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op and The Bike Station stands.
The event is totally traffic free and great for all ages and everyone is welcome – you can take part on your own, as a family or as part of a team.
Participants can download further information here and a cyclist route map and stamp card here or if you are on foot, download the walkers’ version. Or just collect one at the first stand you find.
Look out for the following stalls on the route:
The Bike Station – for bike repairs with Dr Bike
Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
The Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop – check out their gorgeous new building!
Pedal on Parliament
Spokes
Sustrans
Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre
Harts Cyclery – Bike repairs and advice
My Edinburgh (MYDG)
Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op – Bike repairs and advice
We can’t tell you where each stand will be – but once you’ve found the first one, you’re away. If in doubt, head to Fiveways Junction, where people will point you in the right direction.
And thank you to the following for donating prizes: Spokes, the Bike Station, Harts Cyclery Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op and Green Yonder Tours
This event is part of the Innertube project, funded thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery and via the People’s Postcode Trust.
For further information, please contact Liz on 0771 265 1102 or email liz@elgt.org.uk
It’s often a worry for parents when their wee ones make the step up to ‘big’ school, but even more so for the parents who choose to send their child to a school outside their catchment area. It’s not always possible to get a place at the school you’ve chosen for your child, and many face an anxious wait over the coming weeks …
The City of Edinburgh Council is warning parents who have applied for primary school places outwith their catchment that they may not be met due to the pressure of rising rolls.
A report to the Education, Children and Families Committee on Tuesday (5 March) will list the schools where placing requests may not be met.
The number of P1 registrations has increased by 3.5 per cent on last year to 4632 and the Council has received more than 700 placing requests so far for the next school year.
There has been a decrease in the number of these requests following a concerted campaign to encourage parents to learn more about their local catchment school and the benefits of their child attending there. This has led to a 15 per cent reduction on the number of requests received last year.
Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener, said: “Parents who have submitted a placing request should be prepared for the fact that they may not get the place they were hoping for and recent experience has been that appeals are unlikely to be successful. However, their child will be registered with their local catchment school and will start next August alongside other local children.
“Historically, Edinburgh has had a high rate of placing requests when compared with other parts of Scotland. However, since I became Convener of Education I have met a number of parents who faced similar situations in the last few years. Happily, they report things have worked out and that their local catchment school is providing very well for their child. I would encourage all parents who are thinking about placing requests to reconsider their catchment school and perhaps pay it a visit, as it is becoming clear many requests will be refused this year.”
To help ensure there are enough places for catchment children, planning permission has now been received for extra classrooms at three city primary schools – Wardie, Trinity and Granton, all of which need of more classroom space due to the large number of registrations. These extensions will be in place by August, and a planning application for new classes at Victoria Primary is also being considered.
A working group made up of parent, officer and school representatives has been set up to look at the challenges facing city schools in light of rising rolls and an increase in population.
A project initiated by the Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust will see the tunnel at Granton (behind Morrisons) transformed from bare walls to an Innertube map art extravaganza.
The project which is being managed locally by the Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre will see a design which is featured around the Innertube Map painted onto the walls in the tunnel.
Local youngsters get practising for taking part in the project. (Picture: Thomas Brown)
Leith-based artist Chris Young has been commissioned to come up with the design, work with local young people to develop the design and implement it. Chris has been involved a variety of community lead projects and is looking forward to starting at the Granton site next week.
The design that Chris proposed at the site was then taken to local young people at Fet Lor Youth Centre and they had a chance to make comments and even have their own artwork included in the plans.
Last night Chris attended their youth club and they had the opportunity to prepare a design and painting their design. Around 13 young people took part and these young people will all be involved in the implementation of the project on the tunnel.
Don’t worry, if you would like to have the chance to get involved or fancy doing some painting at the tunnel with Chris then please contact Thomas Brown at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre on 0131 315 4989 or email thomas@drylawnc.org.uk Over the coming weeks we will be updating on the progress at the tunnel and keeping you informed how you can get involved.
You can see a short video below of what the young people made at Fet Lor and also see their finished product.
Edinburgh Leisure and Active Schools teamed up again to stage Gymfest, a celebration of the city’s young gymnasts, at Broughton High School yesterday. And with financial support from Active City the annual display reached new heights – quite literally! A wide range of gymnasts from across the city took part in the Broughton spectacular – from enthusiastic new dancers and fun gymnasts (some performing in public for the first time) to top young athletes who already participate in competitions – and the packed audience was entertained from start to finish by some spectacular performances. Given the high standards throughout the afternoon it was fitting that all the participants received medals, so take a bow:
Dads Rock, the free fun playgroup for dads and their kids, is coming to Granton. It’s almost a year to the day since Thomas Lynch and David Marshall dreamed up the idea of starting a playgroup for dads and their kids, and Dads Rock has since gone from strength to strength.
Dads Rock’s weekly fun sessions for under-fives at Sighthill’s Gate 55 have been very popular since they were launched last November, and the group has gone on to attract both local and national press coverage – last month the group was featured in a photo exhibition at the Scottish Parliament. Dads Rock is now very excited to be coming to The Prentice Centre on Saturday mornings – the big launch is Saturday 27 October from 10 – 11.30am.
Group founder Thomas Lynch said: “It’s amazing the difference a year makes! We’ve had brilliant meetings at The Prentice Centre and it’s a great venue. We’re really looking forward to starting there on Saturday 27th at 10am – we’re hoping for a great turn out, so spread the news!”
Two local men will feature in a photographic exhibition at the Scottish Parliament next month. Dads Alex Newport and Malcolm Borthwick and their families are part of the ‘In Dad’s Shoes’ exhibition being staged by the father’s group Dad’s Rock.
Wester Drylaw’s Alex and Malcolm, who lives in Granton, are members of a North Edinburgh group set up specifically for dads. Based at the Haven Project in Craigroyston Primary School, the father’s group is run by Circle Scotland’s Nick Smithers.
Alex and family
Nick explained: “The exhibition comprises of photos of all kinds of dads and their children, telling their own stories through photos and with words. The images show a variety of differing stages of being a father, ultimately the aim is to highlight positive, caring images of dads and their children. The exhibition has been on view at Eteaket during July and August, and, complemented with added new material, will go to Holyrood next month.”
Previously on display south of the border following an official launch at the House of Lords in June, Dads Rock and Fathers Network Scotland worked in conjunction with Dads House to bring this unique photo exhibition to Scotland. It’s hoped that the display will continue to tour Scotland after the Holyrood exhibition.
A man and a woman had to be treated for smoke inhalation after a suspected deliberate stair fire yesterday afternoon. This comes just a week after a fire which resulted in a three month old baby being taken to hospital.
Two engines from Crewe Toll and a height appliance were mobilised to West Granton Road at 12.19pm after reports of a building alight.
On arrival firefighters discovered a fire in the ground floor of the common stair within a three-storey tenement property. Four firefighters in breathing apparatus and using a high pressure hose reel extinguished the blaze and vented the building for smoke.
A man aged 24 and a woman aged 27 from one of the top floor flats had to be checked over by ambulance crews at the scene.
Lothian Borders Fire & Rescue Service’s Fire Investigation Unit and Police were called due to suspicion the fire was started deliberately.
The Council and Scottish Gas were also contacted about heat and smoke damage in the common areas.
A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said:
“Early indications suggest this fire may have been started deliberately. Fortunately no-one was seriously hurt but there was noticeable damage to the common stair area.
“If you live in a property with a common stair and shared areas please be a good neighbour and do what you can to prevent this type of incident. Always make sure main doors leading to flats are kept locked. Don’t let strangers into common stairs. Never stored combustibles in a common stairway. They can be attractive to deliberate fire setters. Rubbish can also block exits in a emergency and burning materials will produce a lot of toxic smoke putting residents at risk of smoke inhalation.
“If you discover a fire and it is safe to do so, get out, stay out and call us out by dialling 999 and asking for ‘Fire’. If your stairwell is full of smoke it may be safer to stay inside your property and call 999. Fire control will give expert fire survival advice until fire crews arrive to help you. They will make sure firefighters know where to find you and they will tell you when it is safe to leave your property.”
For more fire safety advice, including how to make an escape plan for your home or what to do if trapped by fire, you can visit our website at www.lbfire.org.uk
A 28-year-old woman and her three-month-old baby girl were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for a check-up after a deliberate fire in Granton this morning.
Firefighters from McDonald Road and Crewe Toll fire stations responded shortly before 11.30am after a report of a building alight in Royston Mains Gardens.
When crews arrived, they discovered the back door and rubbish to the rear of the three-storey property well alight and the common stair filled with smoke.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze and checked out all the neighbouring flats to ensure no one was unaccounted for.
The woman and her baby were lead to safety by firefighters before being taken by ambulance to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Crews left the scene at 1pm.
A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: “Initial investigations suggest that rubbish which had been stored at the back door was deliberately set alight. This led to the door catching fire and the common stair filling with smoke.
“This would have been a very frightening experience for householders. Fortunately, firefighters were on site quickly and were able to help residents out of the building before extinguishing the blaze.
“We can’t stress enough the importance of keeping common areas free from junk and rubbish. It’s an attractive target for firesetters and can put people at risk of deliberate set fires.”
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