Massive apologies, it’s been quite a while since I’ve put a blog up (I’ll hopefully do a few mini-blogs to rectify that issue in the next few weeks), but it’s been very busy over here in Norn Iron! Actually, that could be my first ‘down’, if you will… I need to organise my time a bit better in the future!
As part of my job I do a lot of work with a variety of different organisations wanting to carry out works on a patch of land that they either own or look after. It ranges from schools to community groups, a collaboration of interested parties, etc. In general it involves themselves applying for funding to enable themselves to either carry out the work or contract TCV to so; my involvement can be minimal or quite in-depth; from simply providing a quote to assisting them with writing a funding application. I’ve also provided supporting documents/evidence to back up an application for funding too.
While doing this, you get to know the people you’re dealing with – it could be a teacher who’s achieved great strides in recent years in providing outside environmental education for her pupils, a PTA that’s trying to assist the school in obtaining resources to allow them to offer outdoor classes, leaders of community groups who’ve collaborated to dream really big for a project in their area… they’ve all got their own personal stories and motivation behind what they do. I never see anyone who isn’t fully invested in a project – people out there are brimming with ideas of what they’d like to achieve; providing somewhere safe and pleasant for their children to learn, a mutual space for people who never really mix to co-exist and relax in… ideas that really use the outdoors to bridge gaps between people and improve their mental health, happiness and fitness.
Inside the polytunnel at Ballycraigy Primary School’s garden.
Sea of wildflowers at Ballycraigy Primary School, Antrim
I end up getting really invested in these wonderful projects; when you all work on something collectively, you do put lots of your heart and soul into it. However, because for most of the groups I work with money is tight, an awful lot of it is dependent on funding, and perhaps especially so in Northern Ireland, that funding is so competitive. You can experience a lot of ups and downs, where great projects don’t get funding – for example, in a recent Challenge Fund Grant which provided small grants from plastic bag fees towards school and community projects (all those 5ps really do make a difference!), the school section was five times oversubscribed! So you can end up commiserating, consoling, and helping disappointed applicants to look for alternative funding sources. Or on the other hand, celebrating with successful applicants and then going on to help them plan for how they’re going to deliver that project. It really can be a rollercoaster of ups and downs. What it’s really brought home to me is how a background in applying for funding and an understanding of how funding works can be beneficial to lots of different people, from all walks of life – from the mental health worker, to the schoolteacher and community group worker. Maybe they should start teaching it in college!
One of my biggest ‘up’ moments in my traineeship so far, was working with the Cornfield Project. This was a collaborative between two community organisations working with two estates in the North-East of Coleraine. Although these estates are very close geographically, there has historically been somewhat of an ‘us and them’ mentality in the area, with not much intermingling between the two. It has also been classed as within the 10% most deprived areas in Northern Ireland, experiencing more problems with under-achievement in areas like education, employment, health etc. It’s somewhere that people can need a helping hand, to raise their expectations for themselves and their children.
A patch of land lies between these two estates, covered by a mixture of woodland, amenity grassland, scrub and peppered with tarmac paths. It’s an ideal spot for rejuvenation and this was precisely what Brendan and Billy (from Focus on Family, based in Ballysally and the Millburn Community Association based in Millburn respectively) had in mind when they applied for the Grow Wild flagship project funding. They wanted to create a space accessible to all members of the community, from the young to the very old; somewhere people could go to relax, to do physical outdoor activities; a resource that could be utilised by schools through ‘forest school’ lessons and that could give back practically by providing an area for people to grow their own fruit and veg in allotments on-site. All of this would have wildflowers running throughout the site, which is one of Grow Wild’s main themes.
I came in halfway through the Cornfield Project’s funding bid; they were in the process of applying to get through to the final shortlist of 3 projects in Northern Ireland, which would compete via a public vote for the £120,000 flagship funding. I helped out in the application process by bringing in TCV Coleraine as a second level partner in the project, and prepared digital maps (using my rusty arcGIS/qGIS skills) of how the project would look when finished, to support the application. Plus attending a host of other meetings, from public consultation events to Neigbourhood Renewal Group meetings where other community groups contributed their ideas. In the end, the Cornfields Project was selected as a finalist, which was amazing! On then to the public vote, and lots of publicity was stirred up around the site, from the local council getting onboard with the project, to the basics of twitter and facebook to drum up support and local celebs making an appearance to offer support! Grow Wild also hosted a short video and description of the individual projects on their website for the public to view and vote on.
Public consultation event for The Cornfield Project
It was a tense wait, those few weeks, as we waited on the public vote finishing and the announcement of the winning project. I’m very happy they won, and can’t wait to see how the project progresses – from what I understand; they’re looking to start work in the New Year. They’re also looking to hire a development manager to oversee the start of the project – if you’re interested, get in touch and I’ll forward you on!
Close-up view of The Cornfield Project
For a description of The Cornfield Project and other information about what Grow Wild do, visit here.
For information on Focus on Family, visit their website.
Millburn Community Association have a look at their facebook page here.