Issue 03Summer 2012

Inside this issue...

page 2Young people help create their own learning space

page 3Creswell joins forces with Leicester

page 4Training Team look back on a successful year

page 5Groundwork in the districts - Newark & Sherwood

Young people celebrate their success

On Tuesday, 3 July, upto 500 young peopleand their familiesand friends gathered for an event to publicly celebrate their achievements.

In a ceremony held atthe Winding Wheel,Chesterfield, specialawards and certificateswere presented to youngpeople for levels attainedin a range of differentcourses.

One of the highlights of the event was a presentation from youth motivational speaker Action Jackson.

In total, 14 trainingproviders recognisedthe achievements in 28different subject areas.

These training providerscome together to form theChesterfield and Bolsover& Staveley Learning

Community, offering22 different learningprogrammes.

The courses vary insubject eg Hair & Beauty,Vehicle Studies andEngineering.

Groundwork offers a partpractical, part theorycourse in Preparationfor Employment in theConstruction Industry.Young people aged 14– 16 visit Groundwork oneday a week for two years to learn trowel and brickwork skills, paving, health and safety, site awareness and more.

David Tomblin, Training Officer at Groundwork, presented two young people with theircertificates. Special Awards went to Corey Linney, for Most Improved Student of the Year and

Connor Howard, Student of the Year.

David said:

“I feel really honoured tobe stood here presentingthese awards to theseyoung people today. Theirachievements should notbe underestimated. Theyhave been a pleasure towork with and I learn asmuch from them, as theydo from us!”.

He also added,

“Thanks must also go toJacqui Kinch and LornaSkinner for organisingan excellent eventto recognise thesesuccesses, so often wejust hear about the badthings that some youngpeople do”.

Young people gather in front of their families to celebrate their achievements throughout the year

The Groundwork Centre96 Creswell Road, ClowneChesterfield, DerbyshireS43 4NATel: 01246 570977Fax: 01246 813200creswell@groundwork.org.ukwww.groundwork-creswell.org.ukwww.crestra.co.uk

Creswell, Ashfield and Mansfield Newsletter

page 6Staff spotlight on Mike Steel, Training Officer

Groundwork and Crestra touring the summer showsA successful time was had by Groundwork and Crestra over the weekend of 12 and 13 May at the Newark and Nottinghamshire County Show. Over 50,000 people attended over the two days with Crestra exhibiting its solar offer as well as Groundwork displaying some of its other renewable energy projects. The days were a great success with bright warm sunshine showing just how powerful solar energy can be.

It was nice to be able to give people the chance to browse some of Groundwork’s past projects and meet the faces behind all of the work. It was also a good opportunity to watch the JCB dancing in the arena opposite while at work!

Following this, on 20 and 21 June, 60,000 visitors visited the 128th Lincolnshire Show. Hot sunshine on day one and heavy rain on day two showed the British weather in all its glory. With a change in the Feed in Tariff set for 1 August, Crestra spent time educating people about the benefits of solar electricity, while encouraging people to act fast to ensure a better

return on investment.

Even the mud bath of day two didn’t deter the visitors. It was discovered that, even with the current mass news coverage of the Feed in Tariffs, people were still very unsure of the offer and thought it was ‘too good to be true’. Groundwork really enjoyed telling people the excellent benefits of solar electricity and that it is an excellent investment option for the majority of homeowners and commercial organisations.

In May and June, Nottinghamshire Learning Centre worked with Groundwork at Collingham Youth Centre to create an outdoor garden and seating area. Work included landscaping, laying a concrete path, building raised beds, fixing graffiti boards to an existing fence and finally finishing off with decorative stone chippings.

Learners participating included Brandon Harvey, Hugo Heald, Macauley Hoult, Craig Robinson and Maciej Meissner.

Upon completion, Valentine Marshall, the worker-in-charge at the centre, commented “The involvement of Groundwork was key to transforming this space. The way in which the team approached the task was very

professional. Now members of the youth club have begun to take ownership of this area and plan to develop it further so a big thank you to the Groundwork team.” Paul Coulson, Youth Training Facilitator at Groundwork added “I am proud of my team; the landscaping involved was tough going and required commitment and demonstrating a wide range of skills. They have shown an abundance of this throughout the programme which has enabled them to gain an accredited qualification in Heath and Safety and also progress onto college to do various other qualifications in joinery, bricklaying and motor mechanics. We wish them all well for the future.”

Young people help to create own learning spaceGroundwork helps to create young peoples outdoor learning space at a youth centre in Newark, Nottinghamshire. This was for young people to have a space to meet in and engage in outdoor activities.

Eco schools dayOn 29 May 2012 an event was organised by a community ecologist from Nottingham University for school children in Mansfield.

Lots of primary schools attended where they could learn about ‘green’ things. Groundwork was invited to attend and ran a workshop on bee keeping.

Working with Val Simmons, a local bee keeper, up to 96 children got the chance to take part . While Val talked to them about the importance of bees Groundwork took children to survey the wild flower meadow at Berry Hill Park in Mansfield.

The event, organised through OPEL, was a great success and all the children thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Groundwork has been offering horticultural learning to schools in theBolsover, Staveley and Chesterfield areas. This forms a part of a wider programme offering a range of vocational subjects across the Bolsover and StaveleyLearning Community.

To date, up to 94 young people have been learning skills by setting up newgarden areas and developing and improving landscapes. Adding horticultureprogrammes to the curriculum opens up many avenues to students,teachers, parents and the local community by improving open space andpromoting the benefits of healthy eating.

The sessions mainly run on school sites by a Groundwork Training Officer.

Learners get the opportunity to learn how to use tools such as grassstrimmers while also developing their teamwork skills.

A health and safety introduction and a short

course in brick work is also part of the programme.

Sessions last for three hours and run between six and eight weeks. Due to the success of the Horticulture provision within in the Foundation Learning Carousel programme, the Learning Community is seeking to extend the offer as a one year dedicated course.

Groundworks Creswell and Leicestershire join forces for housing programme

North West Leicestershire has begun developing its unoccupied homes in partnership with young people & Groundwork’s Leicester & Leicestershire and Creswell, Ashfield and Mansfield. The project has been developed jointly with North West Leicestershire District Council with the aim of engaging with local young people to provide a range of valuable construction and maintenance skills, along with the opportunity to have some work place training and take part in the regeneration of the local area, providing hands-on experience so valuable for gaining employment.

Groundwork’s Darren Pollard maintained; “This is a great opportunity for two Groundwork trusts to use their skills and knowledge collectively on a project for the district council. As well as improving property stock, a number of young people will also have the opportunity to gain valuable paractical skills that will benefit them for life. It is a complete regeneration package for the community.”

Green fingersGroundwork’s horticultural learning is going down a treat in several local schools

2011/12 has been a busy academic year for the Training Department as more young people have gained qualifications and more courses are offered.

By the end of July 2012 it is expected that a total of 180 learners will have gained a qualification through Groundwork in the last year. These include courses in construction skills, health and safety, personal finance, environmental sustainability, healthy living and painting and decorating.

At the moment at least 130 trainees are already booked on courses for 2012-2013.

As well as accredited qualifications, Groundwork has operated many courses designed to teach skills, teamwork and build self esteem. These have been extremenly popular with schools and young people alike. Courses in bushcraft skills, forest schools and horticulture supplement the learning of the curriculum while providing it in an alternative way.

This year, the training department has also been taking young apprentices to teach them skills needed for their practical jobs. It is excellent to report that all of these

apprentices have passed their first unit in Health and Safety, with very high marks. The next two years look very bright for these young men.

Caralynn Gale, Education Manager, said: “it has been a good year for the traning team; with the successes we have had we can now build a stronger education offer for the new term. The real stars are the young people, and of course the training officers that work with them, roll on 2012/13!”

Apprentices get stuck in to make cemetery wall safer

Groundwork and Crestra have recently completed a project for Treeton Parish Council to make its cemetery walls safe. Approximately 30 metres of the wall surrounding the cemetery was leaning making it susceptible to collapse. The wall also ran near a bus stop so it posed a risk to the public.

The structure was completely demolished down to its foundations and rebuilt. Memorial stone experts had to be consulted as several head stones were also nearby.

The project gave an excellent opportunity for Crestra’s nine new bricklaying apprentices to gain valuable site experience. The young apprentices expect to be with Crestra for up to two years, earning a wage whilst learning the skills needed to sustain a job in the industry.

The young apprentices worked alongside several of Crestra’s experienced supervisors on the project. They can pass on their valuable knowledge and experience to the apprentices.

Matt Newman, Project Manager, said:

“This was an excellent project for

the apprentices to work on, it was not a straight forward wall re-build at all, but much care and thought had to be put in to make sure it was safe for the public and would remain so for years to come. All involved did a great job and the young lads particularly seemed to enjoy working on a real site.”

Training team look back on successful year

Groundwork is currently working with Walesby Parish Council to develop a successful funding strategy for a

childrens play area in the village. The final design will aim to provide a community area that the whole village can benefit from.

Over £100,000 of funding has been secured from a variety of sources including Nottinghamshire County Council’s Local Improvement Scheme, Wren (Landfill Tax Credits) and via Groundwork’s Transform Your Patch scheme. While initial ideas and concepts have been drawn up the final designs for the project are still being finalised.

More will be reported in future issues!

Groundwork in the districts - Newark & Sherwood

Hawtonville Children’s Centre Newark

Groundwork has been commissioned by Newark and Sherwood District Council to design an outdoor extension to Nottinghamshire County Council’s Youth Centre in Newark.

The design features include new trees, orchards and woodland plants; new paths and a grassed multi-sports area.

This was designed in consultation with users of the centre and sympathetically uses the outdoor space to keep teenagers engaged and entertained.

The capital works are due to be completed in early 2013.

Barnby Road, Newark

Designs have been finalised to enhance a redundant green space in a residential area of Newark.

Following the development of the Barnby Road Academy, the site of the old school has been left underused.

Groundwork has been commissioned by N&S DC to work with the local community to establish future plans for the area.

Funding applications have been submitted which will enable the development of

the site. A set of consultation events has taken place in the Barnby Road community with the aim of gathering local opinion on how to best develop a disused area of land.

Discussions about a proposed park have

lead to talk about setting up a wider community association to make positive contributions to the neighbourhood.

The inaugural meeting of the new Friends of Group took place in June this year.

nity Park29thSep 2011

eas

CB-

Football pitch area: parish council to be approached to discuss the possibility of improving quality of the pitch e.g.area levelled, large stones removed and re-seeded. Area occasionally used for village events such as galas and fetes.

Pop up power source for gala events

Potentially noisy activities (such as play area) kept at a distance from adjacent residential properties

Former pond area retained as a wildlife area. No direct access for safety reasons and to encourage biodiversity

Bin

Entrance to park: explore the possibility of a community art project to create gates, signage or mosaic paving at the entrance

Existing trees and shrubs used as a natural play resource.

Access to allotments

Informal picnic area2 picnic benches designed to accommodate wheelchair users. Logs cleared from elsewhere could be used as benches too.

BinTeenagers’ play equipent to south east of site so as to be close to existing BMX track through woodland

Bench

Bench

Bench

Bench

Roundabout- wheelchair accessible

Chime spingers: inclusive, sensory play

Junior swings

Basket swing suitable for a wide range of ages

Proludic ‘Turnfly’ equip-ment (ages 12-99)

Proludic: IXO tower, steel slide, incline net, tower, rope ladder.

Material excavated from path to be reused on site to create a ‘snake’! A grass mound 1m high. Natural play opportunities but also informal seating for football spectators.

Crocodile springy

Wobbly bridge between earth mounds

Logs used to create, low stepping stone trail

Western boundary of site softened by the creation of a small (20 trees) community orchard containing fruit varieties originating in Nottingham-shire. Area underplanted with spring flowering bulbs

0-6 yrs play area

6-12 yrs play area

Teen play area

Access to water monitoring station maintained and kept clear

Differential mowing regime:Edge of playing field softened by allowing grass to grow and creation of areas of wildflower meadows: habitat creation will provide a visually ore dynamic environ-ment as well asencouraging biodiversity.

Tuxford Road

Manor Close

Walesby Communn

Concept Ideea

scalet to Not

eqequipipentt t totete soo ass t to

iinng BBMXX traoodlaandd

eer mmoninitoringiineddn annd kept

ooringned aa

scato

g nd ke

t Not

teerr m

agers’ of siit

BMMX ttee so

MX ttr

to o bebee

rackk e

ckk raNorth.......

Walesby Community Parksketch proposals

2metre wide path: liestone to dust, timber edged

Groundwork Creswell, Ashfield and Mansfield works in partnership with eight local authorities. This covers large parts of North Nottinghamshire, North Derbyshire and South Yorkshire. With so many projects running it is hard to showcase them all. Here is a selection of projects that have benefitted the Newark and Sherwood District....

Walesby Pocket ParkThis programme was ran by Groundwork with the Trent Vales Landscape Partnership, as part of its lottery-funded

activities in raising the profile of the River Trent and its communities.

The Vale’s Tales initiative aimed to invigorate and enthuse its inhabitants by working within the different mediums of storytelling, videos, photography (both old and new), painting and any other artistic way they wish to express themselves. Exhibitions of work were displayed in each village. Plays, books and magazines have also been produced to create a vivid picture of what life is like in the area. Now the programme is drawing to a close it has left a lasting legacy of what life is like today for future generations.

The Vale’s Tales

Groundwork staff spotlight: Mike Steel, Training Officer

Trevor WittsExecutive Director GCAM/Crestra Ltd

Specific enquiries to:

Darren PollardConstruction, housing and landscape

James TrowsdaleDevelopment and community

Caralynn GaleEducation, training and skills

Lindsey-Jane BuxtonMarketing and communications

Head office:96 Creswell RoadClowneChesterfieldDerbyshire S43 4NATel: 01246 570977Fax: 01246 813200

Worksop office:Rear of Sandy Lane Retail ParkBabbage WayWorksopNotts S80 1UJFax: 01909 479695

Key Groundwork contacts...

E-mail: creswell@groundwork.org.ukWebsite: www.groundwork-creswell.org.uk www.crestra.co.uk

How did you come to work for Groundwork and when did you start?

I started as an ILM when I was 19 and was based at Creswell Crags as an assistant ranger.

I attended a local business event at Dobbies organised by Paul Davies at Bizzfizz and my stall for my self employed work was next to the Groundwork one where I met the Education Manager. From this meeting I was asked if I would work at Groundwork. I started three years ago in January, delivering the bushcraft and conservation type activities that the training department is involved in. What does your job involve?

I now go into schools as part of the EDF Environmental Education Programme and offering the Foundation Learning Carousel - Horticulture. As a result of excellent feedback from schools on this programme I will be continuing from September 2012. All are accredited programmes for young people.

What do you enjoy most about the role? It is good to be working outside and developing or creating new outdoor spaces such as wildlife areas, woodland, gardens and conservation areas. Working with young people can be very enjoyable, challenging and rewarding. Seeing their sense of achievement when a project is completed makes it all worthwhile. What do you hope to do in the long-term future? I really enjoy this type of activity so I hope to continue at Groundwork working with teams of young people in the community creating and improving outdoor spaces.

What sort of things do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I like all sorts of outdoor activities and I support the mighty Sheffield Wednesday FC. I have my own allotment that takes quite a bit of time, as well as looking after the chickens! If there is any time left than I like to spend my weekends away.

In recent months, the annual inspection for the BS8555 accreditation was carried out. An inspector examined the trust’s working practices to see if we stillmet the criteria for the certification.

BS8555 is the term given to describe the implementation of an environmental management system.

Environmental management systems are used by organisations to help them reduce their environmental impacts, comply with relevant legislation, and demonstrate that they are managing their environmentalrisks and liabilities responsibly.

The ‘Green Team’ is happy to report that the new certificate is with us and we can bear the ‘BS8555’ mark for another year.

Groundwork passes Environmental hallmark for another year