Background
Following city wide stakeholder consultation
and feasibility study undertaken in 2010. The Orchard Park,
North Hull area was identified as a location for the development
and implementation of an environmental based regeneration
programme. The programme would look at the potential
for community led management of green assets and enterprise models
together with a volunteer and employment training programme to
support the implementation.
During 2011 consultation was carried out with
the local community to identify opportunities, gaps in current
provision and interest in a green skills training offer.
The aim
Key to Groundwork in Hull’s strategy for HU6
is local partnerships. Key partners were identified and
invited to attend. Partners included:
· Hull Training – a
local training provider offering foundation level in
horticulture.
· Rainbow Gardens –
local community garden that offers volunteering opportunities and
activities for different ages.
· Latitude – IAG
provider working in HU6 with NEET’s
· Food Alliance – a
project established by latitude to promote local food growing
· Unity in the
Community(Local Development Trust) – An allotment project
· St Michaels Youth
Centre. – Fare way project
The aim of the Green Job Shop was to:
· Bring partners
together, to showcase local environmental/ green activity.
· Demonstrate to
partners the effectiveness of a more collaborative approach to
working.
· To facilitate
consultation with the community continuing the research initiated
in 2011.
· Engage with local
residents to develop and assess interest in a green skills training
programme.
· To enable
community organisations working on environmental projects to
promote to recruit new volunteers and service users.
Planning
Groundwork were keen to engage with NEET’s in
particular those long term unemployed age 18 – 25 the hardest to
engage with and for who the traditional green skills offer might
not appeal. The issues of engagement were considered and
reflected at the earliest stages of planning.
The Orchard Centre a high profile local venue
in the heart of the community was chosen for the centre is already
used by Latitude for regular job shops. The Green Job shop
would help increase footfall for Latitude whilst enabling
Groundwork to benefit from their existing client base.
Highly visual tools together with
questionnaires would be used to consult with participants together
a free meal voucher the Centre’s Café for all those who completed a
questionnaire.
Marketing of the event used local media,
Groundwork in Hull website and facebook the partnership with
Latitude also ensured that leaflets were distributed to over 2000
households within the local area.
The Event
The event itself was attended by all local
partners who exhibited a stand. Questionnaires were completed
by 15 members of the local community. One local resident was
sign posted on to additional training and another for enterprise
support. Two members of the local community were identified
as potential environmental champions. One local organisation
as a result of the event approached Groundwork to host a
consultation event at their centre.
The consultation increased our knowledge of
green facilities, service provision and how the community use green
space locally.
Shaw Park was identified a key local green
space used for play by a range of young people.
There is a perception that many of the green
areas locally are unsafe and attract anti-social behaviour.
There is a limited offer for young people from
existing green space, scrambling and BMX biking were amongst the
sports identified that were un-catered for.
There was a perception that many play areas
were vandalised and little maintenance was carried out by HCC on
these.
People often us green routes to access better
quality green space and play provision in Cottingham.
Conclusions
The Orchard Centre though in the heart of the
community is a venue that is not seen by many in the community as
accessible. Groundwork themselves found that promotional
material to hi-light the event to residents was removed.
Even though attendance was not as anticipated
there was still considerable interest in environmental activity,
volunteering and training in HU6