The Legacy Project, a two year project for 16-25 yr olds living in east Belfast delivered through EastSide Greenways and funded by International Fund for Ireland’s Personal Youth Development Programme, is celebrating the successful participation of 17 young people who achieved training and skills to support their journey in education or employment.
Working with young people not in full-time education or employment, the project aimed to use the resources in east Belfast as support throughout their development and training. This included engagement in the outdoors on the Connswater Community Greenway, giving back to their community by volunteering at EastSide Partnerships wide range of events such as EastSide Arts Festival, walking groups, litter picking, community park events, markets and tours, and connecting them to local services such as housing rights, benefits advice, access to childcare, mentoring, counselling and more.
The programme was delivered through unique and bespoke training and skills development opportunities ranging from first aid and World Host Training to horticulture and walk leading. One to one support throughout helped to identify challenges the young people were facing which prevent them from progressing, allowing them to address these challenges through relevant local services. Training also included OCN’s in Personal Development, Good Relations and Employability as well as driving support and specialised skills training based on the interests identified by each individual young person. The programme has been a resounding success with young people moving on to further education, employment, volunteering within their community and even becoming community champions and ambassadors.
The Legacy Project has secured funding for another 2-year programme starting in October. It will bring together a new group of participants to take the journey. There are still a few spaces available for any young person interested in taking part.
For more information and to find out how to participate in the next Legacy Programme, visit https://www.eastsidegreenways.com/legacy-programme/
In 2024 EastSide Greenways (ESG) and researchers from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), appointed Studio idir and Baroudeur Consultancy to undertake a stakeholder and community engagement process that would look at the Connswater Community Greenway through the lens of accessibility and inclusion with an emphasis on engaging with older people and people with disabilities.
Accessibility and inclusion were thoughtfully considered in the
initial design of the Connswater Community Greenway but it is also true that the range of accessibility issues across Belfast is complex and growing, with an ageing and increasingly diverse population.
This consultation was delivered through a mix of interactive engagement, conversations and surveys with practitioners working alongside people living with accessibility issues and of course with people who have lived experience of issues with access to greenways, parks and open spaces.
By documenting the lived experience of older people and people with disabilities as they use the Connswater
Community Greenway, this investigation allowed us to provide evidence which would help to support the work of EastSide Greenways to promote further changes and updates to improve access to this Greenway.
The report produced details the process and findings of this consultation and outlines recommendations to take forward which have been categorised through, short, medium and long term goals.
Launching the Connswater Community Greenway: Access and Inclusion Study, Jacqueline O’Hagan, EastSide Greenways Manager said:
“‘In one respect the Connswater Community Greenway is complete. In another, the story is just beginning. The Greenway is a ‘living landmark’ which is constantly shaped by the people living in East Belfast and using the space, in the same way it was shaped for those same people. One of the core functions of EastSide Greenways work is to ensure that the Connswater Community Greenway continues to improve and to give back to the community. Through partnerships with QUB and consultation processes like this, we are able to achieve this goal. It is important to listen to those with lived experience so that we can bring their voice to decision makers in shaping the future of the Greenway”
Professor Ruth Hunter from Queens University Belfast said:
“We know that our green and blue spaces such as greenways, parks and rivers are really important for our health and wellbeing. However, it is crucial that these spaces and the programmes and events that are provided in them, are accessible for everyone to enjoy. This is an important piece of work that provided us with the opportunity to listen to and learn from those with lived experiences of disabilities and the challenges they often face when coming to these spaces. The report also provides some useful, practical guidance in terms of how we can improve the accessibility and inclusion of these spaces and their events that can be applied to our green and blue spaces.”
EastSide Greenways are delighted to be part of plans announced last week for a new UK-wide initiative seeking to help local communities stand up for nature in their neighbourhoods, tackling the global climate and nature crises at a local level.
Three-quarters of people in the UK are worried about the state of nature (YouGov, 2022), yet we are in the bottom 10% of countries globally for protecting it (Biodiversity Intactness Index, Natural History Museum). In March 2023, the People’s Plan for Nature set out recommendations to reverse the UK’s shocking declines in nature, including calls for greater investment in ways to help communities take action to protect and renew nature at a neighbourhood level. The Nature Neighbourhoods project is a direct response to those calls.
As part of the Nature Neighbourhoods project, 18 community organisations will receive support from three of the UK’s largest nature charities – the RSPB, WWF and the National Trust – to create people-powered plans for nature in their local area. Each Nature Neighbourhood plan will be created with local communities, and as such will centre on the community’s priorities for tackling the nature and climate crises, bringing together communities and decision makers to find solutions, and help ensure nature is an essential part of future planning.
Rory Crawford, Project manager for the Nature Neighbourhoods partnership, said, ‘Urban nature doesn’t tend to be the focus of wildlife documentaries. But 86% of us live in urban areas, and they present the biggest opportunity for people to access and take action for nature on a day-to-day basis. Efforts to improve access and tackle the biodiversity and climate crises have not tended to focus on neighbourhoods experiencing high levels of deprivation, but the local community organisations involved in this project are at the forefront of addressing this, through community gardens, improving parks, connecting people to nature, community inclusion, creating new green spaces and supporting safe, active travel.’
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