MyGlasgow News

At the start of the summer, The University of Glasgow, through its CIVIS Open Labs Initiative and Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH), launched a community-led small grants fund for sustainability projects with support from members of the #UofGEngage Forum.  This built on two previous rounds of small grants funding from GCPH and we are pleased to be able confirm the ten organisations who have received funding for their creative projects. In applying for the 2022 fund, each of the ten successful organisations were able to demonstrate a commitment to addressing sustainability priorities identified by, and of importance to, community members, groups, and organisations in Greater Glasgow towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are delighted to be working with the following organisations: 

• Boomerang Woodworking, a project set up by Free Wheel North, is running a series of free or ‘pay what you can’ woodworking workshops to the wider community. Workshops are likely to include basic woodworking, green woodworking, wood carving, pyrography and upholstery.
  
  
• Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club is developing opportunities for young people (up to the age of 18) from local areas of high deprivation to use the sport of rowing to improve their wellbeing. This will allow them to gain the benefits of being actively engaged in developing new skills, collaborating with their peers from all backgrounds, and learning and enjoying from their experience of being on the river.
  
  
• Get Glasgow Moving is developing a free production of a musical featuring a diverse group of local performers on roller skates to re-enact the history of public transport provision in the Strathclyde region from the post-war period to the present day. The musical will be a fun and creative way of communicating this history and provoking discussion/creating awareness of the role public transport can play in tackling the climate emergency and addressing poverty and inequality.
  
  
• Gilded Lily Inspiring Enterprise CIC is delivering a 5-week environmental/growing project for women with a target of at least 50% from BAME/refugee/asylum seeker communities. The project aims to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change in relation to biodiversity through a series of activities, films and discussions that participants can share with family, neighbours and friends.
  
  
• goConnect Project (Glenoaks Housing Association) is hiring a volunteer coordinator to engage the local community through regular meetings and/or garden events to build a strong group of volunteers in the run-up to the building of a community garden. The coordinator will also engage with older residents and those with mental health issues to promote a variety of classes to improve mental health and wellbeing.
  
  
• Repair Café Glasgow is running a series of repair cafes and workshops targeting community groups who may find it difficult to access new or refurbished tech, electrical items and clothing. Their intent is to create a platform for different cultures to share their traditional skills of repair as well as learning new ones.
  
  
• Scottish Arab Women Association is holding three events with Arab women and families. The first involves outdoor environmental games aimed at children to educate them about the current environment in a fun interactive way. The second focuses on outdoor foraging and cooking, providing skills to eat/cook sustainably. The third involves bike training and learning how to cycle and will target newly settled refugee women and children.
  
  
• Women on Wheels SCIO is providing support and opportunities for women to get engaged with cycling and reap the benefits. They plan to follow the journeys from beginning to end in a series of photographs/short videos showcasing their journey and inspiring others to take up cycling.
  
  
• Woodlands Community – Waste to Wonder (Woodlands Community Development Trust) is planning to raise awareness about the value of non-renewable resources (plastic in particular) that are normally considered and treated as waste. There will be a series of workshops collaborating with local groups and small-scale plastic recycling projects with activities focused on creating new durable items from single-use or discarded plastic.
  
  
• Zam’munda is developing a community garden to grow and distribute traditional African produce to meet the needs of the African diaspora and to nurture a knowledge and love for growing traditional foods among young people of African descent and the whole community.

In providing these grants, we also hope to build new connections and strengthen existing relationships between community organisations, the University of Glasgow and GCPH.  There is an opportunity for staff or students to come along and meet the organisations and here more about the CIVIS Open Labs at our Global Challenges, Local Solutions event as part of the ARCadia festival on Thursday 29^th September from 14:00 – 16:00.  Please register here if you would like to attend. The projects will come together again in the new year to showcase their creative work so watch this space. 

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First published: 9 September 2022