Running with the Times

Date of event: 08/07/09
Organised by: Target: Wellbeing Regional Support Network
Venue: National Wildflower Centre, Courthey Park, Knowsley (Landlife)
Report by: Rob Squires, Network Co-ordinator - Third Sector

This was the first in a series of networking events I am organising to connect people across the region involved in Target: Wellbeing. The event was attended by over a dozen workers from projects and programmes that focus or involve Physical Activity.

The event included a talk by Jackie Brennan, who is the Physical Activity lead for the Regional Department of Health team and Government Office North West. Amongst other things, Jackie talked about Be Active, Be Healthy, which is the national physical activity strategy, and how Target: Wellbeing projects contribute to this. In addition she talked about the importance of the regional Target: Wellbeing evaluation, and how the knowledge that projects are generating will help inform and shape policy in the region.

There was also a presentation and site tour by Jan Pell, who manages the Target: Wellbeing Great Outdoors project at the Wildflower Centre. She talked about the 'Natural Health System' and how connecting people with nature, and outdoor spaces, can improve their health and wellbeing. The National Wildflower Centre is playing a very positive role within the Knowsley Target: Wellbeing programme, and is acting as a hub, from which a number of the different projects are delivering activities. We are hoping that this natural collaboration can be built upon as the programme progresses.

I have copies of both Jackie and Jan's presentations and if you want them, then please email me here.

In addition, we ran a short workshop, asking the following four questions:
1. How can Target: Wellbeing partners contribute most effectively to regional strategy?
2. Where do projects need to be by the end of the Target: Wellbeing programme?
3. How can Target: Wellbeing projects, plus programme leads collaborate more closely in the future?
4. Who / what do you want from future Target: Wellbeing networking events?

I have written up the results of this workshop, and emailed them to those that participated in the workshop - if you were not there, but would like a copy, then please email me. I will be running a series of other networking events over the next few weeks, including Mental Health event next week, and Healthy Eating day in September, and will be running similar workshops during these. The information generated will be put together into a short summary report, that will be made available to all.

Pedal Away .. sunshine on a rainy day!

Date of event: Wednesday 10th June 09, 10am – 12.30pm
Organised by: Pedal Away in Knowsley
Venue: National Wildflower Centre
Report by: Rob Squires, Network Co-ordinator – Third Sector

Yesterday I took a trip to Knowsley to visit the Pedal Away project, which is being lead Kelly Mckeown from the national Cycling Projects charity. It was an overcast summer morning, as we assembled in the cafe at the National Wildflower Centre run by Landlife, and based in Courthey Park, on the border between Knowsley and Liverpool. Kelly is an excellent cycle leader, and as the sun was trying to break through the clouds, she led us of on our ride, with a sense of confidence, and good humour. We were taken on a six mile journey, which took us through an adjacent housing estate, and onto the Liverpool Loop, which is an old railway line, which has been converted by Sustrans into a cycle path, and forms part of the Transpennine route which goes all the way to Hull. We followed the route south as far as Halewood Environment Centre, where we stopped for a rest, before returning back up to the Loop Line, and into the grounds of the Wildflower Centre. As we returned to the Centre, it was just beginning to rain .. I was very impressed with Kelly's organisational skills .. she even had the weather under control ;-) Landlife have been sowing wildflower seeds in the park around their Centre for many years, and even though the sky was grey, the surrounding environment was a picture to behold.

There were an interesting mix of volunteers and beneficiaries on the ride. These included a married couple who joined the group in order to encourage their son, who is a little disengaged with society at the moment, plus it also included a woman who has been attending with her father who has had a heart attack. There were also a number of younger people, including a school student, a university student, and a PHD, who were using the project to get work experience as part of their learning. Participants had a range of cycling skills, and some of them were low in self-confidence when it came to riding bikes on the open road. Because of this, Kelly walked the group through the housing estate until we reached the Liverpool Loop Line. By the time we returned, after an easy-going six mile ride along the Loop, confidence was high, and the group were happy to cycle on the roads through the estate and the traffic.

The National Wildflower Centre made an excellent venue for starting and ending the ride. Landlife run an excellent project called the Great Outdoors, which is also a part of the Target: Wellbeing portfolio, and the Centre has excellent facilities to rent, including workshop space and a cafe. As such, we are using it as the venue for a regional physical activity networking event for Target: Wellbeing projects, which is being organised for Wednesday July 8th. More info on this event will be circulated soon.