Caerau and Brynglas Market Garden Community Engagement Strategy

1. Caerau and Brynglas Market GardenCommunity Engagement Strategy

2. Community Engagement Strategy • Vision • Challenges • Helps • What the community wants • Solution = Problem • Rules of Engagement (suggestions) • Next step • Questions

3. Vision • Generate positive sentiments about the project in the local area • Recruit volunteers and achieve consistent volunteer engagement • Secure the site and the capital investment • Develop community ownership of project to guarantee continuity and embedding into community • Generate benefits for the community members: improved health, increased skill-levels and self-confidence, reduce crime and ASB, local food production, improvement of local environment and beauty • Bring forth success of project and achieve Groundwork’s targets • Serve as model and lay the ground for future projects

4. Challenges • Make scheme popular with locals & generate curiosity • Disillusionment: “we’ve seen this before” • Generate flow of curious people to site • ‘Tribal’ community that is very ‘gangy’ and that might not go to certain parts of the town • project is in a ‘dead end’ part of Caerau; you only go there with a purpose on mind • Create consistency in volunteer engagement & maintain momentum • Flow to site issues as above • Reach out to ‘middle-aged’ group: local groups already working with kids/ youth and elderly – but not the middle range • Passive/ ‘poor me’ attitude: “council needs to do things for us” • Secure against vandalism & theft • Area is prone to metal theft, ASB, and drug dealing

5. Helps • Experience & established groups in the area: • Youthworks, Communities First … • Hyder consultancy: • Needs & wishes of neighbourhood established • Awareness of challenges • Problem = Solution

6. What the community wants • Existing use: kids play, dog walking and walk through (lane) • Anti-social issues: burning & fire setting, rubbish dumping, drug dealing, off-road bikes & hypodermics • Proposed use: fencing is definitely needed, wanted are: allotments, kids play facilities with trees, community & schools involvement with training, a tidy area / improved scenery

7. Problem = Solution • Popularity/ Pride: • Ensure / aim towards continuity by sustainably embedding project into community • Work out benefits/ what motivates people in the area: “why should I get involved, what good is it for me?” • Create flow to site & Volunteer consistency: • Target to people’s interests: come up with as many fun & interesting workshops/ projects/ events as possible • Start engagement as early as possible & offer regular events/ activities • Security: • Establish pride of area & get neighbouring households on side & involved: neighbourhood watch ;-)

8. Rules of Engagement (Suggestions) • Find an appealing fun / positive project name & slogans • CaerOasis, Land of Milk and Honey, Together we are growing … • Make it ‘not just about growing’ through events & time banking • reach a greater number and variety of people and create a sense of ownership and pride • Find ‘out of the box’ ways to create sources of income from the plot for locals • How can the scheme improve the community’s future? • Output for locally created arts, produce, and objects created during workshops -> gift shop or exhibitions

9. Cont. Rules of Engagement (Suggestions) • Start engagement as early as possible & offer regular events/ activities/ training • Event ideas: • Launch event – Noodfa Chapel • ‘You name it’ -? Finding a name for the project competition & vote • ‘Caerau in a day’ – à la ‘Life in a day’: photographic competition on a certain day; handing out single use cameras • Graffiti design for the building • Tile making for the building (Youth services) • Willow workshops • Cob building (Pizza oven with a Pizza baking finale on completion) • Fences • Drystone building • Cooking classes • Introduction to horticulture courses to prepare community members for growing: basic growing (pop a seed in a pot & water it), urban growing solutions, window sill growing

10. Cont. Rules of Engagement (Suggestions) • Marketing: produce awareness raising materials: • Leaflet dropping in adjacent streets • Posters for public • PR for local groups (emails, tap into community first’s newsletter, facebook/hub?) • Signage for site itself! • Local newspaper article • Tap into existing & further develop a community hub • Linking up existing community groups, cross-promote and inform each other on workshops/ training courses and events. Thus creating a close-nit network that is more apparent for volunteers -> cultivating/ fostering more of a communal feel and allowing volunteers to build relationships with several organisations at the same time and thus tying them in better. • What has Groundwork got to offer for other groups? • Have other groups run events for our project: graffiti, tile making • Tap into existing time-banking scheme in the community – across various groups • Incentives • Incorporate scheme for substance abusers à la Monty Don ‘Digging out of drug abuse’

11. Next steps … • Incorporate Hyder report results • Develop community evaluation scheme • Produce awareness raising materials: • Posters for public • PR for local groups (emails, tap into community first’s newsletter, facebook/hub?) • Signage for site itself! • Local newspaper article • Organise launch event • Start linking up with other organisations and start setting up training events / workshops Achieved end Feb 2012

12. Next steps (March - …) • Confirm training dates: • Film making & editing OCN accredited course with Just@sk • Growing workshop with Edible Landscapes • Arrange site visits for interested volunteers: • Coed Hill’s Rural Artspace Riverside Market Garden & Forest Garden for end of April / beginning of May • Routes 2 life project @Groundwork Caerphilly • Decide on project name: after Easter (end of ‘You name it’ campaign) • Analyse community survey: begin April (deadline for surveys: 30th March) • Network and establish more links: • Local primary schools • Mental health Matters • Addiction centre • Disability network • Allotment Society • Sasha – Willow

13. Next steps (March - …) cont • Develop own marketing material for the project • flyers, posters for volunteers to point out benefits: • Health, learning, making friends, work experience, fun.. • Use Bryan’s video for Caerau promotion • Use Ystradynglais case study for marketing • Logistics: Toilet facilities: check with Noddfa • Learn from experience: set up meeting with Bryan from Caerphilly • Setting up training courses • Benefits • Craft catalogue! • Get in touch with training providers: • Sasha -> willow / cob oven …

14. Next steps (March - …) cont • Build a pop-bottle greenhouse – maybe with schools/ scouts/ Noddfa?

15. Development ideas • While we haven’t got a house – use polytunnel as workshop space • Get the play area set up • Participate in GHOP • Benefits of ‘social gardening’ • Health, physical activity, diet, well being, social relationships, self-esteem, community involvement • Set up link with Food co-op • Grow juicing ingredients & start a juice cafe-> Beth: healthy eating campaign

16. Questions • Will groups have access as they please? Key holders? Supervision? Liability? • Cost – Quality – Reliability • How to calculate amount of produce & loss?