Training

The Sobriety project aims to provide an informal environment using the waterways and the Museum collection as a resource to break down barriers and encourage learning for disadvantaged people. The project is affiliated with Sheffield Hallam University to deliver National Open College Network credits and is also affiliated with the National Community Boats Association to deliver boat-handling courses. All students are fully integrated and unaware of labels and categories, which boost confidence, offer anonymity and breaks down traditional learning and socialising barriers. The training has to be funded mainly from external bodies and means that courses and training are dependant on the success of finding suitable funding from Charitable Trusts and Government sources. This means that not all training is sustainable and that courses change dependant on funds. Courses currently available at the Museum are: Roots 2 Shoots Peoples Milions Allotment Regeneration Project. Following the ITV and Big Lottery Fund 2007 competiion we received a grant of £62,500 to regenerate a group of derelict allotments to produce fruit and vegetables for our museum cafe and the Moorlands Coomunity Cafe in Old Goole. The building work is well underway and spring and summer vegetables and salads are growing well. The fruit cage is full of berries, figs, grapes, kiwi fruit and strawberries. The project encourages participatiom from Youth Inclusion Projects, schools, community groups and volunteers and offers training days. Visit the allotment Open day on Friday June 13th 12noon - 8pm and enjoy a tour and a barbecue. An exciting grant offers new opportunities for young people Heritage Lottery Fund has recently awarded a ‘Young Roots' grant to the Yorkshire Waterways Museum in Goole to support work with young people and encourage them to explore local heritage and traditions. The project is called ‘Rooting Around' and begins in August 2007 and will run for 18 months. The museum is excited to start the project and look forward to getting underway as soon as “Rooting Around” will be a project that involves and stimulates young people, particularly from low income families and who do not typically access museums or archives to explore their local heritage and culture through activities based at and coordinated by the Yorkshire Waterways Museum. The participants will be involved in running the project through taking on responsibilities and choosing different ways of achieving the project aims. This will give them project ownership, address citizenship issues and encourage inclusive participation. Fiona Spiers, Regional Manager for Heritage Lottery Fund said “It is so important for young people to learn about their past and understand where they have come from. This project will give them a host of new skills, boost their confidence and create a sense of place in their community and with their peers.” The nucleus of activity will be engineering and conservation projects in the waterways museum workshops and vessels, production of a local history DVD and intergenerational oral history recordings which will form part of the collection and be published to the website. Young people will be encouraged to take an interest in the former traditions and industries of the Port of Goole and help them understand how these have shaped the port and docks of today. The social and economic history of Goole has created a new landscape and changed the way people live and work. The young people will be able to understand why lives have changed so quickly and learn about the lives of their parents, grandparents and ancestors through hands on exciting projects. The grant will be spent on tutors, resources and DVD recording production.   Notes to Editors: Heritage Lottery Fund The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From our great museums and historic buildings to local parks and beauty spots or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up our nation's heritage for everyone to enjoy. We have supported more than 26,000 projects, allocating over £3.97 billion across the UK . Day visits for carers and residential homes Other partners include Moorlands Commnunity Cafe, The Courtyard, Citizens Advice Bureau, The Hinge Day Centre, Goole and Howdenshire Youth Initiative and Goole Gofar Bus A DVD is currrently being produced to celebrate the work of Building Bridges, a virtual Healthy Living Centre Volunteers The Museum relies on volunteers for help and has a training programme in place to provide the neccesary skills. It is an enjoyable way to use up spare time, share talent and experience and to meet new friends in a friendly professional environment. Volunteers are always needed for boat skippering and crewing, the Community Garden, the Nature Trail, and for Museum Front of House help. Volunteers are offered courses in Basic Food Hygiene, First Aid, and Boat Handling. If you are interested in finding out more about the volunteering scheme please contact us. BBC Breathing Places The Nature Trail Towpath / Canalside Nature Trail. BBC Breathing Places started in November 2006 and runs for a year and aims to include volunteers in the creation of an open space for the community with the construction of a trans Penine style shelter, signed walks, a tree survey carried out by a local primary school and training for volunteers. BBC Autumn Watch will chart the progress of Breathing Places which will be of great benefit to both the open spaces and to the community of Goole. Where is it? The Trail starts directly outside the Museum gates and runs eastwards through the picnic site, under the railway and along a strip of land between the Dutch River and the Aire & Calder Navigation towards Rawcliffe Bridge. Why a nature trail here ? The land itself was derelict for many years and had been used to dump dredgings from the canal. Abandonment has led over the years to it becoming populated by a big variety of fauna and flora. The main habitats are pond and reed bed, scrub and grassland with small areas of copse and woodland. Where do we go? To see the Trail’s mixed habitats at their best follow the canal towpath up to the stone drainage culvert (about 1700 metres or roughly a mile), and return along the informal pathway to be found on the right. Also take advantage of the new viewing platform on the pond and take a loser look at a freshwater aquatic environment. Perhaps take a break at the stoned picnic area on the other side of the railway with its meadowland plants and specially planted coppice hedge. What can we see ? As well as an extensive range of common and not so common grasses and wild flowers such as orchids, we also have some rare and beautiful birds notably barn owls, kingfishers and reed buntings. Look out also for herons that fish the ponds. If you are very lucky you may see a great crested newt, another protected species. During the summer months 17 species of butterfly can be seen as well as six spotted burnet moths and the dramatic cannibal moth in the grassland areas. Dragonflies and damselflies can be seen around the pond on hot days hunting for smaller insects. There is always something interesting and exciting to be seen on the Trail whatever the season. Why is the Trail important? The Trail is an outdoor classroom, an oasis of wildlife in the midst of an area that is industrialised and intensively farmed. It is a refuge for plants, birds, insects and other animals which make up a complex food chain. We can investigate the way plants and animals live together and learn how man can either damage or enhance the environment. The study of this is called ecology. And finally… The area is sensitive. Much time and effort goes into managing it for your enjoyment so please take your litter home and keep your dog under control and clean up after it. Don’t make too much noise. Youth Inclusion Programme The Sobriety Project provides resources for YIP which aims to include vulnerable young peple in quality training and activities. They are currently working on a mural on the Dutch River Side and have undertaken accredited boat handling courses and residential barge trips. Caring Caterers In partnership with East Riding of Yorkshire Council Adult Services, (Worklink at The Grovehill Centre in Beverley), the Yorkshire Waterways Museum now runs a supported employment scheme for adults with learning disabilities. Each day, 2 or 3 trainees work with the cafe caterer and front of house team, gaining valuable skills that could lead to real employment opportunties at the museum or with other local businessess. Trainees are prepared for work, supported in their choices, and offered training and skills opportunites. This has been very succesful and runs currently for two years. The Museum is applying for a social enterprise grant to develop this work further and to work towards cafe sustainability with a trading arm to current activities. Workshops The workshops have been refitted with financial support from Tony Waddington and expertise from Hull tec. The aim is to provide a training area for multi skilled engineers and school pupils in 2008. This is an exciting and innovative approach to tackling shortfalls in the local labour market and providing quality training for young people in Goole. It will be used by school leavers, Job Centre referrals and mainstream and special schools. Work with Local Open Prisons This work is funded by Charitable Foundations and aims to provide a dignified environment for re-settling prisoners to undertake training and purposeful volunteering. The programme is managed by a full time Prisons Works Co- ordinator who is funded by John Paul Getty Jr Trust and The Tudor Trust. The programme engages men from Moorlands Open Prison and women from Askham Grange Open Prison near York.