Thanks to Scottish Government’s Climate Action Hub Network, Dundee Changemakers Hub has funding to deliver a collaborative and creative pilot project that makes a difference for people living in or visiting the Coldside area.
Members of the Changemakers Network based in Coldside met at the The MAXwell Centre on the 17th July for an evening ‘Tea and Workshop’, to generate a vision for what it is we want to achieve in the short-term with the funding available to the Coldside Pilot Project, and a medium-term vision focused on collaborating to generate additional funding, and increasing the visibility of existing community-based work taking place across Coldside.
Around 15 community groups and organisations were present, in addition to some individual changemakers. The plan for the evening was to think big as we considered the themes, audiences and values we’d like to prioritise in Coldside, as this collaborative project begins to take shape.
After a tea of homemade Moroccan harira soup, a garden salad sourced from the MAXwell Garden, local strawberries, and savory pastries and cake provided by Serendipities, we were fuelled up and ready to put our thinking hats on.
First, we looked at some of the existing community and environmental projects across Coldside, focusing on:
biodiverse / healthy green spaces with trails, workshops, healthy and play-based activities and planting
local food producers, accessibility and food cooking/sharing
local access to free or very affordable tools; things to borrow to avoid waste and save money; learning how to repair, upcycle, recycle
sustainable transport and energy
litter and pollution
environmental information, consultation and decision making
To guide our thinking on how to collaborate on a creative pilot project that positively impacts both residents and visitors to our area, as well as the local environment, we read through the Culture Collective Manifesto, which provided a valuable framework for considering project co-design and collaboration.
To help us answer the questions ‘what issues can we best work on together?’, and ‘what matters most to us?’, we conducted an exercise where we envisioned the future of Coldside, imagining the changes and improvements we would like to see. We focused on identifying the key issues we could address together most effectively, based on the themes we discussed earlier in the workshop.
We divided into three groups to explore these ideas in greater depth. Each group compiled a list of significant improvements they felt could be made in Coldside, and agreed on a single collaborative project. Each group then participated in an activity where they were given a cardboard box and a variety of craft supplies, being tasked with using the box to capture all of their ideas, representing their proposed project. This involved detailing the project's focus, identifying its beneficiaries, planning how to promote it, specifying where it would take place, and listing the resources needed to bring it to life — once this was agreed upon, the information went into the box. Each group decorated their box to showcase their proposed projects in a creative (and fun!) way.
Each group presented their project ideas, sharing and receiving feedback on each others' proposals. Some really exciting ideas emerged, with regreening, play, and planting highlighted as important themes for the Coldside community's joint vision for the pilot project. Emerging from our discussions, we also recognised the importance of engaging with local children and young people, which will be our focus as we move into the next phase of planning. Workshop attendees even brainstormed a potential project tagline: "Hillhope - the best place in Dundee to bring up children".
As we move forward, we are excited to turn these ideas into action and begin the next phase of the Coldside Pilot Project. Watch this space for updates, as there'll be more to come soon as Coldside's Changemakers work together to make 'Hillhope' a reality!
About Dundee Changemakers Hub:
Dundee Changemakers Hub was announced during Scotland’s Climate Week 2023, following an application to Scottish Government’s Climate Action Fund, Climate Action Hubs which aims to build local awareness of the climate emergency, develop local plans, help groups take up funding opportunities, and contribute to a Just Transition which is fair and leaves no one behind.
A collective of five local community organisations in Dundee came together to bid for the hub locally, led by Transition Dundee, including The Maxwell Centre, Scrap Antics, Uppertunity and Creative Dundee. The organisations came together to make sure that Dundee’s communities are leading the charge for change on climate related issues, before change is done to us.
