With an update on news from Dundry View Neighbourhood Partnership This issue delivered to Bishopsworth, Headley Park, Highridge, Bedminster Down, Uplands, Hartcliffe, Withywood, Whitchurch Park and Teyfant T: 0117 903 8044 Issue 64 April-June 2016 Welcome to the spring edition of the wham! newsletter. This issue’s focus is on Health and Wellbeing. We’ve got the mums from Hartcliffe Children’s Centre talking about how they’ve trained to be Health Champions, Positive Minds are helping us improve our mental wellbeing, we find out about singing to boost our mood and much more. On the middle pages you’ll find a preview of the new Dundry Slopes walks guide created by the children at Room 13 so it’s time to take the dog out, or go to borrowmydoggy.com and grab some fresh air as spring is now officially here. As a Neighbourhood Partnership we aim to make the area a pleasant and healthy place to live with community facilities for all ages. We work towards this in various ways including working on new play areas for Willmott Park, Headley Park and Bedminster Down and reducing fly tipping, littering and dog fouling at hotspot locations including Maceys Road, Valley Walk and Bishport Avenue. We also support a wide range of healthy projects, some featured inside. One of the shocking facts about health inequality is that people in Hartcliffe live on average five years less than Cliftonites. So have a look at our election special on page 10 and think about who to vote for to help improve where you live. From 5 May Dundry View Neighbourhood Partnership serves Bishopsworth & Hartcliffewham! & issue 64 1 Withywood Wards only. See page 10 for details LHEALOCALTH NEWS AND WELLBEING Encouraging us to drop From 1-13 May Walk Fest’s programme offers a kids 10 mins from gates great way to explore Bristol and meet new people Park and Bristol Walk Fest 2016 - Stride walk this way! Living Streets’ Walk once a Week (WoW) scheme encourages children to walk into school at least once a week. If a child achieves this, and records it, they win a special badge each month. Families that really need to take the car are encouraged to Park and Stride; this means they park ten minutes away from school and walk the rest of the journey. Living Streets and the schools are currently exploring options for Park The programme features around 150 events from over 50 organisations and Stride sites. and covers a wide range of themes, activities and interests. Look out for a mindfulness walk on Purdown, a child and dog-friendly walk around Victoria Walking to school is a Park, foraging in Avon Gorge, an architectural tour of Cabot and more. free and easy way for Bristol has masses of green spaces, waterways and cultural and community venues young people to and what better way to discover them than on foot, connecting with other walkers do part of their daily 60 and learning new things as you go? minutes of exercise Why walk? Walking is a sociable activity and a lot of fun. It is also a widely evidenced ‘wonder drug’ reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. It improves how you feel mentally, be that enjoying the wildlife on your walk, alleviating anxiety, or helping with serious mental health issues. ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Living Streets is running WoW at St ○ Peter’s Primary and Headley Park Here are some highlights from this year’s Primary. Both are trying to increase programme: the number of children actively getting • South Bristol street art tour - 7 May to school each day, which can ease • ‘Wild Swimming Walks’ book launch at Stanfords - congestion and pollution. 12 May Sadly, the number of children walking • A mindfulness walk in St. Werburghs - 13 May to school has declined - today just 46 • A Bristol ‘Walled City’ walk - 14 May per cent walk to school. • The launch of Bristol Walking Alliance – 17 May One lucky pupil got a £50 voucher • A medical herb walk in Eastville Park - 19 May Bedminster Down School ran a • An adventure walk nr Eastwood Farm - 28 May Challenge Week from 14 March, • Local Walk – A Walk on Dundry Slopes organised by ‘Free Your Feet’, to raise awareness Room 13 on Monday 23 May at 1.30pm. Meet Scout of the benefits of walking to school. Hut, 501 Bishport Ave, Hartcliffe, BS13 9LR ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ One lucky participant won a £50 ○ shopping voucher. Programmes: online at www.bristolwalkingfestival.co.uk Contact Chris Rushbrook In libraries and the Tourist Information Centre early April [email protected] Facebook: www.facebook.com/bristolwalkingfestival 020 7377 4900 Twitter: #bristolwalkfest 2 wham! issue 64 HEALTH AND WELLBEING In 2015 Carpenters Food Store and Support volunteers gave 2,690 hours to the project, making 52 hours each week of the year Help stop local people going hungry “We’re not here to judge, we’re here to help. Many of the volunteers have been in similar situations. We listen to what people say” says Tracey Phillips, pictured right, who volunteers her time to manage the Carpenters Food Store and Support. Carpenters is run by volunteers, churches and community working together. They have 12 volunteers on the books and about 10 or 11 work each week. The volunteers work welcoming, Tracey Phillips who runs the local hosting, making teas and coffees, food bank weighing food, collecting donations, sorting food into categories and more. bathroom until you go to bed, all those Donations are always needed. Get in Totally reliant on donations things you use, we need them. So the touch to see what they need. Carpenters don’t receive government tooth paste, shower gel and toilet paper Tracey would like to say a huge thank funding and solely rely on donations are essential items along with milk, eggs, you to everyone who has donated from supporters. baked beans and so on.” over the years – every tin makes a Donors raise funds and Carpenters Local children get behind the food difference. have received funds from Dundry View bank The Withywood Centre, Queens Neighbourhood Partnership’s At Christmas they received donations Road, Bristol BS13 8QA Wellbeing Fund, the John James Trust from Headley Park Primary School T: 0117 987 8400 and the Welcome Centre in Hartcliffe. who gave shoe boxes of gifts for children [email protected] Clients are given enough food to make and adults, Christmas crackers, biscuits Staff and volunteers on three meals a day for seven days and chocolates. Fair Furlong Primary the Bourchier Gardens Anyone needing to use whereas most other food banks only School, Merchants Academy Primary site in September the service needs to be offer three days worth of food. and Secondary also donated money and referred by an agency. Tracey said: “We keep clients on our food. Harvest time all the local schools Several local groups books until we see a change in their donated including Four Acres Academy, and organisations can crisis. We’re trying to help them St. Peters Primary and St. Pius X. refer people to the through their crisis and help them make Tracey says:“It’s amazing how the food project including South changes in their lifestyles.” comes in. Sometimes I think: ‘Oh no, Bristol Advice Service, Anyone arriving to use the service for we’re not going to have enough food Health Visitors, local the first time arrives first at the welcome this week’ and then someone will come GPs and many more. desk, where they have a brief interview in, sometimes it’s someone we know If anyone needs to use so the volunteers can assess their who may have used us before and they the service they can current crisis. say ‘thank you, you helped me last year’ contact the Withywood What items does the foodbank or maybe an older person may drop cash Centre reception on need? in. I wouldn’t say no to a big donation (0117) 987 8400 to find Tracey says: “Whatever you use from though, we could pay a year’s rent out how to go about it the time you get up and go to the then!” wham! issue 64 3 HEALTH AND WELLBEING Our mental health is as important as our physical Benefits for mind and health and both are intricately linked body Local group boosts wellbeing Join dementia friendly swim We know that physical activity is good for us, but sometimes we forget that what’s good for our hearts is good for our heads, too. And it’s the same for people with dementia. A gentle swim will get our hearts, lungs Isle of Wight walking weekend - everyone’s welcome to and limbs going. And at the same time, join the local walking group and go on their away weekend it will give us a chance to relax, boosting our self-esteem, mood, sleep Mental health isn’t all about the mental and emotional health. and thinking skills; and reducing our mind! Remember the day you felt More often than not the things that are risk of stress and depression. miserable but managed to persuade good for our physical health are also Come to dementia-friendly swimming yourself to go out for a walk or to good for our mental health. at Hengrove and staff will show you the gym? How did you feel HHEAG can support you to boost the easiest route into the changing afterwards? Great I bet, energised, your health and wellbeing through: rooms and the pool. motivated and you might have even • Positive Minds – support for mental ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ slept better.