5 March 2010
Young people living in hostels on the Isle of Wight have been awarded over £900 to enable them to become involved in healthy outdoor activities and improve their immediate environment.
Staff and residents at Atkinson House young person’s hostel in Newport secured £500 funding from the Cultural Olympiad Fund, and SWHA is matching this with a further £400 from its Environmental Fund.
To kick-start the project in style, young people living in SWHA-supported hostels in Newport and Ryde met up at Atkinson House on Thursday 18 February to build an arbour with a twist. Residents and staff worked together to create a willow dome in place of a garden shed, which was destroyed in a fire in December 2009.
The funding has enabled Atkinson House, one of SWHA’s 15 supported schemes, to buy a small greenhouse. Community initiative, Growing Spaces, has also contributed to the project by providing raised beds to hostels in Newport and Ryde.
Sue Mason, Support Team Leader for SWHA, said:
“Funding for Atkinson House’s project is enabling young people to grow their own fruit and vegetables, learn new skills and have fun. Staff and residents from Ryde Young Peoples hostels are also joining in the activities. There’s a real sense of achievement in working together, improving the garden and producing our own food.
“The living willow dome is a positive gesture for the residents - helping them to look forward to the year ahead. The willow rods will root and grow, creating more shoots which will be woven into a dome structure to create a quiet arbour for the young people.”
Kirsty Gardner, 18, who lives at Atkinson House and is moving into independent accommodation in March, said:
"Creating the willow dome was a very good experience, and it was fun interacting with everyone. Taking part in the project has helped me to realise how far I’ve come living at Atkinson House, and now I feel ready to move on."
The Cultural Olympiad is a four-year cultural festival celebrating creativity, inspiring individuals and communities throughout the UK to have the opportunity to join in the ethos and values of the 2012 Olympic Games. The core values of the Cultural Olympiad games are: welcoming the world; inspiring and involving young people; leaving a lasting and positive legacy.