Introduction

Young people and staff from SCYD (Strathmore Centre for Youth Development) took part in our Young Placechangers programme to develop the outdoor area at the Wellmeadow House premises in Blairgowrie. Our Young Placechangers Development Officer went out to Blairgowrie to meet with the young people and hear about their ideas.

Young Placechangers project in a nutshell

We ran several sessions with young people at SCYD where we helped them design and develop a plan for their outside space. During the COVID pandemic the young people had relied on the use of the outdoor space so that they could continue to meet in a safe place with their youth workers. That’s when they began to seriously think about how they could make better use of this space. The young people had some great ideas for the transformation of the outdoor space which included it being a safe space to meet friends; a place to grow food and other plants in planters and perhaps even have a BBQ space. Staff are super keen to see this area transformed, they thought that having some space to grow food that could be used in the kitchen at the youth space could provide fantastic learning and skills for the young people.   

To get started they wanted to get the place tidy with the overgrown bushes and trees trimmed and they also wanted to have the stones removed. The group applied for a £500 seedcorn fund that was used to have the area cleared of overgrown vegetation. They want to create a seating area and multi-functional space, fencing off the grounds of the youth centre from the public path.

Some young people were excited about upcycling projects for the space and planters to grown things too. During the SCYD summer programme young people participated in a recycling project where they made pallet furniture for the outdoor space. There is still a lot to be done so if you live in the area and can help with some practical skills to help transform this outdoor space please get in touch with the project.

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More Young Placechangers case studies

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greenspace scotland engages and empowers young people through the Young Placechangers programme.

Young Placechangers puts young people in the lead role – bringing together the wider community to look at local spaces and plan improvements. The Young Placechangers programme has used a co-production approach to develop and pilot a training and support programme enabling young people to transform both the place they live, their relationship to it and the wider community.

Young Placechangers