Placing Older People at the Centre of Rural Communities – A Review

By OTBJune 13, 2019June 13, 2019 Uncategorized Eaglesham, Evaluation, Moray, older people, rural communities, rural networks, Scotland, Scottish borders, Volunteers, Wales Leave a comment

Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund ‘Accelerating Ideas’ fund, Rural Wisdom works with older people in rural areas in both Scotland and Wales. Partners Outside The Box (Scotland) and Volunteering Matters Cymru (Wales) have been working with rural communities on how to make them work for well for older people. This means supporting community…

March and April update from Flintshire by Shereen Devine

By OTBMay 17, 2019May 17, 2019 Flintshire, Rural News, Wales Leave a comment

I thought I would tell you a little about my new region. Holywell is the 5th largest Town in Flintshire with a population of around 15000, including surrounding villages. The Centre of Holywell is divided into 5 areas, Pen y Mas, The Strand, The Holway, The Town Centre and Greenfield Valley. I will be working…

Groups Networking Together event in Brechin City Hall

By OTBMay 14, 2019May 14, 2019 Uncategorized Leave a comment

A range of community groups and organisers attended the recent Groups Networking Together event in Brechin City Hall. Ulrik Westen-Jensen from the National Lottery Community Fund presented a helpful overview of the different streams of funding programmes available for community groups, and the application process for each. Victoria Gibbons, from Angus Council provided a useful…

Groups Networking Together event

By OTBApril 22, 2019 Angus, Events, Scotland Leave a comment

Do you run a community group or activity in Brechin or Edzell? Are you looking for advice around available funding options? Join us at our Groups Networking Together event on Thursday 9 May at Brechin City Hall from 7-9pm. You will have the chance to meet and chat with Ulrik Westen-Jensen from the National Lottery,…

Brechin Community Singing Group’s Easter bonnets and songs…

By OTBApril 17, 2019May 22, 2019 Angus Leave a comment

Easter Bonnets and songs was the recent theme for the Brechin Community Singing Group. The group held an Easter Egg raffle while enjoying yummy Easter cakes donated by the members followed by a competition for the best Easter Bonnet and a good sing song as usual. Not only does the group sing uplifting songs and…

We’re Recruiting…

By OTBApril 15, 2019April 15, 2019 Angus, Eaglesham, Scotland, Vacancies Leave a comment

Outside the Box was established in 2004. We provide community development support, shared learning and capacity building for people who want to make changes in their communities. We are recruiting two part-time Community Workers for the new Community Connections projects in two areas: Waterfoot and Eaglesham area of East Renfrewshire The areas around Brechin and…

Reflecting on Rural Wisdom on Milford Haven

By OTBApril 9, 2019April 9, 2019 Uncategorized Leave a comment

Written by Rachel Evans The last couple of months has been a period of exploring new starts and tying up loose ends….. Our Milford Haven booklet has now been produced – a new experience for us at the Welsh end in terms of how we communicate our work to people. The finished product looks good…

Rural social work in Scotland

By OTBApril 9, 2019 Rural News, Scotland Iriss, rural communities, Rural News, rural practice, Rural scotland, rural social work, Social Work Leave a comment

The idea that social work in rural areas in Scotland might best be based on different approaches to those used in urban areas (where the vast majority of the population live) has received scant attention in recent years. There is a dearth of research on which to plan services that fit with such a notion. However, given the Scottish Government’s emphasis on community engagement, this is of interest.

Out and About in the Scottish Borders

By OTBApril 3, 2019 Borders and Moray, Scotland Leave a comment

Hello, Christine here and I will be working on Rural Wisdom in the Scottish Borders. Rural Wisdom is a 5 year community development and shared learning project that explores the impact of community-based activities that are led by older people living in rural areas in both Scotland & Wales. It has been designed to benefit…

Rural Wisdom Dementia events

By OTBApril 3, 2019 Uncategorized Leave a comment

We’ve been part of 2 events where people living with dementia are sharing their experience to help other people live well. Living Well with Dementia, Birnam Agnes Houston was the speaker at our event at Birnam Arts. Agnes talked about sensory changes she and many other people living with dementia experience, and what they…