Rural Outreach Fitness ‘mobile gym’ / Pre Pedal Community ‘children cycling’ / Creative Arts

There are three elements to the project which are:

• Rural Outreach Fitness ‘mobile gym’
• Pre Pedal Community ‘children cycling’
• Creative Arts

And by piloting all three in conjunction we seek to engage with a cross-section of the most isolated people in the deep rural areas.

Rural Outreach Fitness ‘mobile gym’

As mentioned previously, we currently run an adults fitness programme rurally. However, the programme only caters for the young and predominantly female population. We have been approached a number of times by older people in the community to try and offer more activities which are appropriate for not only the older generation but also improve wellbeing. Furthermore, they would like to receive activities that promote intergenerational participation.  As a consequence, Yoga/Pilates/Spinning has been suggested a number of times as an activity that would suit a number of different people and would also include the older generation.

Yoga/Pilates and spinning have been identified within this document as an area for development. The lack of Yoga instructors in the area is one of the barriers to participation within this area as there are significant costs associated to becoming an instructor. This project would add value to local resources and promote a sustainable healthy living scheme. It would also facilitate pre commercial development with the opportunity to expand using various partners. 

As we do not have any instructors that are able to deliver such an activity we are working in partnership with a local independent instructor. We have such an instructor located in Cerrigydrudion who is willing to develop and deliver a pilot programme to engage with isolated rural communities from two of the following communities: Llansannan and Cerrigydrudion. We also have some instructors currently engaging with communities that have the relevant qualifications but lack the resources to improve the service on offer. 

We would like to invest in some equipment, venue hire and instructors to be able to deliver the activities initially for 12 weeks. During which time all participants would contribute towards the sessions with the intention of creating a sustainable programme.  Within other areas the project would be able to make a significant difference to potentially sustainable activities through developing the resources on offer (in particular where instructors and volunteers are currently available).   

Pre Pedal Community ‘children cycling’

Pre pedal is a concept that we have developed to improve the physical literacy of children under the age of 5 and their families. The target audience is predominantly rural deprivation within Llanrwst itself. We will be working with the family centre in Llanrwst in a bid to engage more with the local community and offer sessions that encourage parents to help their children engage with sport (in particular with cycling ). The project is fun, simple and offers endless ideas on how to help get children cycling from a very young age (some as young as 2 years old). By working with the family centre we are able to target a specific audience and work together to raise the awareness of the project.  

The department was recently fortunate enough to have staff and volunteers trained up to deliver balance bike sessions ‘Pre Pedal’ sessions for the under 5’s in rural Conwy. 
We would like to offer regular practice sessions for children under the age of five and their families and aim to start this part of the project in September 2016 in the centre of Llanrwst.
We will be working in partnership with the school sports team, the family centre in Llanrwst and the leisure centre. The programme would help strengthen family relations and community cohesion. Improving health and creating job opportunities.  

Creative Arts

In terms of developing an innovative programme the decision to work in partnership with the health and wellbeing department provided a multi targeted approach. Whilst been able to offer opportunities to develop health and fitness the wellbeing sector identified a need to develop creative opportunities in rural Conwy. Therefore, the decision to work together and offer this programme will enhance the services on offer and compliment the health section (targeting the same communities). We seek to engage with an audience that may not initially have any interest in health or sporting initiatives but may have a creative interest. This section will provide a platform to target community members in which we will be able to work with and encourage them to get involved. By focusing on a perceived need for creative sessions without the pressure of expectation or specific outcomes we will be better equipped to engage with more members of the community.

An outline of the project is described below:

TAPE Community Music and Film and Community Artist Dee Rivaz have collaborated in developing and delivering arts projects in the community for nearly a decade.  The concept of Poke the Muse sprang from a perceived need for creative sessions without the pressure of expectation or specific outcome.  It became evident that it is the pressure to succeed that can create a barrier to take part, dampen the enthusiasm to explore and reinforce negative beliefs.  Accordingly we devised these self-directed open-studio sessions with an ambience designed to relax and play creatively. Although not delivered as art or writing therapy workshops, feedback demonstrates a positive therapeutic outcome for many, with confidence building over time.  There is no label to the activity, so it neither targets nor excludes.

Participants from professional to complete novice have reported enjoying time and space for themselves in a peaceful setting with kindred spirits for company, without the pressure to produce or perform.