Press releases and articles on MY Adventure, Gypsy Brae & Bike CHAINge
Photo opportunity: local volunteers (including young people) from community and staff from large corporations building a track at Gypsy Brae Recreational ground, Granton, Edinburgh on Tuesday 25th September 2012 and Wednesday 26th September 2012 (using shovels; young children, families, volunteers using the bike course (Local MP and councillors invited). Over 50 corporate volunteers attending. Public, corporate, voluntary sector and local community working together to tackle social and health issues from grassroots/bottom up approach.
Cyclone Mountain Bike Track (construction) & the Bike CHAINge (lifestyle) Project Launched
Muirhouse young entrepreneur, volunteer and community activist Peter Airlie pitched, Dragons Den style, his idea for a Mountain Bike Track to be constructed on waste ground in the heart of one of Europe’s most economically deprived communities to Starbucks and top International Corporations and the city council. He has successfully secured the lease in trusted to local charity Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG) of a section of Gypsy Brae Recreational ground, on the north shoreline of Edinburgh. MYDG and the partners are convinced that the Cyclone Mountain Bike Track will: increase activity in the community (where lack of physical activity and engagement in sports is a major concern) increase employment opportunities (through volunteering and leading mountain bike training and mechanics sessions) and create a lasting community safe-guarded public owned environmental project and utility space for all ages and abilities to enjoy.
Perfectly coinciding with this the launch of the construction (work begins with the 50 strong State Street & Scottish Gas Networks team of volunteers – 9am Tuesday 25th September) is the launch of Bike CHAINge a local project funded by Cycling Scotland to encourage more journeys to be made by cycling. Participants enrol free of charge and have a cycle computer fitted and then they can record their mileage and combine with all Bike CHAINge participants to make a virtual journey around the world! They also receive free training on road safety and advice on clothing, bike purchase and a bag of goodies/tokens for their achievement. It’s a great way of encouraging local people to use cycling – the healthiest, cheapest and most sustainable transport to get to work, school or play.
Jonny Kinross, Social Enterprise Manager, MY Adventure, said: “Peter Airlie’s Cyclone Bike Track project is radical and creative and probably the envy of many a politician and strategist, with having successfully got together the council, community projects and big business at a National and local level to make a lasting contribution to Mountain Biking and cycling in North Edinburgh. This will raise the profile of the community across Edinburgh and create something with the whole city will benefit from”
“The fact that the bike track, once completed will be used by community based Leaders like himself to deliver GoMountain Bike Training sessions, bike mechanics training and skills course will increase much needed employment opportunities and employability skills in the local area whilst addressing health needs by promoting cycling.”
The first turf will be cut: 9am on Tuesday 25th September at Gypsy Brae Recreational Ground
(on the corner of West Shore Road, Granton/Muirhouse – 400 metres due East from Craigroyston House)
Starbucks Youth Action – who have provided the initial start-up funding for the Cyclone project is Starbucks own investment programme in young people, giving seed funding, training and backing to young people running projects in their communities across the UK. Starbucks Youth Action is delivered in partnership with UK Youth and the Irish Youth Foundation http://starbucks.co.uk/responsibility/community/backing-youth
UK Youth is a national charity developing and promoting high quality youth work and educational opportunities for and with young people. It is the largest non-uniformed young people’s organisation, supporting a network of over 7,000 youth groups, clubs and projects across the UK, with over 750,000 young people engaged through these networks. http://www.ukyouth.org/
Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG) is a local Muirhouse charity which delivers in the local library, school and art centre young people focused and issue based group work, sports, arts, education support, local volunteering, employability training and international volunteering opportunities http://www.mydg.org.uk
MY Adventure is the Social Enterprise trading arm of MYDG delivering a range of cycling, outdoor and adventure activities to the public, voluntary, corporate sector and tourist market. The company in its first year delivered over 200 activities to over 600 customers employing 9 local young people who would otherwise have been unemployed http://www.myadventure.org.uk
The Cycle Friendly and Sustainable Communities Fund was established with the aim of increasing the wellbeing of communities, enabling more people to have more opportunities to cycle and to use cycling as a way to achieve local outcomes. The immediate aim of the fund is to provide grants for worthwhile schemes that demonstrate innovative ways of using cycling and will serve as examples of good practice that can be followed by future projects and can be shared across the whole sector. http://www.cyclingscotland.org/our-projects/funding-sources/
State street Bank & Scottish Gas Networks are local employers based in Muirhouse/Granton and are supplying volunteers for the ‘building’ of the bike track through their commitment to the local community.
Edinburgh City Council has got behind the project from the start with city councillors sitting on the original ‘Dragon’s Den’ style panel. Since then they have looked out a more than suitable piece of land for the project as well as donated materials and staff time to ensure the project goes a head safely and in tune with wider council objectives
