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Residents of Orkney are benefiting from a healthy eating project, aimed at encouraging people to eat more fruit. The Papdale Residents Association is helping to provide subsidised fruit to schoolchildren, the elderly and local residents through the community shop.

A grant of nearly £3000 from the Scottish Community Diet Project has allowed the association to provide fruit for sale at a discounted rate through Papdale Stores on the Papdale housing estate. The project is primarily aimed at residents living in Papdale, in particular children who use the store at lunchtimes and after school.

Papdale Stores also makes deliveries to elderly residents. ’It is hoped that through a combination of tastings, in-store promotions, recipes and cut-price fruit we will be able to encourage people to increase the amount of fruit in their diets,’ says Susan Atkinson, one of the Orkney health visitors behind the scheme. ’In particular, we are keen to promote fruit as a snack option for local school children.’

Funding for the initiative was secured by the Papdale Residents Association, supported by NHS Orkney, Papdale Stores owner Fiona Flett and local councillor Janice Annal.

Some of Scotland’s poorest communities have benefited from a cash boost to tackle the barriers to a healthy diet.
The Scottish Community Diet Project (SCDP), a Scottish Executive funded initiative, has awarded 55 grants totalling just over £75,000 to projects across the length and breadth of Scotland.

The SCDP was inundated with a record 186 applications this year for grants of up to £3,000 for healthy eating projects ranging from growing schemes, cooking clubs, community cafes to healthy food delivery schemes.

Many communities in Scotland face challenges to a healthy diet caused by factors such as location, limited availability of affordable healthy food, lack of food preparation skills and equipment, and cultural barriers.

The SCDP supports low income communities to tackle these barriers in a number of ways from small grant giving to running training and networking events.

Knowetop Community Farm in West Dunbartonshire received a SCDP small grant this year and is one of many projects working hard within the area to promote the benefits of healthy eating.

The Dumbarton-based farm, which works with disadvantaged people, is using the grant to prepare ’Roots and Fruit’ boxes, containing fruit and vegetables, to home deliver to individuals or families on low incomes in the Castlehill and Brucehill areas.

Project co-ordinator Eleanor Mitchell said: “As there are no shops which sell fresh fruit and vegetables in the targeted local areas, this is a good way of helping people access healthy food and enjoy the benefits of having an improved diet.”

Another to benefit from the SCDP’s small grant scheme is The Furniture Project based in Stranraer, which is planning to provide a healthy diet for its male volunteers who come from difficult circumstances.

The project, which collects waste furniture and runs a low cost removal service, is offering chilled water, fresh fruit and vegetables, to the volunteers to promote healthy eating.

Three people will also sign up to a programme which requires them to fill in a questionnaire at quarterly intervals to gauge whether or not the healthy options offered by the Furniture Project has had an affect on other areas of their diet.

Since the SCDP small grants scheme was launched in 1997 over £400,000 in grants have been awarded to community groups in Scotland.

Bill Gray, the SCDP’s National Project Officer, said: “These small grants often make a big difference to communities who use them to kick start or support imaginative projects which promote healthy eating.”

“The projects have a positive impact on communities, increasing confidence, raising awareness around food and the environment, encouraging exercise and developing new skills, as well as contributing to availability and affordability of healthy food.”

Scotland’s food and health co-ordinator Gillian Kynoch said: “Projects like these, backed by the Scottish Community Diet Project annual grant scheme, go a long way to provide practical support to people who want to or are trying to improve their diet and lead a healthier lifestyle.”

Schools and parents across Scotland are being urged to get behind a series of walks aimed at encouraging kids to get active.

The Great Wee Walks, supported by the Scottish Executive, are being targeted at primary school children to allow them to put their best feet forward for their favourite charity or school project.

The first of the two-mile long walks kick off in Edinburgh (April 17), then take place in  Glasgow (April 24); Dundee (May 1); Perth (May and Aberdeen (May 15).

The Scottish Executive is supporting the event as part of its overall commitment to increase levels of physical activity among children.

Inactivity affects two thirds of adults and almost one in five children in Scotland aged 12 is clinically obese. It is recommended that adults should accumulate a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate level physical activity (the equivalent of brisk walking) on most days of the week, and children should accumulate one hour of moderate activity on most days to benefit their health (1).

Mary Allison, Scotland’s physical activity co-ordinator, said: “The Great Wee Walks are an excellent family day out and we hope that parents will get behind the event and encourage their children to enjoy the benefits of being active.

Once youngsters see just how fun moderate exercise such as walking is they can hopefully get into the habit of taking regular physical activity which will have a positive impact on their health for years to come.”

Over 100 children and their parents took part in the first ever Great Wee Walk which was held in Edinburgh last year and it is hoped that participation in this year’s walks will be even greater.

All wee walkers will receive a medal and certificate and there will be three start times of 11am, noon and 1pm, with an entry fee of £5.

Terry Crossley, organiser of the walking events, said: “Following on from the success of last year’s Wee Walk in Edinburgh, I decided to roll out the event to other cities and I hope that children, along with their mums, dads, and grandparents will come along and enjoy this nice wee walk.”

Glasgow City Council’s Park Rangers are playing a major role in a bid to get more people physically active by making use of the outdoors.

More than 40 Park Rangers across the city have been trained by the Scottish organisation Paths to Health to leads walks in Glasgow’s public parks.

The Glasgow City Health Walks got under way in June and are aimed at getting people of all ages to enjoy the benefits of walking, particularly inactive adults.

Kevin Hutchison, Glasgow City Health Walk Co-ordinator, said: “Glasgow has one of the largest number of public parks in the UK and we want to encourage people to make use of this green space which is on their doorstep, and benefit their health through activities such as walking.”

“Park Rangers are ideal for the job of helping people get active as they know the local park history and will be able to share this with participants.”

Under the initiative, walks led by Park Rangers take place twice a day, mornings at 10:30am and afternoons at 1.00pm from Monday to Thursday in Queens Park, Tollcross Park, Bellahouston Park, Springburn Park and Kelvingrove Park.

As part of the city health project, walks led by volunteers will also take place in Drumchapel, Easterhouse and the Gorbals.

Glasgow City Health Walks is recruiting and training a range of local volunteers to lead a programme of walks in every part of the city over the next three years aimed at encouraging people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to take part.

The initiative, backed by the Glasgow Healthy City Partnership, is one of 53 across Scotland to benefit from grants from Paths to Health, which supports local schemes to encourage people to take up walking in their community.

The funding of £56,846 from Paths to Health will also enable the group to provide resource materials to encourage independent walking, targeting inactive people who are more likely to be at risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity.

Paths to Health project manager Kenny Steele said: “Through the support of the Scottish Executive, we have been able to fund projects like this which will allow residents living in Glasgow to benefit their health and well-being through walking.”

“Walking can be easily incorporated into everyday life and can go a long way to benefiting health.”

Welcoming the project, Scotland’s physical activity co-ordinator Mary Allison, said: “Park Rangers are active for much of the day so what a great way to get others involved in an outdoor activity which they can take at their own pace.”

“Becoming active can be a challenge for many and projects like this can give people the motivation and support to take the first steps towards a healthier lifestyle.”

“People of all ages can benefit from walking and, with summer now here, I hope that many more people in Glasgow will take the opportunity to get active whilst enjoying the outdoors.”

Paths to Health is managed by the Paths for All Partnership and offers grants, advice and training to local partnerships of health, leisure and community interests which wish to establish local schemes to promote walking in their communities.

At one time it didn’t take much for Raj Caur to get out of breath, but since she joined a local women’s walking group she can walk much further without even getting tired.

Part of Sikh Sanjog, a project for Sikh women and their families in Edinburgh, the women’s group walk together once a week. Says Raj: ’I’ve definitely felt much healthier since I started walking with the group. I used to get aches and pains in my legs and get breathless quite quickly, but now I can walk much further and my legs have really felt the benefits too.’

Trishna Singh, a women’s group development worker who was trained by Paths to Health as a walk leader, adds: ’Walking is a great form of exercise. It’s free and all the women found it easy to incorporate into their lives. But the big bonus is that, as well as the health benefits of walking, the group really enjoy spending time together.’

Current guidance from the Scottish Executive Strategy (1) recommends that adults should accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate activity (equivalent to brisk walking) on most days of the week to maintain good health.

Walking is one of the easiest way to do this. Paths to Health offers advice and training, including a one-day training course for volunteers wishing to lead walks in their community, covering areas such as the benefits of physical activity, safety and how to motivate people to walk.

Mary Allison, the national physical activity co-ordinator, says: ’Walking is the perfect way to get active as it requires no special equipment, it’s free and can be a great way of meeting people and having a chat.’

A CD-ROM featuring an animated dancing frog has been devised to encourage youngsters in Scotland’s schools to become more physically active.
YDance (Scottish Youth Dance) has produced the interactive 321 GO! CD-ROM which has been specially designed for teachers and youth leaders working with four- to seven-year-olds across the country.

321 GO! is hosted by GORF, a dancing frog which shows children how to get active with simple warm-ups, games and step-by-step exercises. The CD-ROM, which can be inserted into computer drives and standard audio CD players, features other interactive elements such as video clips and a tool which allows users to create their own music. It offers advice on how to construct uncomplicated dance routines and also includes a bank of printable lesson notes.

’Children absolutely love dancing along with GORF,’ says Andy Howitt, YDance’s artistic director. Studies have shown that regular physical activity among young people reduces the risk of heart and circulatory diseases and obesity. It is recommended that children accumulate at least one hour of moderate activity (equivalent of brisk walking) on most days of the week. (1)

However, it is estimated that actual levels of physical activity in primary school aged girls and boys are much lower. ’Encouraging children to take part in activities such as this can give them greater confidence in their physical abilities, allow them to express themselves in creative ways,’ says Mary Allison, Scotland’s Physical Activity Co-ordinator. ’This project gives teachers so many ideas on how they can get children active in a funky and fun way through a variety of dance moves which involves them stretching, reaching, running and jumping - all the basic building bricks for an active life.’

The £100,000 project, funded by a Scottish Arts Council grant and support from sportscotland, will see hundreds of CD-ROMs offered to local authorities throughout Scotland for distribution at nurseries and schools. The new project follows the success of YDance’s innovative CD-ROM ’AnyBodyCanDance’ which was produced two years ago and has been used by schools and youth clubs throughout the UK.

Residents of Coatbridge are learning how they can drum up healthy meals that are also affordable, quick and tasty.

The Kirkshaws Neighbourhood Centre has been running a series of cookery classes with a grant of £2389 from the Scottish Community Diet Project. Since launching the classes, the Centre has been inundated by requests from people wishing to take part.

Participants get to keep utensils such as scales, aprons and wooden spoons once they finish their course. Gillian Kynoch, Scotland’s food and health co-ordinator, says: ’This project is an example of one of many initiatives throughout the country providing practical help to people to take simple steps towards leading a healthier lifestyle.’

Anne McCormick and Gemma Wight are just two of the parents who have been inspired to create healthy snacks for their children after attending a ’Cooking for Tots’ workshop at Greengables Nursery School in Craigmillar.

Anne, mother of four-year-old Jordan, says: ’We’ll definitely take ideas from today home and I’m going to pick up the new food later that he enjoyed!’

Cooking for Tots is a series of four themed workshops aimed at nursery schoolchildren and parents from Greengables. Children and their parents are invited to work together to prepare and taste simple nutritious snacks like ’yummy yoghurts’ and ’silly sandwiches’. Gemma Wight, mother of three-year-old Michael who particularly liked creating his own healthy yoghurts, adds: ’I found the workshop really interesting. It’s given me lots of extra tips and Michael seemed to really get a lot out of it.’

Partially funded by Sure Start Edinburgh, children are encouraged to devise their own fun but healthy versions of these popular foods, and the course allows parents the opportunity to talk and get advice on any mealtime issues. ’As part of the course, we demonstrate how healthy eating can be achieved within a limited budget and we help develop basic cookery skills that can be transferred into the home environment,’ says Barbara Jessop, food for tot development worker.

Greengables Nursery School believes in a holistic approach to education to achieve the best for the nursery children and their families. Other healthy eating programmes run by the nursery include ’Nursery Nibbles’, an activity attended by parents and their child just before a nursery place is taken up that advises on healthy snacks. A café is also run by trained local nursery parents twice and week: the café extends the choice of healthy fresh produce to families.

East Ayrshire Council’s Outdoor Access Unit organised a Spring Outdoor Access Festival from the 19th -27th March this year as part of Scottish Natural Heritage’s celebration of the new Land Reform Act. One event of the festival was a celebration day for all walkers who have been involved in the local Paths to Health scheme that is established in East Ayrshire through the Coalfield Access Project.

The day was a great success with existing members from groups attending, as well as those interested in joining new groups in their local areas. Those who came along to the party listened intently to Kenny Steele, Project Manager for Paths to Health, putting the local scheme into a national perspective. Indeed, many commented that they did not realise the scale of the project and just how much was going on in Scotland to promote walking!

In addition, local scheme co-ordinator Jennifer Stevenson gave an overview of the work from the last year and congratulated walkers for their effort and commitment to the groups.

Walk Leader, Lynn Sloan talked about why she became a walk leader and what benefits she gets from being a walk leader.

Once the presentations were finished the highlight of the day was next - the first screening of a film made about the walking groups starring members of the Auchinleck group! The Auchinleck stars pretended to be shy but the film was fantastic and really encouraged those thinking about joining groups to make the move.

The day also included taster sessions of reflexology, reiki and massage for walkers to experience as well as free health checks on the C.H.I.P van.

To finish the party off, walkers took part in a health walk in Auchinleck and were then each presented with a relaxing gift to thank them for all their support of the project.

’Walk it!’ has received nearly £12,000 to help people in the Borders enjoy the social and health benefits of walking.

The project is aimed at getting people involved in walks, particularly those living in the Langlee area of Galashiels, Burnfoot in Hawick, Walkerburn and Newtown St Boswells. The project hopes to expand across the region over the coming months.

As a nation Scotland is inactive, unfit and increasingly overweight. The health of two-thirds of the Scottish adult population is now at risk from physical inactivity according to the Scottish Physical Activity Task Force (1).

Walking is one of the easiest and most effective ways to become more active.

As well as providing walks to people of all ages and fitness levels, the project will take referrals and target those people at risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and depression.

Walk It! is one of 53 projects across Scotland to benefit from grants from Paths to Health, a Scottish project which supports local walking schemes.

“We are lucky in the Borders to be surrounded by such beautiful countryside, and walking is a great way to explore the outdoors as it is an activity which people of all ages can do at their own pace,” says Phil Waite, Access Officer with Scottish Borders Council.

“This project can benefit people who may not feel confident walking on their own to take part in an activity which will help improve their health and allow them to meet other people.”