Bridging the Gap

Summary

A community development and research programme linking Gateshead residents with the countryside of the Great North Forest, in particular:

people with disabilities
young people
women’s groups
minority ethnic communities
residents and tenants associations

Background

The Forest partners were keen to discover the barriers which prevented traditionally socially
excluded groups from the countryside around Gateshead, and how those barriers could be
overcome.

The Project

Bridging the Gap took residents of The Old Fold in Gateshead out to the countryside of the
Great North Forest, and carried out a wide range of activities which were designed specifically
to help inform the participants of how they might access and enjoy the countryside, whilst at the
same time probing the barriers and hurdles which prevented these people accessing the
countryside. This research was then fed back to the relevant agencies, to help inform and
formulate their countryside around towns access policies.

Children at Penshaw Monument.jpg

What has been achieved?

Partnership working was achieved through the facilitation of this project in which the Great North Forest, Countryside Agency, Gateshead MBC and Gateshead Voluntary Organisation Council were able to discover the barriers preventing 15 traditionally excluded community groups from accessing the countryside around Gateshead.
For many participants this was their first trip to the countryside, and was a real voyage of discovery.
Bridging the Gap highlighted the fact that given the right opportunity and support, many people will visit the countryside close to where they live. It acted as a catalyst for community workers to carry out more trips, and the need for easily accessible transport and guidance to overcome people’s fears of the unknown. Subsequent development of a small grant programme, enabling local groups to hire their own transport for countryside visits, has demonstrated how a limited financial investment can open up new opportunities for previously excluded communities.
The research findings were fed back to the relevant agencies, to help them develop further initiatives around the country.

References

www.necf.org.uk

http://www.mosaicpartnership.org/

http://www.ben-network.org.uk/grants/emas.html