Planting Seeds for The Next Generation

Passion is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of the young, it travels along grass-stained sleeves to the heart. – Richard Louv: Last Child in the Woods

A healthy community is one that looks out or it’s children.  It is one that recognizes the importance and value of the next generation and makes their education a priority.

This year at the lottie, we’re dedicating ourselves to the next generation of little diggers, which is why we’ve been working hard to extend the children’s garden and seek funding to undertake exciting activities including a bi-weekly family club and (fingers crossed) work with local schools to get children outside with their fingers in the earth.  Our aim is to move the learning space beyond the classroom and into the community; allowing children the unique opportunity to experience the world in full 3D colour.

Although all of these exciting projects are yet to come to fruition, this weekend at the lottie we were fortunate enough to have some little digger visitors who were ahead of the game.  We had help watering and moving the plants, digging over raised beds and even building a beautiful hibernaculum to house our frogs and newts when they’re not pond-dipping.

What became apparent to me as I saw the children zealously getting their hands dirty, pulling out worms and searching for twigs was that very little was needed to kindle the learning process and perhaps more pertinently, we as adults have as much to learn from children as they do from us.

May the learning commence.

little helpers feb 2015

Solidarity in Austerity: Moss Side Community Share

“It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay – small acts of kindness and love.” – J. R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

This Saturday 10th January 13 Moss Siders came together to sort and box the food donations from the Moss Side Community Share which our generous community have contributed to.  The idea was simple: to bring non-perishable food goods to the MSCA hub to be distributed among the people most in need in our local area, working with various housing associations.

“It’s not going to be about charity,” insisted Phillip Dodd, who initiated the project.  “It’s about sharing what we have with the more vulnerable people in our community.”

We have had approximately 40 kind contributors, bringing three tables full of soups, sauces, pasta, cereals, chocolate, marzipan stollen (a massive temptation), fresh vegetables from The Kindling Trust and much more.  We estimate that in total we have provided around 120 meals to people in Moss Side in that very difficult period after Christmas when money can be tight, particularly with current national austerity measures.

Some of the food has already gone out to several families in urgent need and we have more still to be collected.  What was clear was that the small acts of kindness of many ordinary folk in a trusting and loving community can make a difference.  Whilst we are a long way from bringing about long-term changes for these families and no doubt we wouldn’t have been able to help all those that really needed it with what we contributed, lets hope that what we shared has bought a glimmer of hope to those that received the donations, not just from the food but from the solidarity that we demonstrated as a community.

A massive thank you to all those that contributed and to those that attended our Soup and Solidarity event yesterday, it was wonderful to have your company.

Winter conditions – letter from GM Fire and Rescue (Moss Side Station)

Dear Sir/ Madam,

In the event of an emergency such as fire, road traffic collisions, floods etc Moss Side Community Fire Station provides emergency response at your premises.

You will be aware that in recent years the country has experienced some extreme weather conditions including flooding, freezing ice and in particular prolonged heavy snowfall. As an emergency service we respond to many of these emergencies which in many cases cause considerable hardship and distress to our communities.

In addition to the normal services that you expect of the Fire and Rescue Service, I would also like to advise you that we would also like to offer our assistance & services in a more ‘community spirited’ approach by helping some of the more vulnerable persons/vital services in our area.

Therefore I am writing to key locations such as yours to offer our services where we can be of some assistance in the event of the severe winter conditions. This could be as simple as helping you to clear snow from paths/entrances/gritting so that you can maintain your services to our community. We are also prepared to consider any other reasonable requests such as local collection/delivery of any urgent medical supplies (where normal vehicles cannot get through) and the removal of any dangerous overhanging ice from guttering and entrances etc. Any and all reasonable requests for assistance will be considered by the Officer in Charge in accordance with the exigencies of our own service.

I need to stress that this assistance can only be offered on an ad-hoc basis as our operational crews/vehicles would still be required for other emergencies.

You will be aware that there are similar premises to yours across our area where I have also offered to provide this support. Therefore in the event of any heavy or prolonged snowfall, demand for our services could be high.

Therefore when considering assistance from the Fire and Rescue Service, please could I ask that you consider the following:-

• How severe is the weather?
• Can my own staff deal with the problem/issue?
• Could a private contractor assist with this problem?
• How long is the problem likely to last?
• And, whether our help is your final option?

Have you also considered and made arrangements for Business Continuity for severe weather conditions as part of your own management plans?

Please remember – we cannot guarantee an immediate response, however, we are still prepared to assist with any reasonable requests.

If we can be of any assistance or you have any questions please contact us on 0161 608 5202/3.

Yours faithfully

Phil Nelson

Station Manager

Moss Side Community Fire Station