Social enterprise Groundwork, based in Newton Aycliffe, is celebrating 30 years of transforming the lives of hundreds of thousands of people across the North East for the better.
Groundwork, which was established in the region in 1985, delivers a range of social and environmental regeneration programmes that engage communities, private businesses and public sector partners to make sustainable change.
Its work embraces land and community improvement programmes, training and work placement schemes, projects to boost people’s wellbeing, and practical initiatives to tackle climate change and help businesses improve their environmental impact.
‘Green’ milestones and achievements during the last three decades have included:
• Encouraging 202,396 young people to become involved in community-enhancing projects
• Helping 3,515 people into employment
• Assisting people to gain 3,502 qualifications
• Supporting 3,282 businesses
• Improving more than 11 million hectares of land
• Planting 153,959 trees
The range of its influence comprises:
• Helping young people to participate in their local communities and providing a range of positive activities, building confidence and self-esteem to transform their aspirations and re-engage them into education or training.
• Supporting people to retrain, gain confidence, skills and valuable work experience, and ultimately get a job. From structured volunteering to apprenticeships and formal placements with employers, Groundwork helps people move on a journey towards meaningful employment.
• Assisting communities and business take practical action to tackle climate change – and it recognises that by doing so it also can reduce fuel poverty and help business be more efficient.
• Running specific initiatives in disadvantaged communities to improve the self-esteem, physical health and general wellbeing of residents. This includes walking, environmental volunteering, food growing, and play activities.
• Working with communities and its partners to create or improve open spaces that are well-designed, relevant to the needs of local people as well as being attractive havens for wildlife. Groundwork also helps to create activities to put land back to use, such as sport and exercise schemes or food growing, even if it is on a temporary basis while waiting for land to be developed.
• Its regeneration portfolio breathes life into redundant buildings and secures a base for new green, business or community organisations, which in turn has the potential to deliver jobs and community support
Kate Culverhouse, Groundwork Chief Executive, said: “Groundwork is very proud to have been at the heart of the North East community for 30 years.
“When looking back over the growth and development of Groundwork in the region during the last three decades, it has been both humbling and heartening to see how it has helped individuals and communities overcome, often, challenging circumstances to transform lives and communities.
“Our staff, volunteers, stakeholders and partner organisations are looking forward to continuing to make a positive contribution to the region for many more years to come.”
Groundwork’s roots lie in an ‘urban fringe experiment’ spearheaded by the Countryside Commission in the late 1970s that developed new approaches to restore and manage neglected and derelict land on the outskirts of conurbations where town met country.
This led to the first North East Trust being founded in Country Durham in 1985 to meet the needs of people and communities affected by the devastating impact of pit closures.
This Trust was soon joined by other areas across the region with Groundwork North East, a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, being incorporated in 2009.
Its 200-strong workforce comprises community development workers and project officers, landscape architects, employment and training specialists, education workers, business advisers and youth workers. Its staff work alongside 120 volunteers.
Collaboration is central to Groundwork achieving its goals in the region and as a result, it works in partnership with private companies, local communities, public bodies, housing associations and voluntary sector organisations.
The aims of its projects include helping businesses to develop their green credential and reduce their environmental impact, improve people’s employment prospects and potential, enrich the quality of residents’ lives, and regenerate and enhance neighbourhoods.
Groundwork will be holding a series of celebratory events, which it will announce during the coming weeks.
