Senior steppers is a project created to enhance the movement and activity of our seniors through dance.

Clonard is fortunate enough that we have a residents’ home in the heart of our area that houses a number of senior residents. Pre covid our seniors were very active and sociable but unfortunately, they had this ripped away during previous years due to covid and since then we have had nothing picked back up.

The project will be a huge benefit for these people because, as we know, exercise and activeness boosts our serotonin, increasing our mental health, and with being so isolated during covid everyone's mental health took a huge hit.

The project also allows the residents to build friendships with other seniors in the community who may not live in Clonard house but would like to attend in turn decreasing social isolation enhancing communication and building a new network of friendships in the area.

The urban nature reserve at Bog Meadows is a huge asset for both local people and wildlife in Belfast. As a way to connect local people with the space and nature, a Butterfly Group was set up. This was a small social group of people trained to monitor a butterfly transect for Butterfly Conservation who take part in a weekly walk around the reserve.

Last year the group monitored the butterflies all season, they enjoyed all the activities so much they went on to set up a permanent group now meeting weekly at Bog Meadows, called Meadow Ladies, with 20+ regular members. The group meet every Monday taking part in walks and wildlife activities e.g. wildlife gardening. They really benefitted from the Move More Eat Well grant last year, have trained others to take part in the survey and now want to expand the project.

This year the project will include-

• Butterfly surveys – walking the perimeter of the reserve, connection to nature, sense of achievement, connection to other people- from 1st April to 30th September
• Community meal to celebrate the achievements of the Butterfly Walks
• Participating in woodworking/ willow weaving workshops to learn new skills- with healthy lunch provided
• Making planters for fruit and vegetables with woodwork tutor
• Planting fruit and vegetables to grow and eat at home – something to maintain when at home – encouraging movement and being outdoors
• Enhancing biodiversity in the local area – making bird boxes, finding good places to put them, putting them up, all helping everyone move more outdoors.

Below are some quotes from the group about the importance to them of belonging to this group.

“Having a place or group to go to, to walk and talk and engage in new activities with others provides a lifeline for many who would otherwise exist in disconnected isolation, often alone.”

“It really is a truism that no one is an island. Experiencing increased connectedness is the best tonic to stimulate better mood, better fitness and a healthier overall outlook about really living your life.“

“There is nothing specific in my area for my age group which brings me closer to nature to help calm me from my pains. The loneliness leads to poor mental health so I live in a circle, but when I’m out in nature with like-minded people it takes away my sadness, loneliness, I forget about my pains, I can breathe again, I can smile.”

“A sense of belonging, staying connected and socializing. Learning new skills, sharing healthy eating ideas and taking action.”

Newstart Education Centre is a community-based organisation location in the Lower Falls Area of West Belfast. We are an alternative education provider which offers youth development programmes. Our work is inclusive for young people and their families who have traditionally been excluded or disengaged from mainstream education.

The project is focused primarily on health and wellbeing which will include cooking sessions, gym sessions and group work sessions focused on mental health. The program would occur between April – June which traditionally includes exam season when young people are feeling incredible amounts of pressure due to deadlines, revision and additional pressure from everyday life.

The purpose of this project is to help improve the young people’s physical and mental health by educating them around a variety of topics and stress management techniques to help the young people develop positive coping strategies. It will provide lifelong learning for young people through cooking sessions, positive coping strategies, and how to look after their mental health.

The Move More & Eat Well project funding will enable St Agnes’s to continue to provide facilities and equipment for our ongoing work with local children.

In keeping with many other volunteer-based organizations, the GAA is a tremendous asset to its members and the communities in which it operates. In order to promote Gaelic Games in local primary schools, Antrim GAA has nominated clubs to work with local schools. We have employed one of our members to go into our assigned school - Holy Child Primary School in West Belfast for one day per week during term time to take classes in the school for coaching. Additionally, we host a session on Friday nights all year round for the Holy Child kids at Woodlands Playing Fields where they get additional coaching. We have entered teams for Saturday morning Go Games and also entered the South Antrim Leagues where the boys and girls get competitive games on a regular basis.

Funding for this coaching activity and for pitches for matches is provided by the club through voluntary contributions from members and also through fund raising efforts such as this application for the Move More & Eat Well scheme.

Between coaching in Holy Child and the external Friday night coaching, and Saturday morning games, we manage to facilitate over 100 kids on a weekly basis and, well over half of these kids get three sessions per week, in school, at the Friday night training and at the Saturday Go Games or league games.