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£342,000 for community heritage projects across Northern Ireland

£342,000 for community heritage projects across Northern Ireland

The announcement comes through HLF’s Young Roots and Your Heritage programmes.

Young Roots, a scheme designed for projects led by young people aged 11 to 25, aims to involve them in finding out about their heritage, develop skills, build confidence and promote community involvement. The scheme provides grants of up to £50,000, increased from £25,000 this year. Your Heritage is a flexible programme, particularly designed for voluntary and community groups and first-time applicants, offering grants of between £3,000 to £100,000.

The 10 projects across Northern Ireland, largely delivered by community groups, will explore a wide range of heritage themes ranging from the Titanic era, biodiversity, buildings, local community heritage, festivals and school histories.

Head of the Heritage Lottery fund Northern Ireland, Paul Mullan, added: “This is our largest single small grant announcement to community heritage projects in Northern Ireland. HLF is delighted to support these communities and young people as they seek to express, celebrate and pass on the rich heritage they are all so proud of. The majority of these projects provide fantastic opportunities for the wider community to get involved. We wish them all the best possible outcome.”

Sandy Row – Revitalise our heritage - £48,800
One of the most deprived areas in Northern Ireland, Sandy Row in Belfast continues to decline with the closure of shops and businesses. In an effort to reawaken a sense of pride in the area the Sandy Row Community Forum has developed a programme of heritage activities focusing on the area’s proud economic and cultural heritage. It is hoped this project will provide the foundations for heritage-led regeneration and investment in the area.

Through workshops and outreach events, the project will engage with local schools and residents to share the history, culture and traditions of the area from the 17th century to the present day. Participants will study local landmarks, charting their history and significance and the experiences of local people connected to them.

A new walking tour of Sandy Row will be developed which will complement walking tours in the other parts of the city.  Local people will be offered the opportunity to train as volunteer guides.

Heritage After Dark - £6,700
Based at Creggan Country Park in Derry~Londonderry, this project aims to equip young people with new skills. It runs a unique series of activities that will reconnect them with historical, cultural and natural heritage, and explore historical events which took place in their city.

Three schools from the area have signed up to form a steering group, and on completion the young people will have the opportunity to become honorary volunteers in the Park’s volunteer programme.

With Heritage After Dark being the main theme, activities will include addressing myths and legends of Halloween and surveying nocturnal creatures. They will learn unique skills such as how to track bats, identify owls, use moth traps and learn to use scientific equipment and techniques.

A public event will be held at Creggan Country Park as part of UK City of Culture Halloween 2013 celebrations.

Glenarm Heritage Activity Project - £49,900
One of the earliest towns in Ulster, having been granted a charter in the 13th century, Glenarm is indisputably rich in local heritage – built, natural and social.

This project aims to develop a programme of activities with widespread community involvement, training and volunteering opportunities. Heritage trails, walks, traditional crafts, natural history workshops, lectures and a website are some of the outcomes of the scheme. The project aim is to ‘preserve, learn about and pass on everything that our generation has inherited in the village of Glenarm.’

The scheme compliments the refurbishment and conversion of Seaview Hall into a community and heritage facility. It will provide the opportunity for visitors using the Causeway Coastal Route to stop in Glenarm, an interest highlighted through market research.

Also funded…

Sounds of the City - £28,800

Led by the MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre), this project explores the heritage of three groups from all sides of the River Lagan; Tar Isteach in North Belfast, Sailor Town in Central Belfast and Dee Street in East Belfast. It will focus on the late 19th and 20th centuries when a geographical and political split began to form on either side of the river. The communities involved showed a desire to work together and further the idea of a shared city. The project will create a sound based travelling exhibition, talks and workshops, and a permanent archive in the Northern Ireland Archive.

Festival Memories and Places - £41,900
Queens University of Belfast Foundation has been awarded a grant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ‘Ulster Bank Belfast Festival.’ One of the biggest cultural events in Northern Ireland – it has been intertwined with the story of the city of Belfast throughout its 50 year history. The project will see 50 unique blue plaque posters positioned across the city representing a specific festival memory. 2012 festival audience numbers are expected to peak at 75,000 with a programme of over 120 events.

Titanic Era Belfast - £3,500
This youth led project will explore what life was like in Belfast during the early 1900s. In partnership with PRONI young people researched the lives of shipbuilders and dockers and the social history connected to these trades. The project will culminate in a piece of theatre, including dance, poetry, traditional music and drama/ story telling.

Hedgerow Hopes - £48,000
A priority habitat in Northern Ireland, hedgerows support a huge amount of biodiversity including plants, trees, insects, birds and mammals. This project will produce 38 training sessions and workshops where schools and community groups will be involved in hands on practical conservation across four council areas; Newtownabbey, Belfast, Carrickfergus and Antrim Borough Councils.

A Decade of Change - £49,600
A project to create an education pack, a book, website, exhibition, lectures and tours. A Decade of Change  - Glenravel Local History project will research and present to the public significant historical events during the period of 1910 to 1920. Education packs and books will be made available to schools, libraries and universities.

Cherished Childhood School Days - £24,000
St Marys Primary School in Carland, Dungannon has been awarded a grant towards centenary celebrations to commemorate the heritage of the school. The project will create oral recordings of past and present pupils, collect photographs and artefacts, stage reminiscence workshops, create a drama script for a community play and publish a DVD.

Green Hut - £41,000
The Somme Association plans to dismantle, remove and rebuild an early 20th century Green Hut. The Green Hut has an interesting cross-community history in that at the time of the 1916 Easter Rising it was used for internment purposes at the Curragh; during WW2 it was used for training purposes, and in the early 1970s the birth of 3UDR* took place in the hut. The Somme Association explains that the ‘Nissen- Type’ unit ‘is an important artefact which is under immediate threat of demolition.’ The project will conserve the hut for future generations and create the opportunity to display artefacts, host exhibitions and hold events in the future.

Note to editors

*Ulster Defence Regiment

Young Roots programme

In the past 10 years the HLF has awarded more than £27m to Young Roots projects throughout the UK

Further information

Contact Robert Smith, HLF Press Office, on 020 7591 6245 or email roberts@hlf.org.uk

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