Standing Against Racism
December 13, 2020
Lost time
March 19, 2021
One week into 2021 and its not quite going the way I had hoped/planned: back in lockdown, teenager doing his school work from home and no sign of a return to ‘normal’ any time soon. It’s not quite what any of us expected and it feels all too familiar – except that this time around it is colder and darker.
Nevertheless, I’ve got some really exciting projects to get stuck into. Here’s a taste of my first week:
- I submitted an application, on behalf of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, for funding to build capacity to champion nature in the city. If successful, this will provide new opportunities for everyone to access wild spaces in the urban landscape and work with partners to place nature at the heart of recovery plans when we rebuild after Covid.
- I’m working with both Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery and The Heritage Centre Bellingham to develop new volunteer plans for each destination. Whilst there is some overlap they are distinctly different projects with very different needs. Both of these are ongoing projects and it was good to refresh myself last week after the Christmas break.
- I touched base with the team at the Great Tapestry of Scotland – putting dates in the diary for future meetings to progress the Education Strategy I am preparing for them.
- I’m caught up with the Hirst Park Revival Project in preparation for our presentation of their new Activity Plan this week. I’m supporting them to adopt a new direction which will respond to the events of 2020 and enable new activity in the park.
- I walked everyday – making time for family, getting some much needed space away from home and discovering even more new places on my doorstep
This week will bring more of the same: reports, spreadsheets, emails and virtual meetings with some Y9 school work thrown in. I’m finding it much harder to feel motivated this week: I’ve achieved week one, isn’t that enough? We’re all in this together though, locked in and locked down and doing our best. Here’s hoping for brighter days and better times later this year.
