Opening of Foxhill Playground & Youth Gateway (From Watford Observer)

Opening of Foxhill Playground & Youth Gateway

3:27pm Tuesday 8th November 2011

• Print
• Email

Last Thursday afternoon (3rd November), I was delighted to be guest of honour at the grand opening of the Foxhill Playground.

Back in July, children from Cherry Tree School were consulted in shaping the design of the playground by submitting drawings of what they would like to see. They also donned their hardhats and hi-viz jackets to get involved with starting the construction of the play area.

I had my scissors to the ready as I helped two of the children cut the ribbon to the playground with lots of other eager children including me at the ready to try out the fantastic new equipment, after all we are all kids at heart. I had an amazing time, running around, it was great exercise and the children were such fun to be with. I definitely slept well that evening, that’s for sure!!

This project reflects our continued commitment to ensure that our residents are engaged, consulted and empowered to make positive changes to their communities.

Another project that I am really excited about that we are launching, is a youth project called Yo!

This is where young people in Watford and Three Rivers are being invited to take part in an ambitious new project to give them more of a say on what is going on in their community.

We are launching ‘Yo!’ at a special event at the Highlight club in Watford town centre at 12pm on Saturday 12 November.

This is a new youth community programme where young people will be able to share ideas on improving their neighbourhood. Whether it’s new youth activities, safer streets, or a way to help elderly residents, we really want to hear young people’s ideas and work with them to make them happen.

We are looking for young people to take part in the project. They don’t have to be our tenants but they should ideally live in one of our 20 local community areas across Watford and Three Rivers.

At the launch event on Saturday, they will be able to find out more about the project and will be able to use a video diary booth (I can’t wait to try that out myself), to talk about the changes they’d like to see in their area. There will also be many fun activities including DJ workshops with Vibe 107.6, henna body art and a prize draw for a Blackberry (I hope I am not too tired to make a pie when I get home, I cant quite understand why they would be giving out blackberries)! There will also be lots of yummy free food and drink available.

If you would like further information about Yo! please contact Dave Gunn, Community Empowerment Officer on 01923 209221.

To find out more information about the playground at Foxhill or anything else happening at the Trust, please contact me on trusty.house@wcht.org.uk.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here