‘OUTDOOR MENTAL HEALTH WORK’ AND ‘LONG-TERM ARTS DEVELOPMENT IN CORNWALL’ ARE TOP OF THE AGENDA FOR THE LOTTERY AND ARTS COUNCIL CASH THAT’S BEING INJECTED INTO THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY HUB ON BODMIN MOOR
Two major successful funding bids are being celebrated by the team at Sterts Arts and Environmental Centre between Liskeard and Launceston, one for ‘outdoor mental health work’ and the other for ‘long-term arts development in Cornwall’.
Bosses say that both bids will ‘strengthen’ the centre’s work in ‘community wellbeing and artistic development’. The first award comes from the National Lottery Community Fund. The £20,000 grant will support a year-long Awards for All project, ‘Root and Branch: Working with Young Men at Risk’, which is aimed at young men who are at risk of mental ill health or social isolation.
Designed to reduce stress, build confidence and increase social interaction for young men in rural Cornish areas, the project will see participants planting and tending to a community garden alongside other activities.
In partnership with veteran mental health charity Transferable Skills Training and Battling On, Sterts will host weekly outdoor sessions on its beautiful site, which is also home to an open-air theatre, a studio, a gallery and a wide range of plays, concerts and other events. They will work with a gardener and volunteers to develop the garden and improve access pathways across the grounds.
The whole project, which aims to ‘foster a sense of accomplishment and community’, combines the ‘therapeutic benefits of nature with meaningful, hands-on activity’. A 20-year-old participant says: “When I work outside, I feel way less stressed. It’s like my mind gets a break. I also start thinking more about things around me, nature and people.”
The second award is an Arts Council England Project Grant of more than £67,000. Staff at the creative community hub say that money will support a transformational year-long initiative called ‘Rooted’, marking, they say, ‘a significant step in Sterts’ long-term vision of becoming a more inclusive, resilient and artistically ambitious organisation’.
Under the project, which will culminate in a ‘Festival of Belonging’ next summer, the centre intends to establish a youth advisory board, a community steering group and an environmental advisory panel to ‘ensure broader community input into decision-making’.
It will also deliver training and mentoring for the hub’s core team, plus ‘rebuild relationships’ across local towns, particularly with ‘underserved groups including carers, young parents, disabled people and older adults experiencing dementia’. And it will ‘support a new generation of Cornish artists through mentoring by established practitioners, strengthening the local arts ecology’.
Sara Rhodes, the centre’s CEO and creative director, says: “These two projects represent a huge step forward for Sterts. We’re thrilled to receive this support which will allow us to deepen our community connections, empower individuals and grow as a centre for inclusive, high-quality arts practice.”
It’s all up from here for Sterts, then. Check out their website if you want to learn more: here.