News

Good Afternoon,

I’m contacting you to let you know about the upcoming Inverness Walking and Wheeling Festival www.wawfest.com hosted by Partnerships for Wellbeing www.p4w.org.uk

Partnerships for Wellbeing are an Inverness-based charity supporting health and wellness in the Highlands through our community transport service and health walk project.  Together with more than thirty walking and cycling groups in Inverness we have joined forces to create a brand new festival that aims to encourage us all to make the most of the city’s growing network of paths and routes.

The Inverness festival of Walking and Wheeling kicks off a week of activities on Saturday 20^th May with a fun-filled drop-in event at the WASPS Creative Academy.

• Stallholders will be offering brochures, maps and fun giveaways and there will be live music and screenings of videos showing some of the amazing locations that people can explore on foot or on wheels.
• The launch event will be opened by BBC comedy star Karen Bartke (‘Officer Karen’ in TV’s Scot Squad) who has also teamed up with local broadcaster Grace Nicoll for a series of videos entitled Those Funny Women in the Woods.  In the videos both Grace and Karen go walking in Daviot Woods and try out the new Hi-Bike electric cycles on a journey from the UHI Campus to Culloden House Hotel.
• The festival is being coordinated by local charity Partnerships for Wellbeing who have been organising health walks across the Highlands since 2004.  Manager Jeff Zycinski says so many new walking and cycling groups have been created in that time and the festival offers a way for them all to work together to let everyone know what an incredible city Inverness has become for those who prefer foot and pedal power for work or leisure. Among the walking groups that have captured the imagination is the ghost walk that’s organised by the Highland Paranormal Society and the Caledonian Canal walk led by Andrew Lucas from Inverness Library.

The festival runs until 28^th May and concludes with a special event at Eden Court Theatre where Highland author S.G. Galbraith will be talking about the importance of walking and cycling in her creative process. The festival receives funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, Paths for All and Smarter Choices, Smarter Places.

More information on the website  www.wawfest.com

Social Media       (3) Festival of Walking & Wheeling | Inverness | Facebook

Festival co-ordinator Jayne Preece:  [email protected]

Why are we contacting you?  If your CC has social media or other ways or informing your local community about the Festival then please share this information as widely as you can.

We will be distributing flyers and posters over the next couple of weeks so look out for them in your area.

Kind regards

Marie

Marie Law

Partnerships for Wellbeing

07497 357198

Events Assistant – Walking & Wheeling Festival Inverness

www.wawfest.com

Dear Community Resilience Group/Community Council/Colleagues,

Welcome to The Highland Council’s fortnightly briefing for groups with an interest in local community resilience. 

Covid, Colds, and Flu related information 

• Scottish Government – Covid, Colds, and Flu  

• NHS Inform Covid data  
• NHS Highland local vaccination information – this includes information on the winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Flu vaccination programme which is now underway.

Funding  

SCVO  is a key source of funding information for the third sector. Funds that may be of interest include:

• The Robertson Trust – Community Vehicle GrantsContributes to the costs of a vehicle used to support or address the impacts of poverty and/or trauma under financial wellbeing, emotional wellbeing and relationships, and/or educations and worth pathways. Apply at any time.
• SportScotland – Sport Facilities FundSupports projects that create or improve places that people take part in sport and physical activity. They will provide additional support to projects within or serving the most deprived communities, according to the Scottish Index of multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Next deadline 1st September.
• Silverhill TrustPromotes mental, physical, and social development of young people, especially those in poor circumstances. Apply at any time.

Welfare, poverty reduction and resilience

• Emergency Alerts – Reminder that a test alert will be sent out to all mobile phones at 3pm 23^rd of April. This test message will be accompanied by a loud siren for 10 seconds, it will play despite being on silent mode, but not through aeroplane mode.

Attached to this email is a document containing further information on the new Emergency Alert Service. This will allow people to be contacted via their mobile phone if their lives are at risk in an emergency. 

• ALISS – ALISS helps communities work together to find and share information about local groups, services, and activities. Please see the attached document for information on upcoming ALISS sessions in Inverness and online. For more information about the ALISS Programme, click here.
• Community Climate Adaption Routemap – Adaptation Scotland have developed this resource to develop community resilience to climate change and provide practical steps for communities.
• Cyber Security Resilience: Cyber Security Guidance for UK Organisations – An alert has been issued to critical national infrastructure organisations warning of an emerging threat from state-aligned groups. Attached is a document from Police Scotland detailing cyber security and additional resources for small/medium enterprises and the general public.
• Cost of living support – Highland Council webpages on support and information to help with the cost of living.
• Help during the cost-of-living crisis – Scottish Government advice and information.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

• NHS Highland Mental Wellbeing – a collection of resources and signposts to help people of all ages to look after their own mental wellbeing. Register for the event by following the link.
• Cost of living crisis and your mental health
  Many people are feeling the strain as the cost of living continues to increase.  This resource provides information on how you can maintain your mental wellbeing at this time, alongside information on how to manage your money as bills rise.

Emergency Planning 

• Met Office Weather Warnings – https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2022-11-04
• Met Office Weather Ready https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/weatherready 
• Scottish Flood Forecasting – Provides up to date information on when and where flooding is expected to occur over a three-day period.
• Floodline Scotland https://floodlinescotland.org.uk/ 
• Ready Scotland – preparing for emergencies https://ready.scot/

Douglas Crawford
Business Analyst

Community Support and Engagement

Highland Council

Partners,

Please see attached poster which I have previously sent to you all.  Can I ask that you share this far and wide across your networks to encourage all community organisations, groups and clubs whether they are large or small who support health and wellbeing to attend the workshops to find out about ALISS.  They could be a knitting club, befrienders group, a support group, or just somewhere people can go for a chat, anything  that supports the health and wellbeing of our communities.  

ALISS (A Local Information System for Scotland) is a digital system that helps communities work together to find and share information about local groups, organisations, activities and services that can support health and wellbeing. 

Information added to ALISS is made available through the www.aliss.org website as well as a range of other websites, systems, and apps so it can be accessed by people searching directly for themselves, as well as by professionals involved in social prescribing and signposting roles, through a range of channels where different people may choose to look for it.

Adding your own group or organisation to ALISS helps people who are looking for support or to get involved in community activities, to find them more easily. You can also then ‘claim’ your organisation on ALISS to take editorial responsibility for managing your information to make sure it stays accurate and up to date.

ALISS is funded by the Scottish Government and managed by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) so is completely free to use for anyone wishing to add or search for information.

Please can you share the attached poster across your networks and social media platforms to encourage as many organisations and groups as possible to attend these workshops. 

To book a place at an in person event please email [email protected] stating the date that you wish to attend and how many people will be attending. 

For more information about the ALISS Programme, click here.

If you have any questions about using ALISS or would like any help to add or claim your own information, please get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Regards

Lynn McNeil

Community Support Co-Ordinator

Inverness Town House

High Street

Inverness

IV1 1JJ

Tel: 07799 910494

Email: [email protected]

Please find attached a briefing note on a schools consultation proposal likely to be put to a future meeting of the Highland Council’s Education Committee for approval. 

The requirement for the Council to set up Gaelic Medium catchment areas is set out in Statutory Guidance on Gaelic Education.

The note is intended to provide Community Councils with advance notice of the proposal being put to Committee.  I would be happy to attempt to answer any questions you might have.

Ian Jackson

Education Officer

Highland Council

07435 982557