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Past Events
Inaugural Event report by Judy Conn, secretary
The Friends are most grateful to the North and Leith Local Development Committee of the City of Edinburgh Council for funding this event.
The event took the form of an exhibition about the long and interesting history of the park and a reception with a buffet meal. It took place in the premises of The Yard (Scotland Yard Adventure Centre) between 10am and 4pm on Sunday 6th October.
The aim was to stimulate enthusiasm for and a sense of community 'ownership' of a valuable local asset, the only public open green space in the northern New Town, Stockbridge and the Bellevue area of Broughton - the King George V Park and Scotland Yard.
Because of the importance of the park to families we aimed our publicity at the catchment areas of
three primary schools - St. Mary's, Stockbridge and Broughton. The LDC funding permitted extensive
distribution of posters as well as leafleting of households, libraries, schools, health centres,
post offices and Glenogle Swim Centre. However, we also hoped that the publicity would attract
a wide cross section of the local community eg. young single and retired people, dog owners and
office workers. The exhibition was a resounding success. An estimated 400 adults and children
attended and 85 households paid a membership subscription of between £1 and £5 to join as Friends.
Of these households the majority were families. However, the exhibition also attracted a significant
number of older people, some of whom had grown up in the area and were able to enjoy a nostalgic visit
to the past, and also a welcome number of responsible dog owners with vociferous views about dog fouling.
The exhibition focused on the history of the park from its early days as
Canonmills Haugh bordering Canonmills Loch, the haunt of wild fowlers, through Victorian times
when it was the site of an amazing open air gymnasium, to the glory days of St. Bernard's
Football Club, sometime winners of the Scottish Cup, and finally to recent times with the decay of
the park in the 60s and 70s, its regeneration in the 80s, the establishment of the Scotland Yard
Adventure Centre (for children with special needs) and the very recent upgrading by the Council
of the play areas. Mounting the exhibition was the work of two local parents, both artists.
They had the warm co-operation of their Head Teachers in Stockbridge and St. Mary's Primary Schools.
They went into the classrooms to help the children produce imaginative art work on the theme of parks,
outdoor play and caring behaviour. Children from Broughton Primary School also submitted paintings.
The support of all three schools was much appreciated. During the exhibition by way of building on
the work with children we ran quizzes on both the history of the park and on its environmental aspects,
offering small prizes.
Committee members spoke to all those
who attended the exhibition to seek their views about the park and we will use this information to help
us plan future events, activities and fund raising. Indeed, this information underpins an application,
recently lodged, for further LDC funding, this time for benches and litter bins; the former stemming
from the fact that families have recently been relatively well catered for and that it is now the
turn of older people, the latter from an almost universal outcry about litter. A high level of
enthusiasm was voiced by visitors for the park and for the Council's recent upgrading of the play
areas. This enthusiasm had been instrumental in attracting people to the exhibition in the first place
and it is on this enthusiasm that we hope to build in the future, perhaps combining a Clean Up Day
with a picnic in the spring.
Capital Element of the LDC Grant
The grant covered the purchase of display boards and these are available for any local community group
who might wish to use them, for example at an Annual General Meeting. They will also be useful for
our own meeting allowing us to show documentation of an ongoing audit of the park and its facilities
which we hope to undertake. As a result of the exhibition we also now possess a range of archival
material, mounted and laminated prints and photographs, which will be at the disposal of schools
and interested local history groups, street associations etc.
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