The "Torry Clean & Green Initiative" is a transformative project aimed at revitalizing our beloved Torry Community through enhanced personal hygiene and environmental sanitation. With a focus on discouraging open-surface defecation and dog fouling, we will promote responsible dog ownership and foster clean, safe public spaces—parks, bus shelters, and open fields. Our partnership with Jesus House Torry will amplify our efforts, as we engage the community in meaningful activities that encourage gardening, green spaces, and aesthetic beautification.Through a series of engaging hygiene and sanitation roadshows at local schools, we will educate and inspire the younger generation, instilling lifelong habits of cleanliness and respect for our environment. By procuring essential resources such as litter and dog foul bins, cleaning tools, and publicizing our initiatives, we aim to create a cleaner, greener, and healthier Torry. Together, we can breathe fresher air, promote community well-being, and cultivate a vibrant neighborhood for all. Join us in making Torry a shining example of community pride and environmental stewardship!

One in six children aged 5-16 have a probable mental health disorder and since Covid, mental health issues in young people have increased by 58%. In 2025, children face many challenges such as bullying and complicated home lives which can result in depression, low self-esteem and difficulty making friends. They can be angry with the world and subsequently can be withdrawn or disruptive at school and home, because they struggle to cope with their emotions.

Our Flourish Project helps to improve mental and emotional well-being, self-esteem and resilience by supporting children to see their own potential, giving them ‘permission’ to dream and helping them to develop future aspirations with achievable goals.

Our project is not a ‘Quick Fix’. It supports them to face and cope with their everyday life challenges and long-term objectives. Over 8 weeks (8 x 1 hour sessions) our volunteer trainers help young people to see themselves in a more positive way by looking at:- how personal life beliefs are formed; the power of thought and how it effects behaviour; effects of social media; positive self-esteem and healthy self-talk and celebrating personal growth and development.

Since starting 3 years ago, we have worked with 580 children with very positive, long-term results. With your help, we aim to work with 400 more in North Aberdeen in 2025, aged between 10 and 14. Our Flourish Project really makes positive life changes in young lives and we want to make that difference to every young life that needs it.

We have a programme of three levels. All the schools start with the first level where we cover the essential and basics of first aid. We start with how to keep themselves safe, why we do first aid, calling for help, talking about how we can be the ones to help friends and family. Not only with people that we know but this can also be used in the wider community. We also cover asthma, choking, DRAB and recovery position. We have discussions, the children do group work, fill in booklets they can keep and hands on practice of DRAB and recovery position.

We are delighted to be welcoming more children's groups into the garden this year, including Tullos Primary children, Geronimo,and hopefully a group of local childminders and their young charges.  We want to enhance the garden to make it appealing to the children , part of these plans include replacing the old worn council fence with a wooden fence which will have marbles embedded in it to act as sun catchers.  The children would also have the opportunity to help paint and do pictures on the fence.

We also have our easter event coming up so would really appreciate some funding towards covering the costs of lunch, seeds, pots and childrens craft materials, ensuring that we can continue to provide all of this free of charge,  Finally we are excited to have a local artist come in, along with CIFINES HOPE team clients, and local volunteers, to paint a new nature themed mural to join the existing one on the depot wall.  To do this we need to buy a large amount of paint, brushes and paint trays.  We know that our visitors enjoy our existing mural, and hope that a new one can be enjoyed by all visitors ,regular and new,

Kincorth is called the garden estate. Although the area has many green spaces the community doesn’t use this to its advantage, many of the areas are under developed or over grown particularly the trees. This project is about creating a safe and welcoming green spaces for the residents in the Gardner community. We want to take community action to develop the areas to provide green spaces that are used by all residents to socialise and enjoy nature. We want children to be able to feel safe and play in a positive clean environment. Our ideas include planting and growing flowers and cultivating vegetables using raised beds, seating for residents and equipment to support wildlife and biodiversity. We want to motivate people to take a personal pride in their area, clean encouraging owners to clean after their dogs.

JOG TORRY - keep on running! There is a proven link between fitness and both physical and mental health - which is why SAMH works in tandem with Jog Scotland to promote the couch to 5km programme in local communities. Our aim is to kickstart jogging in Torry with 2 blocks of coach-led sessions. The model is that from the 20 plus local participants, two will then go on to complete the Jog Scotland training so that they can then run the Torry group as volunteers. This will mean that Jog Torry will be self-sustaining. By having a community fitness celebration day this will encourage the wider community to get fit. It is envisaged that the fitness day will take place at St Fitticks Park and include a 5km round the park for the first couch to 5km course completers. The fitness day will also provide refreshments for the community and will host info stalls on various themes including community walking groups (paths for all), chair based aerobics, Sport Aberdeen’s offers and other fitness opportunities in the area. Local parents at Greyhope have already expressed an interest. Jog Scotland/SAMH are supporting this bid and will provide a letter of support. The Torry Health Matters group has identified this as one of its 4 core aims (adult fitness/mental health/diabetes prevention) and hence it is supportive of this bid. Sport Aberdeen is supporting the bid too.

The funding would help support with the costs associated with the Play schemes and September weekend to Craig Tara, therefore making it more affordable/low cost for the parents on a low income/single parent household.  This will also help with new resources for the children to play with while attending the junior clubs/toddler groups currently ran at the centre . 

Afristyle will be providing a one-day open day and 6 months free inclusive free

dance classes for young people and adults, packaged around active activities such

as dancing, yoga and offer workshops too such as behaviour management, easy

meal budget and more, also connecting for the promotion of individuals mental

health and wellness and to harness inner strength in Northfield. We don’t just

dance, we offer listening sessions, emotional support and signpost. We endeavour

to make everyone feel welcomed, belonging and invigorated.

We plan to set up the centre ar least one morning a week to offer soup and a roll in a warm and friendly safe space with no cost to entry.  All our volunteers will have been trained in the rquirements of food hygiene (L2) legislation and will have PVG accreditation.  We will be building up a pool of volunteers and team leaders to ensure that we have a sustainable rota built in for ensuring local continuity once the project starts.  We will also be looking to collaborate with Lochside Academy and other community partners in the management and delivery of this project to assist young people gain experience in the running a model of a social enterprise community cafe with an offfer of friendship and hot soup and a roll, acommpanied by a welcome cuppie.  We will endeavour to source quality produce from CFINE, supermarkets and other suppliers at no cost wherever possible, and where needed we will seek external funding to support our operational costs.  We have also set aside a reserve within our business planning for operational costs to ensure we can achieve our charitable purposes and meet an un-met local need in Torry.

Middlefield Hub will facilitate monthly Games and Activity sessions with our Nurseries, Youth Hub, and Older Adults in the area.

The purpose of these sessions will be help combat isolation and loneliness, keep older people active engaged in lifelong learning opportunities such as arts n crafts, board games, dancing, and more.

Young people that attend the Youth Hub will support adults with taking part, serving food/drinks, and helping them work their mobile phones and tablets. Nursery children will take part in activity and sing songs, make gifts and birthday cards during the week, and create more opportunities for different age groups to mix and be around each other.

Studies show mixing generations and ages is beneficial for everyone. These experiences, which will also have food and drinks at each session to help combat poverty and the cost of living crisis, will help nursery children in their development and learning, older youths will gain valuable experiences to help them reach their full potential, as well as increase learning about other people and empathy, and will help older people feel connected with the community. We can also use these sessions to signpost participants and families to other services at The Hub and in the community should they need further help or support. We will also invite different agencies to come in and speak to groups about other services, such as AHSCP Wellbeing Team, Sport Aberdeen, AFCCT, Mental Health Aberdeen, SamH, and more.