Author: Alex Jones

National Trustees’ Week (7th-11th November) is a time to recognise, promote and celebrate the role of charity trustees.

Sefton CVS is holding an event to mark Trustees’ Week and encourage more people to become a trustee for charities in the borough.

This will take place at the Lake House, Crosby Coastal Park (formerly Crosby Lakeside CLAC) on Thursday 10th November from 6pm – 8pm.

Maggi Aslet, Development Officer for Sefton CVS, commented: “The role of the trustee is an essential part of the voluntary and charity sector. Those who choose to become trustees can make a real difference to their local community.”

The Trustees’ Week event will include an introduction to the trustee role and details of current trustee opportunities available with charities in Sefton.

It will also provide a guide to the information available to support people who take up this important role in charity governance, activity and development.

“We hope this event will help promote the important role of trustees and connect those who have the right skills with local charities that can benefit from them,” added Maggie.

Anyone interested in the event can register for it online here

More information about trustee opportunities in Sefton and a range of useful resources are also available via the Volunteer Centre Sefton website

Bootle’s Washington Parade is getting a greener and cleaner new look thanks to ward councillors and the area’s community gardeners.

Linacre Ward elected members, Cllrs John Fairclough and Christine Maher have joined forces with the Taking Root in Bootle Network to fund the installation of 16 new planters on this busy road behind the town’s Strand shopping centre.

Taking Root – which is co-ordinated by Bootle-based social enterprise Regenerus – aims to create more local green spaces, grow food, promote biodiversity and build friendships between the people involved.

The new planters – which will complement the existing living wall nearby – are part of plans to create a green corridor from Bootle Canalside to North Park, enhancing the look of the area as well as improving air quality.

They were installed this week with the help of children from local school All Saints Catholic Primary who were delighted to come along and get involved with the planting, as they know how important the role of nature is in enhancing air quality.

The pupils had even made signs for the planters to get this important message across to passers-by.

The hedging plants in the new containers have been chosen following careful research into which types are best for absorbing carbon.

They have been planted in a special mixed medium which includes Carbon Gold Enriched Biochar, an organic product which allows trees to build up their own natural resilience and helps with water retention and drainage.

In addition, every kilogram used sequesters around three kilograms of carbon, making an important contribution to improving air quality.

Cllr Christine Maher commented: “On behalf of my fellow Linacre Ward members I’d like to say how delighted we are that together with Taking Root and the children from All Saints Catholic Primary we are adding more planting along Washington Parade.

“It’s great that this community installation will increase biodiversity and boost air quality, and we hope that local residents will enjoy the greener feel as they walk along the road in the months and years ahead.”

You can find out more about Regenerus and Taking Root here.

October’s Black History Month, has been an opportunity to celebrate the incredible history and contributions of our Black and ethnically diverse communities. As the month comes to a close, I want to reflect on the fantastic work that has been going on across our Borough to promote equality, inclusion and empowerment within the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community.

In The Strand Shopping Centre, The Atkinson and Crosby Library we are hosting art installations as part of The World Reimagined project. These are beautiful globes that tell the public about racial equality and black history. Events have also taken place in conjunction with groups such as Southport Against Racism, with talks and performances by musicians and poets.

Sefton’s libraries have also been involved in an extensive creative writing programme called Different Voices Shared Lives. In this, Members of our ethnically diverse communities came together to work with professional writers to take part in creative workshops to write their stories about their background and experiences. Many more activities have taken place, and it’s been brilliant to see the Borough come together for such an important month.

I want to reiterate that as a Council we are completely committed to driving forward the race equality agenda, as an employer, service provider and as a partner both locally and regionally.

I would also like to take this opportunity to give an update about some of the strategies and projects we are currently involved in that will enable us to tackle race inequalities.

Sefton has a Corporate Equalities Group made up of representatives from across the organisation. The Group, which is chaired by Executive Director, Stephen Watson of our Senior Leadership team, supports the Council in making sure equality and diversity is at the top of our agenda, internally and externally.

Representatives from the Corporate Equalities Group (CEG) have been working with neighbouring authorities since late Autumn 2021 to commission jointly a training provider called EqualiTeach, and to work with local stakeholders to develop a high-quality bespoke race equality training product, with the aim of building a collective level of racial literacy and inclusivity.

Two, 3-hour, face-to-face pilot sessions took place during October to help shape the content and this included representation and attendance from our Senior Leadership Board.  Both pilots were very well received and the feedback will inform the on-going design, development and delivery of the programme.

In addition to this, Sefton has established Sefton’s Diverse and Ethnic Background Group. The group provides a safe and confidential space for Black, Asian, Minority and Ethnic employees to share experiences and support development and empowerment.

Feeding back into Sefton’s Corporate Equalities Group, members offer solutions and recommendations about the issues that affect them and the organisation. This includes improving employee progression and empowerment through training and development opportunities, as well as consulting in new or existing policies, practices, procedures and strategies in areas such as Employment and Human Resources.

With the involvement of our Black and Ethnically Diverse Staff Group, Sefton is committed to our ‘Race Equality Declaration of Intent’, which ensures our dedication to promoting equality within our organisation and across the Borough. The Declaration outlines areas of focus including employment, retention and development to leadership within the Council. It also sets priorities, targets and timescales highlighting how we will monitor progress and achieve the actions agreed.

Our Learning and Development team continue to offer a comprehensive, mandatory Equality and Diversity training programme to all staff at Sefton. This includes Equality and Diversity Awareness, Equality and Diversity for Managers as well as Unconscious Bias.

There is still a lot of work to be done locally and nationally but working together with our partners across the whole City Region, we will be committed to being proactive in our fight to overcome racial discrimination.

If you have any feedback or perspectives you would like to share on this important subject, or would like to get involved with the work of the Corporate Equalities Group or its more focused sub-groups, please contact the CEG Chair Stephen Watson at Stephen.watson@sefton.gov.uk