New Grant for the Leeds Skill Mill

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The Skill Mill is delighted to have received a grant from The High Sheriff of West Yorkshire Fund, which will:

• fund new equipment, enabling the team to offer a greater range of work (e.g. landscaping and gardening) 

•  expand the training opportunities for young people on the team

Managed by Leeds Community Foundation, The High Sheriff of West Yorkshire Fund supports the work of vital projects engaging young people, promoting community cohesion and combating crime. 

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Office Number One - Kirkstall Forge

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Two members of the Skill Mill team in Leeds gain some great work experience with CEG's contractors on site at Kirkstall Forge  as the Number One office building is completed.

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Childrens Centre - Postcode Lottery

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The Skill Mill Leeds was awarded a pot of funding by the Post Code Lottery to create a child friendly outside space at a children's centre in Leeds.

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Leeds/Liverpool Canal

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Vegetation clearance along the Leeds/Liverpool Canal in partnership with the Commercial Estates Group (CEG) and the Canal and Rivers Trust.

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River Calder

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Clearance works along a stretch of the River Calder in partnership with the Environment Agency.

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Winter Walk Through

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Channel maintenance and clearances works in partnership with the Environment Agency on a number of different Becks around Leeds.

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Bench Building 2

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The team designed and built 4 x benches to be used by the sub-contractors at Kirkstall Forge. This project was in partnership with Phil from Open Source Arts.

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Wyke Beck

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The Skill Mill team in Leeds worked alongside the Environment Agency to redirect Wyke Beck around an unstable wall. We dammed the water flow and re-homed a number of Crayfish alongside the Biodiversity Officers from EA.

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Canal River Trust – Community Action Volunteer Day

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A volunteer day with the local community in partnership with the Canal River Trust. The works completed comprised of path clearance works in Mirfield.

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Lin Dyke

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General river clearance works – vegetation clearance/silt removal.

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RSC – Volunteer Day

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The partnership with The River Stewardship Company included a large volunteers day.

The Skill Mill got involved with pontoon clearance around the River Aire in Castleford.

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Clearance Works

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The cohort were commissioned a voluntary job in West Leeds clearing a series of steps of leaves and other debris.

The group were required to replace the treads and rises to make the access path safer for the community.

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Dry Stone Wall Building

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The Skill Mill Leeds have worked for a number of days with the Dry Stone Wall Association in Otley to complete ‘An Introduction to Dry Stone Wall Building’.

This created a great opportunity for the Environmental Operatives to gain new skills. It involved lots of team work and problem solving which in turn also strengthened their working relationship.

The Skill Mill has been given an open ended contract to go back and work with the volunteers to increase their skills further.

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Leeds YOS Patio

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The new Skill Mill team in Leeds spent 3 days creating a new patio for the Youth Offending Service in Leeds. The young people worked well as a team to prepare the initial groundworks, prep the area and lay and level the slabs.

This was their first project together after establishing in August 2015.

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Bench Building

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The Skill Mill Leeds have erected a number of benches over their induction and first couple of working weeks. This has been commissioned by the Parks and Countryside partnership already previously formed.

This work included digging the trenches, building the benches and then finally treating them to protect from the elements.

These benches can be found on paths along Leeds country way.