Wednesday 30 July 2008

T in the Park, 11th-13th July

The Powerpod teamed up with the Young Scot crew in the Eco-Village. Straightening hair and charging mobiles for free using renewable energy was a big hit, once the news had spread... The staff camping was a dream, with our own toilet block. Nice.


Rachel, Powerpod Peer educator: "I lie in the tent. Feeling, for the first time in my life, very lucky that I’m just under 5 foot 4 because I seem to have placed the sleeping bag across rather than along the tent, as it was intended to be. The music and indistinguishable roars still issuing from the “relentless” tent wash over me. The whole day runs through in my mind. I’m here. I’m at T in the Park. After two weeks of “casually” dropping into conversations that I, me, Rachel Gibbs, would be one of the eighty thousand attendants of the coolest, most exciting music festival in Scotland (and definitely just after Glastonbury in Britain!) I was finally here. I’d just about turned fifteen in front of The Verve. The set ended at 11:40 pm but I’ve decided that in my mind I might just stretch it another twenty minutes even though Richard Ashcroft…and the other guys aren’t exactly my favourite band. It still sounds pretty cool. I drift off into a 4 hour sleep. Not knowing that I was going to end my birthday screaming along with Ricky Wilson (Kaiser Chiefs) to “Oh My God”. It was a pretty good birthday.

So, how did I manage to spend my fifteenth at T in the Park? By having a great time with the Powerpod! After spending the best part of a year being a part of the Eco Club at my school (Drummond Community High School) it was suggested that we join “The Powerpod”. It all sounded a bit ominous. But then Sara came along and we were all converted! My first ever Powerpod activity was in fact a pizza party which I couldn’t help but feel like a bit of a fraudster in attending but the pizza and people were pretty good so I forgot about it. My next Powerpod excursion was to CAT in Wales. I’d like to think I was “initiated” here. This is where I became friends with all the original and best of the Powerpod. Memorable hours were: Chinese charades….(!); managing to eat a packet of biscuits between six of us while creating very inventive new games for workshops; and who can forget Ben and Josie’s expression through music. All in all it’s been a rather excellent 5 months. Bring on the next bunch of endearingly over enthusiastic kids with the windmills and PV cells…………… "

Designing and making the bike generating music making machine, June&July 08.



Plans for a music making hand crank were made by the mechanic group when the Powerpod was down at CAT. The designs were made, the next step was making it... Steve at the bike station, http://www.thebikestation.org/, provided the bikes and the expertiese! Next was the electronics, for the movement to provide DC power. In stepped Andrew Firth at the Uni of Edin, his diodes, capacitors, DC generators and 12v speakers!

The bike was painted and ready to go - a huge hit.

Monday 28 July 2008

Celebration Evening!

Pizza, many many solar smoothies and many thank yous! The Powerpod group were presented with a special recognition from the Lord Provost at the Inspiring Volunteering Awards.

CAT trip 1 - 6th-9th June





Solar cookers, designing the hand crank, dressing up Elizabethan England style and learning a lot about wave, wind, tidal and hydro power. Plus a few classic games where a few people fell on their faces.

Monday 19 May 2008

St Mary's - the Return. 15th May







The junior classes were disappointed that they missed out during eco week, so the Powerpod returned! Liston, Danielle, Louise, Victoria & Lindsay took the p1-p3 classes. Danielle introduced a couple of new games (which have been added to the 'games book'). Danielle's p7 teacher couldn't believe her eyes to see her ex-pupil running the 'circle introduction' for the whole class with so much confidence! Everyone had a chance of peer assessing a session. The group are well on their way towards the first stages of their Dynamic Youth Awards (and Youth Achievement Awards for Louise, Lindsay and VIctoria). Andrew, a new adult volunteer, came along to the Powerpod in the afternoon. The peer educators took him through the workshops and swiftly introduced him to the humour of Liston, Louise and Danielle...

Parents Like Us, Leith Links, 9th, 10th & 11th May




Lindsay, Victoria and Rachel ran the show on the Friday afternoon, enjoying (?) my classic tunes (thanks to Lauren from my High School for the 18th birthday mix CD). Although someone was a bit embarrased and keen to dissasociate herself from them... (ahem)
Plenty of sun on the Saturday, but not so many kids who were big enough for the bike. At lease it gave us an excuse to stay on the saddle and to test our own power most of the day... and embarrass some parents. Naomi, a new adult volunteer, came along for her first Pod visit on the Saturday... Much to delight of the peer eductors, who're excited that she'll be running some of the Powerpod sessions!

Tollcross Eco-Day, 9th May

Rachael, Morag and Lindsay ran the workshops at Tollcross Eco Day, with Polar Bears dancing to 'Build me up Buttercup' and solar engineers tasting some solar popcorn. The groups were great!

Monday 12 May 2008

Big in Falkirk! 3rd & 4th May






The Powerpod joined up with the Co-op as part of the Falkirk outdoors arts festival. Fair Trade chocolate tasters a-plenty as well as the chance to go rock climbing! Our budding radio interviewers came out in force on the Sunday.

Mel Awarded Millenium Volunteering SIlver! 29th April



Melanie Hall was awarded her Millenium Volunteering Silver and Bronze Awards at a ceremony in the Scottish Parliment. Melanie has been involved in the project from the initial stages of the project, back in 2005. Mel was part of the group who made the designs for the trailer and was a member of the youth interview panel who hired Sara, the current project worker. As a Peer Educator, Melanie designs and delivers workshops and games for all ages and as a member of the Management Committee, Melanie works with a group to make decisions on the the planning and delivery of the project. Congratulations to Mel for achieving this level of recognition! She is the first person in the whole of Scotland to reach the Silver MV through the passport scheme. Robin Harper presented the awards.

St Mary's p5-p7, Tuesday 29th April




The Powerpod powered along to St Mary's as part of their Eco-week. And the sun shone!Drummond HS and Broughton HS peer educators ran workshops for the primary 4-7s. Teachers and pupils all loved the activities, commenting on how much fun the peer educators were. Again, solar popcorn went down a treat...

Lorne Primary, 22nd & 23rd April



A visit to Lorne Primary was the first school visit for a few of the Leith Academy peer educators. The whole school got a chance to take part in the Powerpod activities. p5s-p7s learnt about solar, wind & making their own power on the 22nd, with a number of p7s taking part in a peer education session so they could run the workshops the next day. Bouts of rain were dealt with by a quick removal operation inside to the classrooms!




On the Thursday, a different group of peer educators from Leith Academy and Drummond ran the workshops for the p1s-p4s, with assistance from the Lorne Primary p7s. Solar popcorn was a big hit with all the groups! The bike was tested out many times; even a few of the teachers managed to generate the power for a lightbulb...


Feedback from the teachers was very positive: "the peer educators were so professional" "one of the peer educator pairs had me in stitches! They were such a comedy duo" "Thank you! The peer educators were just fantastic - such excellent representatives of Edinburgh's young people"

Edinburgh Science Festival at the Botanics! 29th March - 4th April

The peer educators were used to being the participants in the Science Festival's interesting (and bizarre) workshops, but this time, they were leading them! It was the first workshop session for a number of the new peer educators from Leith Academy, Drummond HS, Boroughmuir and Broughton HS.

The sun shone on a number of the days, making more than enough power for some smoothies and popcorn, as well as the usual laptop loops.
The management meeting took place on the 2nd of April, where plans were made for the next few months. A ceilidh put on for all the Science Festival Volunteers was brought to life by the Powerpodders!

Thursday 24 January 2008

Towerbank Primary, 20th November



A group of p4-p7s in Towerbank primary became the teachers for a day!


14 fantastic peer educators ran workshops, games and tours of the Powerpod trailer.