NEYDL-Annual-Rep-2023.indd

‘The hum of a bee is the voice of the garden, my second language! I am but an extra hand in a hive, a friendly neighbour checking in from time to time and the taster of hard work.’ (By Jordan Pike, NEYDL young Dad and community beekeeper extraordinaire) ‘I am a dad! I am not babysitting my own kids! I am parenting!’ (Young Dad) 11 North East Young Lads & Dads | ANNUAL REPORT 2023 FIRST AID FATHERS By Kevin Stoodley Since the earliest days of the charity, NEYDL has committed to supporting young dads to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence necessary to play a safe, active and meaningful role in their children’s lives. As part of this support, we have committed to providing Paediatric First Aid skills training to young dads on a regular basis and this year has been no different. Thanks to an unexpected and most welcome donor support grant from Robson Laidler Accountants supported by County Durham Community Foundation, we have recently supported thirteen young dads from County Durham to attend and complete certified First Aid at Work and Paediatric First Aid courses in conjunction with first aid trainer and long-term collaborator Carole Hewison, with two further courses for young dads scheduled to take place in November and December 2023. Both courses delivered this year have been well received by young dads and expectant fathers, providing new opportunities for young dads to meet their peers whilst practicing essential first aid skills including CPR, applying bandages and yes, eating pizzas! In addition to our face to face first aid training, this year NEYDL committed to co-creating an online paediatric first aid course and film series for our DigiDAD website, supported by final year grant funding from The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. Expertly presented by young dads Robert and Jordan and featuring other young men and dads who have attended our first aid training courses, this 6-part course covers essential first aid themes including emergency readiness, prioritising treatment, head-to-toe checks, choking, CPR, minor injuries and illness. It is now available to watch and complete (along with quizzes, downloadable handy hints, and certification) on the DigiDAD website (www.digidad.uk ). A massive congratulations to all the young dads who have so far attended our first aid courses in person and thank you to Carole Hewison and the DigiDAD content creation team for producing an excellent and widely accessible resource. BEES ON THE BALTIC & BEES IN THE BOROUGH By Tom Jamieson & Jordan Pike We had a bumper harvest of honey in the Autumn of 2022. Our two hives on the south roof of BALTIC produced over 30 kilos of honey of exceptional quality, made by colonies which grew to huge numbers in mid-summer and then overwintered strong. It’s been a steep learning curve for our young beekeeping team, as all our normal patterns of work have needed adaptation in that unusual context. But, in a word, Success! We have enjoyed the massive interest in rooftop beekeeping from BALTIC staff and visitors alike. No surprise, we decided in Spring 2023 to double our rooftop hives to four, and further research the foraging areas which our bees visit in east Gateshead. Meanwhile, established hives producing our Staiths Honey in Dunston and Forest Honey near Chopwell were productive too, allowing us to offer honey to five retail outlets in Gateshead and Newcastle. Our relationship with local charity The Comfrey Project has also proved a happy one. BUZZ beekeeping training sessions in their community room have proved popular, with six young men enjoying a first introduction to the craft. It was also a joy to attend The Comfrey Project Annual General Meeting and present every household of asylum seekers and refugees attending, with a jar of honey from the hives we keep on their site. Community beekeeper extraordinaire (and young dad) Jordan Pike’s own honey brand Raw & Rich Honey, produced from the hives and bees he has adopted from NEYDL, is in high demand and sold via two artisan food outlets he supplies in Newcastle upon Tyne. One of them included a jar in their Christmas Hamper of artisan goods produced on Tyneside, under the aptly named ‘Local Hero’ hamper. Remember the fantastic image (The Realm) which featured on the cover of last year’s Annual Report? Designed by Atomhawk and taking Baltic Beekeeping into their fictional world, the poster version has so far sold a whopping 139 copies via the BALTIC shop, raising funds to support both NEYDL and BALTIC’s important charitable work. A great measure of the public interest in our urban and rooftop beekeeping.