Rich Mitchell is Professor of Health and Environment and leads the Places and Health Programme at the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow. He is also co-director of the Centre for Research on Environment, Society and Health, an interdisciplinary centre focused on how physical and social environments can influence population health, for better and for worse. Rich is an epidemiologist and geographer. Earlier in his career he focused on monitoring and measuring inequalities in health. Today, his focus is on the potential for our environment, and natural environments in particular, to positively influence population health and health inequalities.

 

 

 

Laura Stewart from Aberdeenshire Council.

Following over a decade working in higher education, specialising in exercise for health and health improvement, I took on a new direction away from education and back into practice. My current role with the Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme is focused on place-based work, with the overarching objective being to identify how to improve the places where people live, work and relax in order to positively influence health and wellbeing, whilst addressing the significant inequalities being experienced within communities. The main focus of my work is in the project town of Fraserburgh, but the learning from the programme is helping to inform place-based approaches being developed across Aberdeenshire.

 

 

Gary Hughes is the Service Manager responsible for Economic Development at Aberdeenshire Council, Gary leads a team with a wide remit and range of projects. The team seek to make Aberdeenshire a great place to live and work by supporting businesses and partnering with stakeholders to ensure the region delivers economically and maximises opportunities for all communities.

Gary is currently leading the development of a Place Policy which will see Place based methodologies embedded into Aberdeenshire Council services.

 

Sinclair Laing wears many, mostly green, hats.
The day job is based at Aberdeen City Council. Collaborating inside and outside the organisation to improve outcomes for climate and nature (and therefore people), across the Council, the city and beyond. For example, helping to establish and facilitate the Net Zero Aberdeen collaborative. 
Outside of work Sinclair has: undertaken ecological research expeditions to remote locations around the world; set up a green gem of a community park in Sunnybank - Aberdeen; founded Aberdeen Community Energy and the Donside Hydro in Tillydrone; advocates on HIV policy and anti-stigma; sits on the Board at SHMU, and more... 
The core of all Sinclair's 'work' is collaborating for people and planet in the myriad ways they interact.    

 

 

Dawn James is the Community Engagement Officer for the RSPB in North East Scotland. She has a special interest in the role of nature connection in improving both emotional and physical well being. Dawn is a member of the RSPB Nature Prescription Development Group and hopes to be able to work with local health and social care teams to bring Nature Prescriptions to the North East. 

 

 

Dave Black is currently the Community Development Manager at shmu (Station House Media Unit), overseeing how the organisation's media platforms (press/magazines, radio, podcasts, community websites) engage communities, particularly those living in regeneration areas of Aberdeen as well as communities of interest.  He also has a particular interest in exploring how public services can be better engaging and working with communities, using ideas like the Community Paradigm.  Dave previously worked for Grampian Regional Equality Council for 13 years, and so is also passionate about intersections between economic and other forms of inequality.  

 

 

Dr Steve Baguley is a consultant in Sexual Health & HIV and has been Clinical Director of eHealth for NHS Grampian since 2010. Steve has long had an interest in the use of data and digital technology to improve health and social care. He completed an MSc in Healthcare Informatics in 2008 and a PG Dip in Digital Health Leadership in 2019. In 2016 he spent a month studying digital health in Estonia, seen as a leader in the efficient use of IT in healthcare. Steve sits on various local, regional and national groups that advise on Digital Health strategy and implementation. He chairs the group that’s produced the north of Scotland’s AI Strategy, which went out for consultation last week. In his 2021-2022 role as Clinical Advisor to the SG Digital Health & Care Directorate  and chair of the clinical digital leads for Scotland Steve was instrumental in establishing the Scottish Digital Health & Care Network, which now has more than 1000 members.

One of Steve’s community development roles is Chair of Udny Paths Group. This aims to improve the paths network in the area and develop new connections between communities. You can read about the group here TCV-Scotland-Network-Bulletin-Autumn-2023.pdf

 

 

Liv Cockburn Senior Primary Care Link Practitioner Aberdeen Link’s Service

After an initial career in social work Liv moved into the third sector and has over 30 years’ experience in managing and leading voluntary organisations. After retiring and discovering it was not for her, Liv joined Aberdeen Link’s service in 2018 when it was just being established within the city. Link workers are attached to every practice in the city providing non-medical interventions to people who have attended their GP practice. The aim of the service is to support people to connect with their local community and overcome life’s challenges reducing their dependency on primary care health services. The service works closely with key partners to provide meaningful and effective outcomes for people using the link’s approach in a community –orientated focused way.

Special Interests:

Ensuring people treated as individuals not labels, building self-resilience.

Lifelong learning Community Capacity Building,

 

 

Cameron MacFarlane is the ALISS Programme Engagement Manager. ALISS (A Local Information System for Scotland) is a national, coproduced digital system funded by the Scottish Government and managed by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), which helps communities and professionals work together to gather, manage and share information about community assets and services that can support health and wellbeing. Prior to joining the ALISS Programme, Cameron worked as a Community Links Worker within a ‘Deep End’ GP Practice in Glasgow supporting people to find and access local groups, services and activities that could help them to live well and supporting the wider Primary Care team to develop their own capacity in relation to social prescribing and signposting. Previously Cameron also worked in Independent Advocacy.

Cameron will be sharing information about how ALISS is already being used within the North East and how it can support social prescribing across the area going forward.

 

Keith Dunmall is a Science Communicator and historian who has worked with the NHS, third sector organisations, museums, galleries, and artists to deliver formal and informal learning and engagement for individuals and groups of all ages. He has worked locally, nationally and internationally to motivate others to share hard science messages in audience friendly ways. He is interested in performative and audience-led object based learning, interdisciplinarity, and cross-curricular approaches to 'wicked problems'. He has run programmes of events with communities focussed on both the climate crisis and species collapse. He believes it is time to get more people organised and ready for the changes that are now knocking on our collective doors.

 

Martin Carle is Sustainable Food Coordinator at Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE), taking up post shortly after graduating from the University of Aberdeen with a First Class MA (Hons) History-Politics in 2020. He coordinates Granite City Good Food, Aberdeen’s Sustainable Food Partnership, which advocates systems change towards sustainable food. The partnership also supports communities in behaviour change which, in turn, influences the creation of a sustainable food system. One of 90 food partnerships in the Sustainable Food Places Network, Granite City Good Food was one of the first two partnerships in Scotland to be presented with the prestigious Silver Sustainable Food Places Award in 2022, on behalf of Aberdeen City, and is currently working towards launching a bid to achieve Gold in 2025.

CFINE is a charity and social enterprise which works with communities to improve health and wellbeing, and the environment. The wide range of services by CFINE work to tackle the root causes of poverty. These range from the provision of emergency food and community food pantries, to benefits and budgeting support, access to sanitary products, community growing and garden support, employability and skills courses, and FareShare surplus food redistribution.

Martin also has previous experience in leading and participating in community voice groups, having served in voluntary roles as Chair of Aberdeen City Youth Council and as a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Aberdeen Donside (2019-21).

 

 

Morgan McKay is Health Walk Coordinator, for Walk Moray and sits in the Health Improvement Team Moray. Health Walks are fun, short, social, low-level and accessible walks, aimed at anyone who wants to improve physical, mental and social health. They currently run 17 Health Walks, all over Moray, with over 60 volunteer Walk Leaders running these and over 100 walkers attending weekly. The subject Morgan will be sharing is 'Where is 'My Place' in all of this?', which is all about how to change mind-sets around accessing the outdoors and releasing the benefits available locally, which completely ties in with Health Walks.

 

Lesley Robertson from Aberdeenshire Council

My role with Aberdeenshire Council is a Community Planning Officer based in Kincardine and Mearns. Community Planning is about joining up the efforts and resources of the public, business, voluntary and community organisations to better plan, resource and deliver quality services that meet the needs of local people.

By working together with residents these organisations can meet our aim of delivering the best quality of life for everyone in Aberdeenshire. Partners recognise that by working together we can provide better, more responsive, services.

Community Planning gives you the chance to have a say, be listened to and get involved in action to tackle the things that really matter to you.

A local resident myself I have lived in Catterline for 26 years, enjoying the coastal air and outdoor opportunities it offers.

Published: 13/12/2023 16:52