Together For Our Planet Garden Transformation
At Building Self-Belief CIO we believe that Social Action is an important element of increasing and improving wellbeing and self worth. Our Environmental Programmes help young people develop better connections with their peers, their communities and it gives them a way of improving their own and other people’s lives for the better.
So many young people are conscious of the need to improve our environment and work towards a circular economy - and our projects are helping them do this. With a focus on the environment because of COP26 in Glasgow, we incorporated more of an eco-slant into our work.
Our Environmental Project at Consett Academy aimed to transform a derelict piece of land into a colourful garden for the school to use for educational and wellbeing purposes.
The garden situated just in front of the school was fenced off and out of bounds to pupils due to the ground being too contaminated by glass and rubble.
Thanks to our work with the Year 9 pupils from Consett Academy and funding from the National Lottery we have been able to successfully transform the garden. Furthermore, our work with the Year 9 pupils has helped to inspire an Environmental Ambassadors Youth Panel, which will help Building Self-Belief CIO deliver ‘green’ based schemes across the Consett Area.


“Because of Building Self-Belief, we have actually achieved our goal of making the area safe and serviceable. We now have a dedicated area for wildlife, with wild seeds sowed and new trees planted.Through Christine and Holly from Building Self-Belief we have now transformed that area to becoming truly eco-friendly. A huge thank you from the children and myself for BSBCIO’s unwavering financial and practical support. We love our wellbeing garden.”
- Ms S Hopkins, Consett Academy


Heritage / March 8th, 2024
Jean Simmons - Consett Heritage Podcast
Our volunteer, Maisie Dobson, conducts an interview with her great-grandma, Jean Simmons, aged 96, discussing life and work in Consett during the peak of the Consett Steelworks era. During the conversation, Jean mentions a royal visit to the steelworks, prompting Maisie to enquire about its accuracy. Upon researching, we discovered that the event did indeed occur. Listen in to enjoy this unique recording, offering insights into the social history of Consett.
Heritage / June 2nd, 2026
Gateshead schoolchildren honour victims of historic Stargate Pit Disaster
Crookhill Primary School have been working with Building Self Belief on a year 5 and 6 project about the pit disaster as well as learning about life in the Stargate and Crookhill area 200 years ago and about the changes that have taken place in the area since then.
Fundraising / November 24th, 2025
University Of Newcastle Dance Society's Quiz Night
As part of her final year, Aimee Wager nominated Building Self-Belief as the University of Newcastle's Dance Society's chosen charity and in her role as Welfare Officer, she will be organising a series of fundraising events. The first event was the quiz night - and what a massive success it was!