With the support of a group of volunteers from the local church, Daziel Parish, fifteen tenants from Glenview Court have become involved in The Discovery Award – a scheme dubbed the ‘Duke of Edinburgh for over 50s’ by North Lanarkshire Council.

The Discovery Award is aimed at increasing activity among older people giving tenants at Glenview Court the opportunity to complete activities of a chosen leisure within a timescale at their own pace, progressing through the stages from bronze to silver to gold.

The tenants, ageing from 70 to 95, have been involved in the scheme for the previous two years and have most recently started courses to become more tech-savvy on iPads as part of the project.

Agnes McBride joined the group when she moved into the development two years ago. She graduated with her silver award in June and is now hoping to achieve gold next year by taking part in activities every Thursday alongside fellow tenants.

The 77-year-old, said: “When I moved into Glenview Court, I continued my knitting, walking and reading, and I have just begun to learn the iPad.

“Signing up to the Discovery Award is a great way to keep yourself active and meet new people. By participating in the award my health has improved, I am more independent and I enjoy my activities.

“There weren’t many of us to start with, but I think there are approximately 15 tenants who are involved in some shape or form now, which is fantastic to see.”

Agnes added: “It’s also a chance to get involved with some voluntary community work. I occasionally donate my knitting to a hospital for premature babies as did a few other tenants, and to a string of charity shops, which is just an added incentive really.”

The Discovery Award, named after the famous ship in Dundee, is encouraged by local authorities around Scotland and North Lanarkshire Council organise many of the activities Agnes and her friends take part in.

Catriona McKenna, development manager at Glenview Court, said: “We understand how important it is for tenants to stay active therefore we encourage participation in various internal and external activities.

“We’ve had very little to do with the Discovery Awards as it is run by the council, but this complements the Bield ‘Free to Be’ philosophy, which lets people make their own choices about how they live their lives while being there to support them when they need it.

“This sort of thing can make a real difference to quality of life therefore to see so many tenants getting involved is fantastic and we’d like to thank all the tenants for all their efforts.”

@BieldScotland