Here’s what inmidtown’s Corin had to say about the experience: 

“We met our cycle instructor at Lincoln’s Inn Fields and started with some safety checks to ensure that the bikes were roadworthy. We then did some basic control skills in a safe environment, off the road, before moving on to the road. This included things like:

• Awareness and checking procedures,
• Positioning on the road,
• And the signalling process.

Once on the road we completed a range of exercises including:

• Negotiating various types of junction and turning safely,
• Communicating with other road users,
• And dealing confidently with large vehicles on the road.

We also covered cycle lane etiquette, traffic lights and ‘filtering’ and a general recap on the rules of the road. 

The whole session lasted for about 90 minutes and by the end of it I felt much more confident about cycling on busy London roads. Knowing how to react in busy situations helps keep you safe and I’d urge anyone who is thinking about starting to cycle in London to give the course a go. It’s a great free offer which can be catered to a range of ages, skill-levels and group sizes”.

inmidtown’s Cycling page is found here.

This month, there are four items to update you on …

1. Three Bike Week cycling events and a local cycling app for Midtown cyclists
2. The inmidtown kiosk switches to green energy
3. Celebrating a great result for Midtown during Walk to Work week
4. An update on sustainable stationery

Good news for Midtown cyclists

Bike Week starts in a few days, and there are three local cycle fairs taking place in Midtown.  Full details of the fairs are found on our Cycling page.  If you cycle to or from work, you’re thinking about it, or you’re an avid cyclist, these are events not to be missed.  inmidtown will be there handing out cycling products to people.

Also, Midtown Cyclists should be aware of a great new cycling app (for both Android and iPhone) which enables you to log trips, earn rewards, track mileage, understand your carbon savings and much more.  See our Cycling page for details, as well as other Cycling-related images.

inmidtown switches its Holborn Tube kiosk to green energy

We are pleased to confirm that the inmidtown information kiosk (outside Holborn tube station) is now 100% supplied bygreen/renewable energy sources.  As well as having less impact on the environment, we now have cheaper electricity rates and a much more flexible one month rolling contract. Click here to see our certificate.

This move is part of our ongoing commitment to reduce our impact on the environment – and to encourage inmidtown members to follow suit. If you are considering switching to green energy, you might be interested to know that it’s straight-forward, and can be done online.  Please get in touch with us at info@inmidtown.org for more information.

We walked to work, and it worked!

Last month, we told you about the challenge which inmidtown put together for Work to Work Week.  We hope that you enjoyed logging your walks, competing with your colleagues and

friends, learning new routes and gaining a better understanding of what walking a mile translates into.

Here are the results from Walk to Work Week …

• Total miles walked: 59,529 miles
• This equates to: 2.3 times around the equator
• In food terms: 10,305 muffins
• Carbon Savings: 9,912 kgCO2

inmidtown’s contribution to this …

• Total miles walked: 82 miles
• This is equivalent to: walking from London to Southampton
• In athletic terms: the distance of the Women’s Olympic Road Race
• In local terms: a quick walk around Lincoln’s Inn Fields – 200 times
• In Central London terms: 30 return journeys between Trafalgar Square and St Paul’s Cathedral

During Walk to Work Week, people increased their walking by getting off the tube earlier, going to business meetings on foot rather th

an in a vehicle, and generally being more conscious about moving from place to place on foot.  Congratulations to everyone who took part – we are sure you are feeling the benefits!

You can continue to log and track your walking stats using the Living Streets website.

Update on sustainable stationery

inmidtown’s Sustainable Stationery offering is proving popular with members.  We’ve recently updated our information page in the inmidtown website, and it now includes more information around the business case for taking up the service.  Please refer to the Sustainable Stationery page for more detail, and please contact us at info@inmidtown.org for more information or to take up the service.

Funding decisions are soon to be made, so we decided to make some noise.  You probably also became aware of the #UpgradeHolborn campaign which inmidtown launched over the last few weeks.  Thank you to all of you who have shown your support or spread the word.  It’s also not too late to get involved.  Visit the campaign site to register your support. inmidtown will continue to gather support and making further submissions on behalf of businesses in the area wherever possible.

To date, the #UpgradeHolborn campaign has gathered over 8,000 supporters, and inmidtown has now made a submission to Treasury about the importance of upgrading Holborn tube station.  You can download the submission below.

Click here to see the submission.

We’ll keep you updated in the coming weeks, and we’ll be asking for your support and involvement again soon to ensure we’re all heard.

The team at inmidtown will be registering on the Living Streets website, and we’ll be logging our progress throughout the week.  We challenge you and your colleagues to do the same!  Take part and we’ll publish the results.

1. Simply register on the Walk to Work Week website.
2. Encourage your colleagues to do so (or do it for them).
3. Then next week, log in daily to log/track your walking to work.  You can either walk more than you usually do, or just track your regular walk to work (and any lunch breaks and walks to meetings).
4. See how far you’ve walked in a week, and understand the benefits.
5. Compare your results online with other in Bloomsbury, Holborn and St Giles.

You can analyse your walk by how many miles you walk, calories you burn, and carbon you save – all on the online calculator.

Why take part in this challenge?

• Team spirit - compete with your colleagues and walk together
• Better shape - burn calories and get fitter
• Clearer head - blow away the cobwebs and relieve stress
• Fatter wallet - save your bus fare and walk instead
• Hidden treasures - make new discoveries in your area

We’d love to hear about your totals at the end of the week.  Please share your results with us on info@inmidtown.org or by calling us on 020 7078 7077.

This month, we’re pleased to update on progress on the green rooftops, bird/bat/bee boxes being installed, and two award nominations!

inmidtown’s green rooftops …

inmidtown’s innovative rooftop growing initiative got underway last week with the first stage of planting at Olswang’s 90 High Holborn offices. The project, which is being delivered in partnership with Camden charity Jobs in Mind (see below), will transform participating business roof spaces into green oases of vegetable, salad and wildflower production, providing fresh, local and sustainable food for employees, and forage for inmidtown’s urban bees.

The initiative is part of a wider project aimed at starting a discussion with employees and businesses around food sustainability in the area. If you’d like to find out more about the potential for growing on your roof space, please get in touch at info@inmidtown.org or by calling Mitch on 020 7078 7077.

Birds, bees, bats, their homes, and inmidtown members

At the same time, we’re pleased to update you on the installation of additional bird, bat and bee boxes around inmidtown.  See pictures here of …

• Five bird/bat boxes on the top floor of Central Saint Giles
• Two bird/bat boxes on the wall of Wragge & Co
• Beehives on Olswang’s building
• Planters at Conway Hall and outside the GoToMidtown shop

We’ll keep you updated on birds and bats moving into these homes.  If you’d like one of these outside your office, contact info@inmidtown.org or phone us on 020 7078 7077.

We’ve been shortlisted – twice!

We’re proud to confirm that inmidtown has been shortlisted for two sustainability awards.

• The Business Green Leaders Awards 2013 (for the category of Waste and Recycling Project of the Year)
• The Hawley Award (for Excellence in Environmental Engineering)

Needless to say, we’re thrilled, and we all have our fingers crossed!

Footnote: More about the the Jobs in Mind/Urban Growth Programme

Urban Growth is a programme being delivered in Camden by local charity Jobs In Mind. It combines horticultural training with weekly therapeutic support to assist people whose mental health problems have stopped them from working. Clients on the Urban Growth project will be working with employees at Olswang and other inmidtown businesses to cultivate edible green roofs as part of a wider programme to increase green infrastructure in the inmidtown area and raise awareness about the importance of a sustainable urban food system.  More information here.

On 23 April 2013, inmidtown and Camden Council held an event to allow local businesses to network and learn how to benefit from offering apprenticeships or work experience placements to local young people.  There are two schemes, which your business can get involved in right now.

Apprenticeships

Camden Council are currently running a campaign in conjunction with Camden Business Board to create 100 apprenticeship pledges within 100 days.

Please see Camden 100 in 100 and Camden Apprenticeships for more information or click here.

If you’d like to meet with one of the Camden Apprenticeships team to find out how an apprentice can work for your business, how you can access the £1,500 grant for recruiting a 16-24 year old apprentice, please be in touch. Find out more information about the Camden Apprenticeships by clicking here.

Work experience

Camden Council are working with Inspire, an education business partnership, who works with local schools to create work experience placements.  These schools need work experience placements for this summer – if you are able to help out and offer a placement, please get in touch.

Work placements

If you’d like to offer work experience but would prefer to offer placements to unemployed young people who are 16-24 years old, please contact us.

To get involved with the campaign, please contact inmidtown on 020 7078 7007 or email info@inmidtown.org.

Here is what our employment partners have to say about this initiative: 

Quote from Councillor Valerie Leach, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Growth, Camden Council

“At Camden we are strongly committed to supporting young residents through apprenticeships and work experience, and want to encourage and help others to do this too. It was great hearing from young people tonight about how much they’ve learnt through these opportunities and from the organisations hosting them about how they’ve benefitted.”

Quote from Tony Matharu, Managing Director, Grange Hotels

“As Managing Director of Grange Hotels I am delighted to have been able to host the Camden Apprenticeships – ‘Good for Business’ Launch.  Grange Hotels have pledged to offer apprenticeships to local young people to make a real difference to our growing hospitality business whilst developing employability skills themselves. This also demonstrates our continued investment and commitment to supporting the local Camden community.

At Grange Hotels we value the collaborative approach adopted by inmidtown and Camden Council and wholeheartedly endorse the Camden Apprenticeship Scheme.”

Quote from Laura Davies, Corporate Responsibility Executive, Olswang

• “Think about exactly what you want the young person to get out of their time with you then work backwards. Consider what activities they could get involved with, what meetings they could attend and whether there is an independent project that could be set for them.
• Brief volunteers and try to manage their expectations.  Try to find a balance between seeing interns as students/teenagers versus full time employees.  It may be their first experience of the world of work.
• They may not know the basics.  Talk through your expectations, explaining the reasons and why these are important.
• Daily routines can be beneficial e.g. having breakfast together and discussing their daily activities.
• Clarify issues that may arise in simple terms (e.g. timekeeping, tasks taking to long to complete) put yourself in the students shoes. Be open and honest with them.
• Share feedback from all those involved.”

Quote from Aferdita Velija, Apprentice, Student at Haverstock School  who worked at Olswang on her work experience:

“Remember that some students haven’t had any work experience yet, if they are not as professional as businesses would like them to be straight away, it is not because they don’t care or can’t be bothered, it is because they have a lot to learn.  Remember that it takes students time to adjust but bear with them, they will get there!  Try to arrange for students to have a ‘buddy’ as well as a supervisor.”

Quote from Zoe Wright, Head of Business Development, Redwood Skills

“The event on Tuesday evening was a great success, thanks to inmidtown and Camden Council.  It was a pleasure to hear such fantastic things about apprenticeships directly from those that really count.  Redwood Skills work directly with Camden Council to train apprentices in a range of roles including office/admin, youth work, financial services and sales and would be happy to answer any employer queries.  Please contact Zoë Wright, Head of Business Development, zoe.wright@redwoodskills.com / 07833 464 159.”

Quote from Graham Briggs, Employer Account Manager – Hospitality Lead, National Apprenticeships Service

“The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) were delighted to attend and support inmidtown’s event as part of the Camden 100 in 100 campaign.  As well as free advice, support and recruitment through Apprenticeship vacancies, NAS will provide Apprenticeship grants up to the value of £1,500 when employers recruit 16 to 24 year olds.”

Quote from Jo Barker, Employer Engagement Manager and Lucy Rafferty, Senior Programme Manager, Inspire!

“Inspire! is delighted to be working with inmidtown and the Camden Business Board on this project.  Tuesday’s event was a great opportunity to meet people from a range of organisations and we were delighted with the enthusiasm amongst inmidtown’s members to get involved in supporting young people in the borough.  We would love to hear from any employers who would be interested in offering Camden’s young people an opportunity this Summer.  Please contact Jo Barker: jo.barker@inspire-ebp.org.uk/ 020 7275 6073.”

Quote from Paul Snare, Client Development Manager, Westminster Kingsway College

“Westminster Kingsway College (WKC) are excited about working with Inmidtown on the Camden 100 Apprentices in 100 campaign.  Providing work and work placement opportunities for our youngsters is a priority for all in the drive to getting our unemployed youth back into work.”

Quote from Cate Hart, Director of Operations, Parliament Hill School

“It’s brilliant. It’s the only way forward. I’m going to have more. These young people are our future.”

During April and May, inmidtown is running a promotion exclusive to inmidtown members, with two free tickets to Burn the Floor up for grabs.  To enter, simply follow the instructions below.  The winner will be contacted at the end of May and announced in our newsletter in June.  Tickets are valid for performances Monday through Thursday, up to 29 June 2013.

Don’t forget to check out inmidtown’s online booking platforms for hotels and ask us about our service for competitive taxis, which are all part of the service we offer to our members.

How to enter the competition …

1. Take a moment to find out more about our ticket booking service.
2. Find another show which is currently running inside the inmidtown BID area (clue: it’s on at the Dominion Theatre).
3. Send an email to marketing@inmidtown.org, subject line BURN THE FLOOR, and in the body of the email write the name of the show from (2) above.
4. Relax for a few weeks, and wait for the announcement!

Best of luck!!

Climate week 2013 was a great success for the thousands of organisations and individuals taking part around the UK.  We’re now able to report on our local achievements, and we’re delighted to say that inmidtown members taking part in the Climate Week challenge recycled 648kg of quality office paper, which equates to a carbon saving of 960kg CO2e, or for those of us who are not scientists, 12 trees!

Congratulations to all those involved: Fraser CRE, Sodexo, Cartesian, Central YMCA Club, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Hostelbookers, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and inmidtown.

Biodiversity is great for our area and can be both rewarding and positive for member businesses. We’re thrilled to confirm that the following businesses are contributing to biodiversity in Bloomsbury, Holborn and St Giles …

• Wragge and Co, Bedford Estates, Central Saint Giles have all adopted bird and bat boxes.
• Conway Hall have adopted planters.
• We’ve installed green roofs of Olswang, Cartesian, Trades Union Congress, the Bloomsbury Street Hotel and Mischon de Reya.

We’ll keep you updated on how our rooftop veg and wildflowers are doing (and what our bees think about them!), as well as who moves into the bird and bat boxes.

In just 7 days, this video attracted 2,268 views on Facebook, with most people (around 87%) watching it to completion.  This shows a great level of interest in content about the area, and is great news for the UAL. This kind of exposure is excellent for raising the profile of the business, and highlights the diverse and interesting reasons to visit Midtown, home to culture and the creative industries, including world leading art schools.

Other member businesses currently featured on inmidtown tv are…

• Grange Hotels who have a multitude of hotels in the area
• Bounce the home of Ping Pong in London near Chancery Lane
• DoubleTree by Hilton – West End the infamous hotel brand from Hilton on Southampton Row.
• The Ship Tavern the quintessentially British pub behind Holborn Tube Station
• Aveda Institute UK the salon and spa located on High Holborn
• inbay the IT support specialists on Kingsway
• Conway Hall hosting a plethora of events annually on Red Lion Square
• YMCA Club the award-winning gym on Great Russell Street
• All Star Lanes the bowling alley underneath Victoria House
• The Swedenborg Society the philosophy book shop near Bloomsbury Square
• The Folio Society the book shop of beautifully illustrated books on Eagle Street
• The Enterprise a quirky pub on Red Lion Street

You can view inmidtown TV here or click here to find out how to get your business on inmidtown TV, and all the other ways we can help you promote your business.