STAFF, young people and volunteers at the Musselburgh-based Bridges Project have placed painted rocks around East Lothian to mark the charity’s 40th anniversary this year.

Called Bridges Rocks, the initiative is the first in a series of activities the project will be launching to celebrate four decades of supporting young people.

Aimed at leaving a lasting legacy in the local community, Bridges Rocks has seen staff, young people and volunteers place colourful painted rocks in various locations across the county.

At the back of each rock, there is a message urging anyone who finds it to tag the charity on social media with a picture of where they found the rock and place it somewhere else. The hope is that this process can be repeated countless times by future finders to see how far the rocks can travel.

The idea for Bridges Rocks was conceived by Stuart Paul, a community education student from the University of the West of Scotland, who has just completed a three-month placement with Bridges Project.

He said: “I wanted to do an activity with the young people we work with that combines wellbeing with an outdoor activity. I saw a painted rock somewhere and thought it would be a good way to combine the two, as painting is fun and being outdoors is good for your wellbeing. Then came the idea of tying it into the 40th anniversary.”

Within the space of a week, participants gathered at Bridges Project to paint their own personalised rock, before heading out in the local community to place them in different locations for people to find them.

Mr Paul now hopes that as many people as possible can take on the challenge of finding a rock, sharing it on social media and placing it somewhere else.

“I hope it can be a fun thing for the wider community, which will not only leave a legacy for Bridges Project’s 40th anniversary but will hopefully also encourage people to get out walking and be more active,” he said.

Bridges Project’s CEO Emma Scarcliffe said she was “so proud” of the charity turning 40 this year.

“For a voluntary organisation to be around that long is quite an achievement and we are stronger than ever,” she said.

“We will be doing a number of activities this year in honour of this milestone and Bridges Rocks is the perfect idea to start with.

“It’s been heart-warming to see so many people getting involved with the concept.

“We are looking forward to the next 40 years of supporting young people to achieve amazing things and, who knows, someone may find a rock at the other side of the world in 2064!”