We’d like to share the great work going on in the Outdoor Education Department with you. Access to Nature is a fantastic programme for helping participants onto the next stage of education/training/employment. We’re grateful for the opportunity given to us by our funders – the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund, and The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency, and the Forestry Commission.
This is the first of six blogs recounting their adventures:
Over the past 6 weeks, young people from all over Nottinghamshire have dived head-first into our Access to Nature program. In early November, students from CP Riverside met our Outdoor Education Leaders, Jack and Alex, for the first time. They hopped on the minibus and headed over to Rufford Park for their introductory session, involving orienteering, mushroom hunting, and team-building games. Young people from the YMCA Hostel in Mansfield joined students from Suthers School and Farnborough Spencer Academy for their first day at Rufford Park, enveloping themselves in the natural environment and learning new skills, from identifying fungi to understanding the biology of a tree.
At the start of each session, every Access to Nature participant identified a soft skill they wanted to develop, whether communication, focus, respect, or problem solving. Their choice would shape the day’s session and give each member something specific to aim for. The event was an all-round success, and we’re proud of the wonderful young people who took part and threw themselves into learning.
