Generation Green

Under the Generation Green II scheme we’ve engaged with schools and groups that are advocating for young people who are disadvantaged financially, are neurodiverse or have learning difficulties, are young carers, or who have had difficult childhoods for other reasons.  Sometimes it’s all of the above, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of this population too.  

The children are inherently delightful and they have shone in the countryside environment, every single one of them, rain or shine.  Our belief is that the children have thrived principally because it is the natural state for their senses to be exposed to the elements and to the diversity of nature, and to enjoy the physical rigour and open space that are synonymous with the countryside.   We have observed how that environment drives individual contentment and how that in turn opens the door to the most positive social interactions.  And when it comes to most children as they reach a certain age, in reality the quality of the social experience tends to be the be-all and end-all.  

It is because of this dynamic, that the most common utterance we hear is quite simply “This is the best day of my life”, and we know that that child has connected visiting the countryside with personal happiness.

As a team, what we can do is firstly make that countryside environment available to young people, and secondly contribute to the social benefits by adding ourselves to a population that’s really enjoying being there.  There is nothing more fulfilling for us than our rapport with our visitors.  

We think that the real power of the visits has been to give these young people the opportunity to experience what the countryside can do for their wellbeing.  They have been able to contrast this carefree time in the countryside, with the day to day of their lifestyles where they are largely isolated from nature.  In modern lifestyles we are all isolated from nature and have the same need to mitigate that, but this scheme targets children at risk of never experiencing anything else.

We recognise that striving is an essential ingredient for wellbeing, but young people also need to strive for something that will actually give them an enduring satisfaction.  We would argue that this scheme gives disadvantaged children a chance for a high quality of life, not by underwriting it, but instead by showing them where and how a sense of wellbeing can be found.  We would also argue that there is no wellbeing like that derived from the countryside, and that the more people that recognise that, the better the future for the countryside and for all of us.

Finally, our own experience is that this scheme is supporting the creation of capacity in the sector, and is enabling schools and youth group leaders to witness the virtue of visits where the focus is less on the activities, and more on the natural and social environment.  All told, we think this is a scheme with real impact.

“I really enjoyed it, because it was a break from busy Croydon and it’s very calm and peaceful here.”

“I feel like I don’t need to be inside Croydon or London. I can do new things outside of my area. And because here, there’s not much internet I can do more things, I don’t always have to be using my phone, I can find new things to do.”

I think I’ve only just recovered from what was such an eventful time! So much energy the nature park cultivated in the young people. Majority of kids took so much from it, and we’ve received personal messages from parents from a few of the kids too. With minor incidents that brought the morale down at times, the overall experience was encouraging and dynamically different to what the young people were use to. They struggled with the lack of Wi-Fi and bad signal, but most adapted and engaged. A special thanks to the SOLD team – they handled the activities with the young people with great care. I witnessed personally Betsie encourage one of the girls in her FIRST time climbing. That particular young person suffers from serious anxiety and suicide ideation – she felt so encouraged by the trip and spoke positively all the way back home. 

We had such a wonderful day at Imbhams Farm, thank you so much!  As a student said, “Best day ever!”   The morning session spent with the sheep was great and pitched at just the right level – some really interesting facts and learning around looking after the sheep and even the more nervous children by the end were able to enjoy being around them.  We were very lucky with the weather so the walk through the woods was beautiful and it was wonderful to see our group of young carers really come out of their shells during the den building. The group did not know each other very well at the beginning of the day but we saw some of them really bonding which was fantastic. Finishing with the campfire, marshmallows  and hot chocolates was the perfect end to the day!