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Green Shoots News: 2007
You can read more about the Green Shoots programme on the main Green Shoots page. This page gives you a flavour for what we've been doing this year. You can also read news from 2006.
Leith
Academy and Drummond High School
A total of 6 young people with attendance issues from Leith Academy and Drummond Community High School attended a series 4 conservation sessions at a variety of locations in and around Edinburgh, including Vogrie Country Park, Newbattle Abbey and Roslin Glen. The group persevered with some pretty wet weather to complete some sterling pathwork, and cleared plenty of rhododendrons and sycamores along the way.
Two individuals attended the whole programme and completed both their John Muir Award and Service Duke of Edinburgh certificate.
Broughton High School/PYCP/Granton Youth Centre
February saw a continuation of the successful working relationship between Green Shoots and the Broughton High School Behaviour Support Link. Further partnership support was established with the Pilton Youth and Children’s Project and Granton Youth Centre, with additional referrals and staffing ensuring the continuity of support from school into the community.
Eight young people attended the programme, which was once again hosted at Vogrie Country Park. The group quickly got into the swing of each session, participating in a variety of conservation tasks ranging from rhodie clearance and removing old remnant fencing; to completing some much needed pathwork and tree felling at the newly upgraded pond.
Of course there was also plenty opportunity to explore the surrounding environment through orienteering, trust games and scavenger hunts. The group also perfected their fire lighting skills cooking several bush tucker meals of fried eggs, bacon and sausages.
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The programme not only enabled participants to access local green spaces and areas of wilderness of their doorstep, but also supported the development of meaningful working relationships between support staff and young people. The accompanying youth worker from Granton Youth Centre commented on how the programme had encouraged new individuals to attend activity sessions at the centre who would have normally have hung about on the streets.
Those participants that completed the full programme received their John Muir Award certificate.
Forest School Term 2
Forest School kicked off once again for its second term at Sanctuary Wood in the Pentland Hills. Two new group members joined to brave the frosty conditions, but despite the rain, hail and even snow, the programme was well attended throughout the term.
The group enjoyed the hands-on physical conservation tasks and worked hard to make great improvements to Bonaly. Removing old BBQ sites and old stobs from the moor were popular tasks, as was checking the orienteering course in a snowstorm. The’dog poo’ amenity was also further cleared and burned and new skills were learnt in making bird boxes.
Improvements were also made to the Forest School site, with further work being undertaken to improve the seating area by staking and raising benches off the ground. Knot work was also an area of interest for the group, with skills learnt applied to tying hammocks from trees. Further wilderness skills in tracking, camouflage and concealment were also explored through a variety of games.
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The group’s ability to work together as a team was challenged on a search and rescue mission. With only a map and each other the group had to locate a missing member of staff missing on the moor. Once the casualty was found and had been assessed for injuries the group used their knot skills to make a stretcher and evacuate the casualty to safety.
Food
was as always a big part of each day at Forest school and term 2 was no
exception. Gastronomic feasts of eggy bread, pancakes, home made soup
and cheesy tortillas were some of the highlights, good enough to earn
a few Michelin stars!
The term ended with another outdoor education activity
to reward the group for their hard work. A trip to Mussleburgh Lagoons
saw the group once again apply their knot tying skills to the challenge
of raft building, with several rafts worthy of rivalling the QE2, or at
least the Titanic making it across the water before disintegrating. The
day ended with a visit to Gullane beach to explore the dunes and cook
up some hot dogs and hot chocolate on the trangia stove and storm
kettle.
Go 4 It
Easter once again saw Green Shoots support the City’s holiday activity programme with two ‘Wild Times, Wild Places’ sessions occurring at Vogrie Country Park and Binning Wood in East Lothian.
The days were well attended and extremely popular
with the participants. The sun shone for a day of rhodedhendron clearance
at Vogrie where the group worked in a determined manner to clear a huge
patch of the invasive plant.
The second day of rhodie clearance was a little more overcast, but the
group still attacked the huge bushes with enthusiasm, before hiking out
to Tyninghame beach for a giant game of ‘Kick the Can’.
St Augustine’s Duke of Edinburgh Award Inclusive
The Award Inclusive group from St Augustine’s High School continued
to work towards their Service certificate with two sessions taking place
at Easter. Participants took part in a variety of conservation tasks in
several
locations in and around Edinburgh. Group members worked as
a team to repair eroded paths at Newbattle Abbey and cleared invasive
rhododendron bushes, contributing to the ongoing work carried out by the
Midlothian Rangers on site.
A second day of work was undertaken at Hopetoun House where some sterling work was done to create edging to over 50m of badly maintained path. Skills in measuring, cutting, hammering and using heavy tools were applied to the task.
The completion of the fourth days work saw the group complete their Duke of Edinburgh Award Service section. Participants also completed their John Muir Award by discovering, exploring, conserving the wild places they worked in and sharing their experiences through active reviews.
Forest School Term 3
The final term of Forest School saw the group continue to work closely with the Pentland Rangers, completing their most challenging task yet of building a new set of steps. Local users had made regular comments on the improvements to the area and the group continued to improve user accessibility by felling and burning a large area of laurel encroaching on the paths.
The
group’s ability to work as a team was put to the test in a variety
of team challenges, including erecting a tent blindfolded and completing
the launch of the ‘pockit rockit’.
Favourite games such as ‘Kick the Can’, ‘Owl Eyes’ and popular campfire food of tortillas and pancakes were also revisited. The shelter and fire site were returned to their natural state, before the group reflected upon their time at Forest School. Comments made by the young people included;
“I would love to live out in the woods for a week and have to look after myself.”
“I enjoyed doing something for the environment, using tools and building steps.”
“Forest
School has been a chance to do something to look after nature.”
“I want to come back with my mates and show them the views. I’m gutted that Forest Schools is finishing!”
The group finished their outdoor sessions with a long anticipated mountain biking session exploring the wider area of the Pentland Hills. Mud, sweat and smiles were in plentiful supply!
The Forest School programme ended with a presentation ceremony and celebration of achievements at Liberton High School. Parents, teaching staff, the Pentland Rangers and the Forest Education Initiaitve were all in attendance to recognise the hard work and achievements of the group as they received their John Muir Award and Duke of Edinburgh Service Certificates, Green Team Hoodies, Certificates of Attendance and photo frames.
Special
thanks were also given by Susan Falconer and Jo Booth of the Pentland
Ranger Service, who presented each young person with their own copy of
the book ‘Walks in the Pentlands’.
It was extremely rewarding to look back at all the photos taken over the course of 8 months and reflect upon the improvement made in each young person’s confidence, personal social skills and self-esteem.
The programme could not have happened without the support of staff from Liberton High School, in particular support from the Head Teacher and Iain Twaddle, Green Team volunteers Kate Walters and Kim McIntosh, and the Pentland Ranger Service.
Watch this space for updates on the next Forest School programme, due to return back to Sanctuary Wood in the non too distant future.
Referral Programme
Green Shoots decided to venture into new territory in May with the launch of a new style of programme to meet the demand of individual referral requests. Referrals were accepted from across the city from schools, youth organisations and support agencies.
The group met initially at Vogrie Country Park for some team building activities and rhododendron bashing, and returned for a second day or remnant fence removal.
Additional support for each young person took place with 1:1 meetings, where individuals were encouraged to talk about their experiences, reflect on their progress and look at setting personal goals for the rest of the programme.
A further 4 conservation sessions took place at Capielaw Wood, Aberlady and Roslin Glen. The group braved particularly challenging weather at Aberlady to work on clearing a protected section of beach, but enjoyed beautiful sunshine at Roslin where individuals tried their hand at tree felling and primitive fire lighting.
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A final session took place at Fordell Firs National Scout Centre in Fife. The group worked on brashing some trees and improving the fire site before enjoying a huge cook out and an archery session, complete with a Robin Hood style hat!
The end of the programme brought together participants, support workers and parents to celebrate the achievements of the group. Young people created a display of photographs and laid on a buffet spread for the visitors. There were smiles all round as participants were presented with Green Shoots attendance certificates and the John Muir Award.
Feedback from the programme has been extremely positive. A new referral programme will be running in the Autumn of 2007. If you are interested in referring a young person please do get in touch.
Broughton
High School Re-Connection
In June 3 pupils from the previous Broughton High School programme met again for an exciting re-connection residential to Roeburn Wood near Helensburgh.
The two days were a great success with participants undertaking conservation work in the wood cutting back gorse, axed wood for the fire, cooked outside and slept in a tepee!
The young people returned to Edinburgh tired, but enthusiastic about their adventures.
Beeslack High School
One day! 150 pupils! 6 conservation tasks! 12 groups!
When the Green Team was first approached about delivering conservation work for 150 pupils at Beeslack Community High School participating in their John Muir Award we wondered if we had bitten off more than we could chew. However, with some expert coordination by Penny that would have rivalled any Field Marshall the day was planned out in fine detail to ensure each individual had the opportunity of participating in a meaningful conservation task.
Tools, equipment and resources were pooled together from various organisations and the morning dawned with the first batch of 75 pupils trudging off in 6 different directions to get their hands dirty in the beautiful woodland next to the school grounds.
Throughout the day pupils participated in digging drainage ditches, building new steps, removing tons of rubbish including shopping trolleys, eradicating giant knotweed, lopping overgrown pathways and footpath maintenance.
The day was a great success with a great deal of work being completed ina short period of time. Thanks go to Alan Krumholds of the Midlothian Rangers, and Kate Walters and Roy Barlow of the Woodland Trust.
Granton Youth Centre
Ten young people from Granton Youth Centre participated in a 4-day programme with Green Shoots in July. The sessions formed part of a summer programme of activities designed to support young people with the transition from primary to secondary school.
Having previously completed a residential weekend at Ratho Canal, the group were quick to work effectively as a team and completed conservation tasks at Vogrie Country Park, Roslin Glen, the Pentland Hills and Binning Wood in East Lothian. Clearing invasive species were the tasks of the week, with snowberry, broom, gorse and rhodie all being removed to encourage plant biodiversity in each area.
It wasn’t all hard work, the group also explored each environment through a variety of games. Tracking and Hide ‘n’ Seek were firm favourites, as were regular cook outs, with each young person successfully completing the one match fire lighting challenge. The group even learnt how to gut and cook a freshly caught mackerel, and swam laps of knee-deep rock pools at Tyninghame beach.
The programme was a great success with each participant earning their John Muir Discovery Award. Many thanks to the support of the Granton Youth Centre staff and the Countryside Rangers.
Play4It
July saw Green Shoots head out once again with a bus load of youngsters participating in City of Edinburgh’s Play4It summer activity scheme. 13 young people tackled the rhododendron’s of Binning Wood before walking to the cliff top of Tyninghame beach for a fire and marshmallow toasting session.
Later in the week 12 more youngsters braved the wet weather to explore the Water of Leith. The group embarked on a Treasure Hunt, searched for bugs and creatures in the grasses and riverbeds of the Water of Leith and attacked a giant patch of Japanese knotweed before returning home soggy, tired and happy.
Young Person’s Mental Health Unit
In August Green Shoots worked with a group of young people receiving mental health support at the Royal Ed. The group tackled some sycamore tree felling at Vogrie Country Park before enjoying sausages cooked on a fire as reward for their hard work.
Unfortunately the sunshine of the previous day was replaced by rain for the rhodie clearance trip to Binning Wood. Despite the weather the group made a great impact and enjoyed learning how to use the storm kettle for half time hot chocolates.
The sunshine appeared just in time for an afternoon stroll to Tyninghame beach where the group was rewarded by stunning views and a display of superior fishing techniques by hoards of gannets.
The two days were well received by staff and participants alike and rounded off the end of a busy summer for Green Shoots.
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