To improve the mental and physical health of girls by providing empowering outdoor adventures in inspiring natural blue and green spaces.
by Kathy King in St. Austell, England, United Kingdom
We will create a mirror Outdoor Adventurers group for 10-13 year old boys. Covid has disrupted transitions between primary and secondary school and these opportunities would help boys find mental health support both with their peers and with support staff attached to the project.
The Outdoor Adventurers sessions provide a safe space where boys don't have to worry about anything except for having a good time and making new friends.
Wild Wonder and Wisdom CIC is a social enterprise facilitating empowering outdoor experiences in the St Austell area of Cornwall.
Our main aim is to boost mental and physical health by offering a wide variety of outdoor sports and activities by supporting young people to try new things in nurturing environment. We focus on increasing emotional literacy (self-belief, confidence, empathy, social skills and self-regulation).
This is particularly urgent post-covid lockdown as evidence collected by the England's Mental Health of Children and Young People (MHCYP) survey shows that 'the increase in probable mental health problems reported in adults (during lockdown) also affected 5–16 year olds in England, with the incidence rising from 10·8% in 2017 to 16·0% in July 2020 across age, gender, and ethnic groups. As in 2017, during the pandemic young women had the highest prevalence of probable mental health problems (27·2%), indicating they should remain a group of particular policy concern.'
Kathy King is our founder, an experienced teacher, Forest School leader and outdoor instructor. Our staff are made up of a small number of select sessional staff and volunteers who are hugely caring and supportive, and who help to create exciting sessions where the girls can try new things.
Activities so far have included:
We have collaborated with other CIC's and socially motivated sole traders in the area such as C4 Studios, Bodmin Yoga and 'It's all About the Bike'.
We currently run two Outdoor Adventurers groups for girls in Portmellon on a pay-as-you-can-afford basis. These clubs are a continuation of our National Lottery Community funded ‘This Girl Can’ project originally delivered as an after-school multi-activity club for 10-18 year old girls. However due to Lockdown 3.0 we had to adapt our delivery method to 1-2-1 outdoor fitness sessions which included yoga on the beach, cycling through the woods and outdoor Personal Fitness and dance sessions.
We have recently started concentrating on how our projects affect 'Momentary Happiness' where we tune in to how both the activity and the natural blue and green spaces make us feel. We used emotion wheels for the girls to assess their mood at the start and end of these sessions and their data is represented in the following infographic;
Testimonials from the parents share these sentiments but we are particularly inspired by how Isabella and Florence felt;
We are crowdfunding so we can continue to subsidise our Outdoor Adventurers groups on a pay-as-you-can-afford basis. The money allows us to;
- make our sessions affordable for all
- provide top quality sessions
- employ qualified, local staff (instructors, youth workers and a chef)
- provide an interesting range of activities
- buy general outdoor and specialist kit for those who need it
- to extend our reach to more girls in St Austell.
Our projects so far have generated a lot of positive interest and we want to continue that momentum.
WW&W also deliver ‘Wild Camp Adventures’ aimed at 18-24 year old women who are:
- NEET (not in education, employment, or training) (NEET)
- experiencing depression, anxiety and/or social isolation
The purpose is to increase self-belief and confidence enough so that these young women can feel empowered enough to take on their next life challenges and re-engage in society.
We have run two 6-week projects like this so far and are keen to deliver more. We have produced an interactive story for prospective participants to help to give them a feel of what we will do on the project which will hopefully reduce barriers to attendance. Take a look for yourself;
WW&W Interactive Wild Camp Adventure Story
WW&W also run workshops for youth groups like Young People Cornwall and the Women’s Centres’ ‘Young Empowered Women’ project and have working with home-school groups and primary schools.
We have a wide range of rewards on offer. Most of them are opportunities for the grown-ups to have a go at all of these awesome activities that the girls are doing. Please buy one of them and help us to continue to do what we do.
Give back by joining us on a Retreat
WW&W are offering a Women’s Activity Retreat for like-minded women to come together and try these kinds of activities in a fully supportive environment lead by an amazing all-female team.
There are many retreats on the market, but ours is different as it gives you the opportunity to give back whilst you rejuvenate your body and soul. Profits from these retreats go back into delivering similar experiences for vulnerable young women in Cornwall.
Take a look at our Retreat Brochure here;
Women's Activity Retreats Brochure
For more information about any of the rewards or any of our projects then please get in touch through either social media or our website.
Thanks for your support.
Kathy and the WW&W team :-)
This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.