Help Save Tinder Sticks 2021

WHO ARE TINDERSTICKS CIC:

We are a small bushcraft Community Interest Company whose mission is to help more people have meaningful outdoor experiences and become more confident in the outdoors. For the last three years we have been helping individuals and groups to have amazing  outdoor adventures through our wide range of  bushcraft and nature immersion activities. 

Some of the activities and projects we have provided are :

• Education sessions for local schools covering EYFS, KS1 and KS2 year groups
• Events and activities for preschoolers throughout the year and all ages during the school holidays, involving bushcraft, wild play and woodland exploration
• Family bushcraft events and overnight wild camps in the woods
• Adult workshops at Lee Valley, including an Introduction to Bushcraft and Venison Workshops - learning to skin, butcher and cook venison in the outdoors

We work in partnership with other organisations to deliver:

• Footsteps into the Wild. Funded by the National Lottery in partnership with Forestry England at Fineshade and Fermyn Woods, bushcraft and nature immersion sessions to rewild urban teenagers
• Across the Road. Funded by the City Bridge Trust, nature therapy and well-being sessions for the staff at Whipps Cross Hospital in partnership with Epping Forest, which is 'across the road.' 
• Friends of Chernobyl's Children running events for children on an exchange vist to the UK from the most desperate circumstances in the contaminated area of Belarus.

We are the Learning Providers at Fineshade Wood for Forestry England. We work with the City of London on Epping Forest and deliver adult workshops for the Lee Valley Park Authority at their Almost Wild Campsite. We aim to get more people outdoor confident and enable them to learn about sustainable forestry through education and enjoyment. We want to ensure that our outdoor activities today have a positive impact on UK woodlands for future generations to use and enjoy.

We are a Community Interest Company which means we re-invest any surplus made to help more people discover, explore and enjoy the outdoors.

PLEASE HELP US:

As a small social enterprise we have been hit hard by COVID-19 restrictions and outbreaks along with so many other small organisations, falling through the gaps of all the financial support packages.

We know the positive impact that our work has on individuals, families, society and the environment and we are determined to keep going so that we can be there for all those who need us once restrictions are lifted.

Feedback from attendees:

Public Events

“Thank you for a great morning. It has been one of our best activities in the holidays. Lots of freedom for the children to explore and play. Plenty to look at and learn. We’ll be back!”

“Had an amazing time, great as it was our first time sleeping under the stars. Lots of great information. Kids had fun and made new friends and that’s what its all about”

Education Sessions

“Fantastic! Linked well with our science topic and the children were so engaged”

“We really enjoyed the day. The activities were great! Reinforced our science work”

COVID-19 forced us to shut down but throughout the pandemic we helped families to get outdoors by producing a free-to-download range of family and nature discovery activities which were enjoyed by hundreds of people accessing them through our social media platforms.

Coming through the COVID-19 crisis, we see that mental and physical health and outdoors connections are more important than ever so we we want to ensure we can provide a range of activities for the whole community to enjoy.  COVID-permitting, our 2021 program will include:

• Weekly Forest School and Baby Bushcraft Sessions
• School holiday activities for the under 8’s
• Monthly Family Bushcraft events and Wild Camps throughout April-October
• Adult Bushcraft courses and Venison Workshops at both Fineshade Wood and Almost Wild, Lee Valley including a new Level Two Bushcraft course.
• Low cost education sessions for local schools at Fineshade Wood

By supporting us in this campaign you are not only helping us survive the crisis and continue to provide our valuable services, but you are also helping all of those people who enjoy and benefit from time spent at our outdoor sessions.

We are grateful for any donation you can give.

Thank you