Today's Guardian education section features a profile of the Wilderness Foundation UK's pioneering intervention project for youth-at-risk - TurnAround. The article, written by Louise Tickle outlines the genesis of the project and why nature - particularly wild nature - offers a solution for disturbed youth. Wilderness Foundation UK CEO Jo Roberts says: "Being in a [...]
On Saturday 21st November TurnAround Two came to a close. Surrounded by families, friends, mentors, patrons and funders, the young participants enjoyed an evening of celebration to mark their successful completion of the programme. We were delighted to be joined by Mr Rupert Gosling, The High Sheriff of Essex, together with Mr Andrew [...]
Today the world acknowledges the remarkable recent progress in HIV/AIDS awareness, detection, and remediation. As the Wilderness Foundation commends this progress, it remains confronted daily with the reality of the stigma, denial, and continued contraction of HIV at an alarming rate in areas of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Here, where the Wilderness Foundation Africa [...]
I was down at our Community Allotments site on Wednesday morning, at the Hobart Close site here in Chelmsford. Charlie was already busy at work, measuring up the greenhouses for the polycarbonate sheeting we are going to use instead of glass (for safety reasons). This is being funded by our recent grant from the O2 [...]
The Wilderness Foundation UK Community Allotments Project in Chelmsford, Essex has been recognised by the O2 "It's Your Communtiy" initiative as one of the Top 15 Community Champions. O2 have awarded the project a maximum grant of £1,000 which the Foundation will be using in the construction of two new areas of the allotments - [...]
I've just arrived back from our Community Allotments Project here in the heart of Chelmsford, Essex. What a transformation! Over the last month the regular volunteers have really made a huge impact on the site and together with Charlie and I, are all feeling really positive about what we have achieved - and a little [...]
Following the succesful pilot programme which concluded in July 2008, we are currently seeking young people aged between 15 and 17 years old to participate in the second run of TurnAround. Our charity specialises in using wilderness and nature to bring about positive changes in troubled and vulnerable youth. Typically candidates may be under supervision [...]
The Wilderness Foundation UK has succesfully secured a grant of £5000 from the Nationwide Foundation, a grant maker financed by Nationwide Building Society. The Wilderness Foundation UK through it's TurnAround Project provides nature based programmes for young offenders and disadvantaged youth, including wilderness trails, skills workshops, community volunteering and work experience opportunities. The £5,000 award [...]
It's been a busy month for Charlie and the volunteers down at our Community Allotments project, here in the heart of Chelmsford. With the schools on Summer break, our band of willing helpers was depleted, but now that the new school year has started, we will soon have our weekly sessions running once again, and [...]
Title: 'Sustaining the Peace' Walk Location: Monaghan way Description: We invite you to join members of the Sustainable Peace Network to walk either 14.5 or 7 miles of the Castleblayney-Inneskeen section of the Monaghan Way. The walk is of moderate difficulty – combining quiet country roads, cross-country trekking, riverside walkways and lakeshore approaches and mixing [...]
As a participant of the project, I would like to say that the project was a major turning point in my life and has helped me to take control of my demons and become a trusted member of society. I was first introduced to the programme by my Connexions worker, Donna after I had had [...]
It's been a busy month down at the allotments on both the Melbournes and Waterhouse Lane sites. The main focus of activity on Waterhouse has been clearing of weeds and overgrowth to prepare the plots for the Autumn term, starting in September. Down at Melbournes, Charlie has been busy working with our volunteer group on [...]
Press Release: The TurnAround team gathered at Danbury Outdoor Centre, Essex on Friday 28th March 2008 to receive a presentation cheque and donation from the Jack Petchey Foundation, who have awarded TurnAround a grant of £5,000 following a succesful application by the Wilderness Foundation UK, the charity that created and manages the TurnAround Project. We [...]
On Saturday 8th March the TurnAround project were guests at the Gardens of Easton Lodge. These beautiful grounds (which are being restored by volunteers to their former glory from the days of landscape architect Harold Peto) provided a venue for the team and participants to join artist Antonia Hockton for a stone carving workshop. Everyone [...]
The TurnAround Project was in line for an Essex wide award last night. WFUK's programme for vulnerable young people in Essex had been nominated for the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service Shield, along with a small number of other youth organisations in the county. We were all delighted that the hard work put in [...]