As the TurnAround project reaches the six month mark there are exciting times both to reflect on and to look forward to
Since the last update in June we have had numerous social evenings which have included bowling, a trip to the cinema, a visit to an indoor trampoline park and a cook out at Chatham Green. The aim of the social evenings is to create belonging within the group and to share different experiences together. One of the young people commented “I like the evenings out with TurnAround. It gives me something different to do and keeps me out of trouble. I always look forward to seeing the group as they understand me”. We have also held a number of day long workshops which have included life mapping and bush craft, a day’s cycling, obstacle course and high ropes and an employability workshop. Each of these workshops has a theme for example outdoors skills, fitness, facing fears and employment. This theme can then be used within the weekly mentoring sessions between each individual and their mentor.
As a new initiative we have also started to log Vitamin G hours. These represent the amount of hours 
that each young person taking part in the project spends outside in nature. The idea behind this is that time spent in nature is proven to be good for you both physically and mentally. Previous research compiled from past TurnAround groups by Essex University has shown that spending time in outside can increase self-esteem, enhance mood and create a great connectedness to nature. As a group the total amount of Vitamin G hours logged to date is a staggering 1511 with the average for each young person being 170 Vitamin G hours which equals to an entire week spent outside. We will continue to log these hours throughout the duration of the project and update regularly! Jimmy, one of the young people on the project said “I like going to Chatham Green and spending time outside. It is peaceful and lets me get away from it all. I do some volunteer work there and help out which makes me feel good about myself. I also meet my mentor and we chat about stuff. It is good to know there are people there that care about me”.Moving forwards we have another social evening next week to look forward to and following that a workshop on anger management. We are also planning a weekend away in late November to complete some voluntary conservation work as a team. As you can see there is plenty to look forwards to and I will look forward to updating again soon!
If you are a professional who is interested in referring a young person to the project then please do get in touch and I will be happy to give you some more information. My contact details are below.
Rosie Carpenter
TurnAround 6 Project Co-ordinator
Email: rosie@wildernessfoundation.org.uk
