It has not been possible for most of the activities planned for 2020 to take place, but the Lancashire Association of Boys and Girls Clubs have managed one. During October half-term 6 young people from Lancaster went on a residential course at Ormside Mill outdoor centre in Cumbria.
Sadly – but not surprisingly – most of the activities funded by The Areti Trust at the beginning of the year have had to be postponed. The trustees were therefore very pleased to learn that Lancashire Youth Challenge managed to complete a modified version of their Coniston Challenge over the summer. This enabled 2 separate groups of young people to spend 3 days (non-residential) caving, hiking and ghyll-scrambling – a character-forming experience that enabled them to put lockdown out of their minds for a short time. (And also – a common theme it seems with such mini-adventures – involved them getting very wet!)
The 2019 annual report for the Areti Trust has now been signed off and is en route to the Charity Commission.
The Trustees included the attached comments in the report. Obviously everything is currently up in the air with Covid-19, but the trustees’ motivation and aims remain unchanged: to fund further mini-adventures and learning opportunities for children and young people who would not otherwise have such chances in their lives.
During the February half-term, Lancaster Boys & Girls Club went to the Anderton Centre, Chorley, for a one-night team-building residential. They got wet and blown about – and learned more about working together.
The Areti Trust has also made a small grant to St Patrick’s Primary School for a class visit to Windermere.
The trustees met recently to consider the latest applications and agreed to make the following grants:
The trustees also agreed to make a grant of £25,000 to Escape2Make later in the year for their 2021 Mini Green Festival.
Finally, the trust will continue to fund visits to Leighton Moss by primary schools with above-average pupil premiums.
One of the projects which the Areti Trust helped to fund this year was the Hadrian’s Wall walk by Lancashire Youth Challenge.
In August a team of 16 young people, 2 staff and 4 volunteers hiked across 50 miles in 4 days, beginning at Hedden-on-the Wall and concluding in Carlisle.
The young people on the walk had been referred to Lancashire Youth Challenge by Lancaster Children’s and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Barnardo’s, Lancashire Constabulary, local pupil referral units and schools due to their personal needs and vulnerabilities. They had worked hard in preparation for the walk, building up their fitness, resilience and team-building, and they completed this amazing challenge successfully.
The Institute of Education at UCL was recently commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts to research the effect on children of engaging with the natural world outdoors. The report found that the experience boosted children’s confidence and overall had a very positive impact.
You can read the press release here or download the full UCL report here.
One of the projects which Areti helped to fund this year was “Close to the Wind” – a piece of work made by year 3 children from four local schools working with the Arnside & Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Cumbria-based sound artist, Dan Fox.
Children from Archbishop Hutton’s School, Arnside National School, Morecambe Bay Primary School and Ryelands School climbed Warton Crag in September to listen to the sounds of nature and to learn more about the natural world.
The children’s words and experiences were stitched together to produce this work for Light Up Lancaster; the screen is made from hundreds of strips of elastic, and as the wind blows across them it creates acoustic sounds and visual patterns, while the children’s recorded voices complete the work.
