New outdoor project providing opportunities for West Midlands youngsters
A new project has been launched to help provide children with free days of nature-based activities and get them outdoors and active.
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The Kingswood Trust in Perton has launched the Days in the Woods project, which it says supports the beneficiaries physical learning and development, to benefit children who would not otherwise be able to access such opportunities due to financial constraints.
The project has been made possible through £13,000 funding from the Inclusive Communities Fund and will support 22 days of activities, with the focus on children who are typically living in areas of social and economic deprivation that are often overlooked and under-served.
Activities include den building, trails, leaf printing, clay modelling, archery, orienteering and campfires and the trust said the feedback from the first few sessions had been really good.
It said that the children who attended said they felt much happier after taking part in these activities and staff observed greater levels of engagement and concentration amongst the children, with a day of physical opportunities benefitting their health.
Adam Birch, volunteer co-ordinator and project lead, said: "It’s been wonderful giving these pupils opportunities to thrive in an environment that they may have been unfamiliar with.
"Many of them had never been into woodlands before.You could see some initial anxiety but once they started getting involved, they became much more confident.
"It also gave the teachers the opportunity to see their pupils in a new light, as the children took charge doing team games, engaging with nature in new and exciting ways, learning new skills and showing their knowledge of the natural environment. One child told me it was the best day ever."
The Inclusive Communities Fund was designed to support communities across the West Midlands by bringing to life solutions that addressed challenges in their neighbourhoods and local areas.
It was inspired by the momentum generated by the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and was made available by the UK Government through the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS).
The West Midlands Combined Authority oversaw the Fund, while the Heart of England Community Foundation administered the funding across the region.
To find out more about the project and about the Kingswood Trust, go to the Kingswood Trust website.
