Since the success of summer camps this year the Membership and Programmes team have been hard at work organising the next camping venture. The Autumn Camp was a pilot event looking to bring together young people who are already part of a Woodcraft Folk group and those who are new to the organisation. The camp was delivered by members of the staff team and our ESC volunteers including Lauren Karstadt, Mike Lawrence, Sandra Kourtsounioti, Eireny Akubeze and Lauren Halley. Safe to say it was a success!
Autumn camp 2021 took place at Biblins Youth Campsite from Saturday 23rd to Monday 25th October 2021. The weekend started out with the arrival of the young people on the Saturday starting out with a build your own tent workshop, having all of the young people working together to get their sleeping tents ready. This followed with introduction games and getting to know each other. The evening slowly crept in and the day was ended by warm food, a night walk through the campsite and a nice night around the campfire!
Following onto the next day, Sunday was filled with excitement and adventure! The young people spent the day in two groups. Some heading on a walk over the bridge towards Symonds Yat Rock for half a day of rock climbing. The rock climbing required pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones, cheering each other on and some facing their fears of heights. The second half of the day consisted of Bushcraft skills and activities with Mike. Walking through the forest, gathering and chopping wood and learning how to make and maintain a fire. Followed by cooking on the fire. On the way back to camp, what seemed to be the highlight of the weekend – spotting a group of deer seeing a large Stag in the distance!
Come Monday, the weekend was coming to a close. The morning was spent taking down the tents and playing some active games such as spud and capture the flag. Summing up the weekend, the young people filled out an evaluation. This confirmed seeing the stag was a memory which will last in many of their minds forever. The young people left feeling accomplished and wanting more.
The weekend consisted of continuous teamwork, making new friends and finding out more of what Woodcraft Folk has to offer. The team and volunteers also left with a sense of accomplishment.
