Trustee of youth organisation Woodcraft Folk, Huw, will be coracling down the River Wye to the charity’s Venturer Camp hosted at Biblins Youth Campsite.
Venturer Camp is a youth camp organised by a team of young volunteers for their younger peers. This summer, 400 young Venturers (the 13-17-year-old group of Woodcraft Folk) will spend a week camping, learning, and adventuring at Woodcraft Folk’s wonderfully idyllic campsite, Biblins.
Huw won’t be doing it alone, he will be supported by a team of enthusiastic volunteers in canoes. This is a special trip with an important fundraising goal; they are raising money to bring down costs for campers at Venturer Camp and to improve accessibility at the site – so that no young person is prevented from attending.
Coracles are not your average boat, made with woven strips of willow and have an interesting back story. The coracle (from the original Welsh cwrwgl) dates back to pre-Roman times, first used in the UK over 2,000 years ago! The boats were used in Wales for transportation and fishing, and now Huw and friends will be arriving on the first day of Venturer Camp in style. Whilst the use of coracles are hardly used in Wales anymore, it is reassuring to know there are small pocket areas in West Wales that are keeping the art alive.
There is more excitement than before with this year’s Venturer camp as the last camp of this kind was last held before the pandemic in 2019, instead of featuring every two years. Due to this, the charity extending the age range this year to allow those who missed out so they can have a Venturer Camp Experience! Young people have lost a lot in the last four years – camps like this are now even more important.
Since 2019, many young people have been unable to explore or learn about the great outdoors. Because of this, the UK has seen more young people seek mental health support (NHS Digital 2022 reports a 77% increase in demand). The pandemic, cost of living and job insecurity have all contributed to a situation where many families cannot budget for play, adventures or outdoor education.
Woodcraft Folk Trustee Huw says:
“Please sponsor our coracle trip to help more young people get to Venturer Camp. We want to make sure no one is excluded – the biggest hurdle anyone has to jump over should be stopping the coracle from capsizing!”
To make a donation head to https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/vcamp2023
With your support, Woodcraft Folk can ensure Venturer Camp is open and inclusive to all young people, regardless of their background or financial situation, giving them an opportunity to:
– Make new friends and connections with young people from across the UK
– Develop their resilience and team working through adventurous activities
– Learn about issues that affect them and those around them and how to take action in their local communities in our activism centre
– Improve their independence as they contributing to meal preparation and looking after the environment in and around the campsite
– Have fun exploring the great outdoors!
Just £15 could fund one campers food for a day or £35 can provide a sleeping bag to one camper.
For more information about the fundraiser, contact Huw at huw.hickman@woodcraft.org.uk