August 2005

During these two events, and all the above, there was plenty of time to see the flowers, the insects and birds. Children were fascinated by the lizards and spiders to be found under rocks and occasionally in tents. They breathed in the fresh air and overcame their fear of the dark through telling stories, eating marshmallows and watching the stars at night around the campfire. We were able to use solar lights on the campsite to light the way to the compost loos and leave a candle burning in the kitchen – a welcome site for anyone brave enough to venture outside their tents. They visited the Lama Farm in the village nearby and learned woodcarving from a Jamaican woodcarver on site. We now have a carved wooded face gracing one of our campsites in amongst the gorse and hawthorn trees. The following are feedbacks from participants:

“I felt being at Pertwood had a strong bonding effect for us all and this has helped us with our projects ad Peer Motivators back in London” Deyton, 22 years.

“It teaches you about another side of life that we should all experience and understand and gives an opportunity to break from London’s fast pace and to bond as a group” Sabrina, 17 years.

“Good fun, exciting and educational. I would definitely do it again...P.S. double thumbs up!” Ebru, 13 years.

July 2005

A group of 8 young people (16 – 22 years) from roundhouse Peer Motivator’s Programme in Camden came to Pertwood for a weekend. After surviving a torrential downpour of rain during the night, the group emerged in the morning wondering what they had let themselves in for. However, they were in great spirits and a pleasure to work with. They threw themselves into the practical workshops such as clearing gorse, laying pathways, building shower stands, chopping firewood. We could all see the pressures of London life drop away as these young people expressed the depth of their experience through wholehearted participation in these workshops and in the poetry, martial arts, music and dance sessions. They also particularly enjoyed the night walks and soaked in the huge Pertwood vistas through a landscape drawing workshop with Peter Rush.

June 2005

40 children spent two nights at Pertwood. GLOBAL GENERATiON provided a programme of workshops which supported the children in developing the site and which will be enjoyed by other children in the future. We now have a large new bench on site built by 6 – 9 year olds who were very proud of themselves and a wood-store made out of willow. Many learned to do stone carving – creating tree names out of stone which are dotted around the campsite. We were honoured to have internationally renowned conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace, Dr. Jane Goodall join us for the weekend. She captivated 65 of us with stories about the animals that she so readily understands and helps and challenged us to think about the world in a bigger context. Through a poetry writing workshop a song was written and sung by the entire group to send to children involved with Roots and Shoots in Tanzania.

May 2005

13 children spent three days camping at Pertwood. The weekend was a rare and beautiful white hawthorn blossom and sunset filled time. The weekend opened the children’s eyes and hearts and the visibly relaxed with fun and laughter running across the meadows, many seeing cows and sheep for the first time. GLOBAL GENERATiON structures the weekend to help children crawl out of their sleeping bags early, do martial arts, then have breakfast, wash, and tidy camp. We were able to provide workshops for fire sign making which is especially important being a campsite surrounded by gorse. The children who did this workshop gave a safety talk to others. They had fun making their own shower stalls amongst the trees and pulled deeply on their experience in poetry writing and drawing workshops, got stuck in gardening on the permaculture garden and plastering the walls of the new straw bale house. They helped to cut back the gorse and open up pathways. The children cleaned their own plates in the open air washing area, learning to separate food for composting and helping prepare the food most of which was local and provided at cost by Eleanor and Tony of the Purely Organic Store and Trout Farm nearby.

February 2005

15 children came to Pertwood in the February depts. Of winter and we stayed this time at the Henrietta Barnet Field School in a village nearby. These children braved the freezing cold weather on the wind-swept fields of the organic farm and planted trees over two days. They had dressed warmly but soon realised they needed more warmth. They dug holes for the saplings and played games running up and down fields to keep warm and to keep spirits high. Back at the Field School, GLOBAL GENERATiON gave a presentation and led a discussion about trees and forests across the world and the problems of deforestation. The children responded with great interest and sensitivity about their part in protecting the environment. The next day they were fully prepared to face the cold again and to continue planting. Many had never been out of London before. They were very courageous and expressed a wish to come back again despite the extreme conditions.