The Green Team (Edinburgh & Lothians)

Green Shoots Blog: 2012-2013
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You can read more about the Green Shoots programme on the About Green Shoots page. This News page gives you a flavour for what we've been doing recently, and you can also read news from 2006, 2007 , 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

2012 in a Nutshell

2012 was a year of consolidation, goodbyes and new ventures. Over a year has now passed since The Green Team moved to Tynecastle HS, and although there was no transition programme this year, more pupils from Tynie than ever before engaged with a variety of Green Shoots programmes, including Tynecastle’s very first Forest School.

That’s not to say past connections with other partner organisations or new opportunities across the city were not also explored. The Firrhill Forest School went out for a record breaking 7th time! The key person responsible for the success of this programme over the years is Paul Chambers, Senior Guidance Teacher and Acting Deputy Head at Firrhill.

Paul has been a real champion and ally of Forest School and after many years at Firrhill is now moving onto pastures new as Deputy Head at the Royal High School. Everyone at The Green Team is hugely grateful for his support, and would like to wish him well with for the future. We look forward to working with him again in the future.

The 2012 Referral Programme saw the widest catchment of schools ever engaging with Green Shoots, with new schools such as Leith Academy, the Royal High and Drummond Community High School all getting on board.By the end of the year some 38 pupils participated in 43 sessions, spread across 2 x Forest Schools, 2 x Referral Programmes and the ever popular Residential Group. 29 pupils completed their John Muir Award, with a further 13 other young people using their involvement to work towards their Duke of Edinburgh Award. Funders and ThanksMany thanks once again go to our funders; The Robertson Trust, Henry Smith Charity and Garfield Western Foundation. We are also very excited that additional recent funding from The Big Fund has enabled us to take on Emily Sanderson as a Youth Development Project Worker.

Emily comes with a great deal of skill and experience from working with the Rock Trust and will be looking to specifically engage groups from single schools interested in a programme of outdoor learning. Emily will also be involved in supporting young people onto our weekend programmes.

Thanks once again must go to all our partner organisations who supported us throughout the year; East Lothian Ranger Service, Midlothian Ranger Service, The City of Edinburgh Natural Heritage Service, Hopetoun House Trust, Water of Leith Trust, National Trust for Scotland, Girls Brigade, Blinkbonny Woods and the Scottish Seabird Centre.

Further thanks go to the schools and guidance teams who referred and supported pupils throughout the year.

Finally, the Green Team prides itself on its volunteer development and Green Shoots was certainly grateful of the 28 sessions that our amazing volunteers and sessional workers contributed to. Thanks to; Hannah, Andy, Jeff, Ian, Dan, Iain, Emily and Bob.

Here’s to another jam packed year in 2013!

S3 REFERRAL PROGRAMME (March – April)

The beginning of the year saw a continuation of the Referral Programme, with a second selection of young people from 4 different schools form a group to undertake a variety of conservation tasks, including tree thinning, removing invasive species and pathwork.

A variety of local green spaces were explored, including Springfield Mill, Colinton Dells, Vogrie Country Park and several National Trust for Scotland properties, namely The Pineapple and Dollar Glen.

The 6 week programme not only gave pupils the opportunity learn in a practical manner, but also enabled them to engage working in a safe, supportive environment where any issues they encountered at school such as bullying were left behind.

As a consequence of the high staff to pupil ratio and supportive nature
of the group, all group members showed great progress in their personal confidence, resilience and ability to take responsibility for themselves.

The final presentation was well attended and feedback from schools has been positive, with one teacher commenting that one of her pupils;

“…has been subjected to a lot of dreadful bullying and is scared to come to school. The only bright thing in his life at the moment is your work”

One of the group members was pleased that; “I feel more confident and speak to people in school more.”

Another pupil shared his thoughts during a group review; “I prefer it out here to the city. It makes me feel calm and less angry.”

FOREST SCHOOL, Firrhill HS (Feb – May)

The long standing relationship between the Green Team, Firrhill HS and the Pentland Hills Regional Park continued with the successful delivery of the 7th Forest School.

9 pupils were identified by the Guidance Team as suitable participants for the programme, which aimed to facilitate personal development, team work skills, and foster a positive attitude and connection between the pupils and their local environment.

The Forest School was once again based at Bonaly Country Park, where the group contributed to the ongoing work of the Pentland Hills Ranger Service.

The programme was also supported by the National Trust for Scotland. Community Partnerships Development Coordinator, Robert May was keen to further develop his own understanding and knowledge of Forest Schools and was invaluable in helping to co-deliver the programme.

Tasks included repairing a bridge, levelling steps, clearing cross drains, thinning trees, mulching a hedgerow and contributing to the moorland management plan by cutting back gorse and monitoring juniper.

The group also engaged in a variety of environmental activities, basic bush-craft and outdoor living skills designed to strengthen each young person’s relationship with the outdoors. A first class shelter was designed and built by the group, carving and axing skills learnt and applied to tasks, and alternative forms of fire lighting experimented with, from Neolithic methods to modern day magnesium steels.

On several occasions the group also explored the wider boundaries of the Regional Park, focusing on map work skills and applying them to an orienteering course and several hikes. The group also learnt about the wider land management of the Regional Park by visiting a local farm and conducting an interview with one of the Pentland Rangers.

The end of the programme culminated with a search and rescue scenario where the group was challenged to work together to locate a casualty and administer appropriate first aid treatment. The group rose to the challenge, applying all newly acquired skills appropriately to successfully complete the task.

The programme finished up with a celebration back at Firrhill HS which parents, teachers and friends were invited to. Pupils from past Forest Schools and prospective future group members also attended, underpinning the importance, value and legacy of the Firrhill Forest School.

Acting Deputy Head Paul Chambers commented that due to participation in Forest Schools,

“Pupils are engaged and involved, rather than marginalised and excluded…formal exclusions for pupils involved with the Green Team have reduced dramatically”.

ADVANCED PROGRAMME (June – September)

The Advanced Programme began in June and involved 8 pupils identified by staff as those who had made sound progress in the Forest School or Referral programme earlier in the year, and who had demonstrated an enthusiasm and aptitude for outdoor learning.

Each pupil referred had demonstrated a significant improvement in their personal and social development during their previous involvement and expressed a particular interest in accessing further opportunities to work and learn in the outdoors.

With 6 schools being represented across the city, the programme had the largest geographical spread of any past Green Shoots provision.

The programme was designed to increase the level of challenge faced by participants, whether it was in the complexity of a conservation task, length of a hike, or level of responsibility and personal organisation required on project.

The programme culminated in two residentials, one based indoors to lay the foundations of living and working together, and one under canvas, providing participants with the opportunity to apply all the skills they have learnt on their Green Shoots journey.

The group were involved in a variety of more complex and challenging conservation tasks, including repairing path edging, painting fencing, creating a rockery and hibernacula, thinning trees and improving drainage infrastructure.

The first residential was a great success, with hunting for creatures of the deep during a pond dipping session, and cooking a giant feast of home-made burgers and calzone pizzas over an open fire proving to be highlights of the trip.

After a break for the summer the group reconnected with a couple of local sessions, and undertook the challenging task of removing remnant fencing in preparation for further hedgerow planting. The group planned out the all important food menu for the second residential by participating in a rather unorthodox ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ challenge and worked off their meal with an ascent of Arthur’s Seat.
The second residential saw the group rise to the challenge of camping in remote woodland in East Lothian. There were some alarmed faces after being introduced to the composting toilet, but the group adapted quickly to their new home and applied all the skills learnt over the summer into 3 days of outdoor living.

A variety of conservation work was undertaken, including working in partnership with the Scottish Seabird Centre to remove tree mallow on Craigleith Island to promote the puffin population, and fence building to contribute to the ongoing meadow restoration work at Blinkbonny Community Woodland.

Craft and Design skills were applied to the task of building bird boxes, and old Neolithic techniques for making tinder, lighting fire and creating traditional wooden spoons were also explored. The group cooked all their meals on open fire and at night undertook a ‘track and trails’ hike with the East Lothian Ranger Service, culminating in bat watch at the local graveyard.
On the final day the group were challenged to design, build and sail a home-made raft. Despite its dubious name ‘Titanic’, the raft and group were more successful than its namesake.
The last review was a poignant one, significantly so when one individual who had frequently complained about missing his computer games, shared his feelings by saying;
“I like it here. It’s better than my bit. (Edinburgh) It’s quieter, I don’t feel so stressed out and angry.”
The end of programme presentation was well attended by support staff, parents and teachers, where the group had the opportunity to share some of their skills by leading a mini conservation task and teach some carving and fire lighting skills to their families.

FOREST SCHOOL, Tynecastle HS (Sept - Dec)

The final programme of the year was also a first; the first Forest School working with pupils from Tynecastle High School.

The programme was integrated as part of an alternative curriculum engaging nine S3 pupils in a year-long John Muir Award. Before participating in the Forest School the group undertook a variety of challenges in and around the school grounds, including planning and planting a wildlife garden and completing maintenance tasks at a nearby cemetery.
As per previous Forest Schools the programme was based in Bonaly Country Park in the Pentland Hills and saw the group work in partnership with the Ranger Service (now the Natural Heritage Service) to complete a variety of ongoing tasks, such as contributing to the gorse management plan, clearing out the cross drains on upland paths and contributing to the work at the wildlife garden.

Basic bushcraft and forest skills in knotwork, firelighting, shelter building, mapwork, carving, axing and outdoor cooking were also taught. The group also explored some of the more remote locations of the Pentlands on several hikes and investigated the role of the Ranger Service by conducting an interview.
The group showed great progress in areas of personal organisation, resilience, cooperation, working within boundaries and listening skills. Some of the reflections of the pupils at the final presentation are included below;
“Before the programme I didn’t really know anyone and felt left out, but now I feel really included and liked being able to help others.”
“I feel more confident now than before and able to tell people how I feel.”
“I learnt skills in tracking, using axes and leadership. I feel more able to stick up for myself”.

S1 REFERRAL PROGRAMME (October – Dec)

The autumn saw the 2012-2013 Referral Programme kick off once again.

The programme alternates yearly between S3 and S1 pupils in order to provide the opportunity for long term work with young people at two identified key stages of High School; S1 being the challenging adjustment of making the transition from Primary to Secondary, and S3 being a difficult and pressurised time for many pupils who are close to school leaving age.

Participants had a wide variety of needs and greatly benefited from the high staff to pupil ratio.
As with all Referral Programmes a variety of conservation work, basic bushcraft skills and outdoor play was used as the vehicle for learning, promoting personal resilience and inter-personal skills. Each session took place in a different location to expose pupils to a variety of locally accessible environments and encouraged a connection with the outdoors.
The group participated in a variety of conservation tasks, including clearing invasive species, tree thinning, fence removal, path and drainage work, woodland management and contributing to the protected Green Hairstreak Butterfly Biodiversity Action Plan.

Despite some extremely wet and cold weather, the group attended regularly and engaged in a positive manner. Let’s hope next year’s Referral Programme sees a bit more sunshine!