Thrive Programme 2025 - thriving a year later with The Green Team

Thriving with The Green Team

The Thrive Programme is one of The Green Team’s most impactful programmes, successfully supporting some of Edinburgh’s hard to reach young people.

It is a specialist therapeutic programme for young people wanting to improve their mental health and can have a positive lifelong impact. 

Thrive works with people for up to a year and offers an invaluable opportunity for a small group of young people to form friendships and work together as a team. 

The small group size and long-term work allow the participants to feel safe to be themselves, make friends, and talk with other young people or adults. 

This year, six young people have worked so hard and achieved so much for themselves. We caught up with them just as they successfully completed their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.

A year later

Working long term allows our Thrive participants to become familiar with being outside. Nature and being outside has become a special resource that these young people can access for support with their mental health for the rest of their lives.

This year, six young people have worked so hard and achieved so much for themselves, and completed all these awards: 

  • bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award 
  • Junior Forester Award
  • Saltire Award 
  • Green team completion certificate 

The Duke of Edinburgh Award, for example, involved expedition training which supported the young people to gain life skills in teamwork and leadership. In turn, they have developed skills in inclusion, consensus decision-making and communication, supporting one another with their mental health. 

Throughout the summer term they have worked so hard to learn the expedition skills they needed: putting up tents, using stoves, map reading, route planning, emergency procedures and so much more. 

The expedition was a tough challenge- both physically and mentally. The young people learned to rely on themselves and each other.  

This experience has been transformational for each of the young people on the Thrive programme. Attending a weekly programme was a huge achievement for all of the young people. The expedition was the culmination of the year long programme for many. It supported the participants to improve their self belief and mental health. 

We are so proud of the young people for completing this challenge. Most importantly they are proud of themselves. 

Thrive Programme 2025 - last session (1)

This year’s Thrive team talk about their experience

Visiting more rural and countryside locations allows participants to experience different ways of living. One participant said,

‘Wow, I love this place! Wow, I love walking here!’

Other participants were keen to share their feedback on the Thrive Programme too,

‘Thrive has given me a platform to be more confident and express myself. In this group I don’t feel any anxiety, fear or judgment. When I first came to Thrive I didn’t feel all that comfortable. I felt a bit nervous for the first 5 or 6 weeks. I didn’t know people, I didn’t strike up conversation much. But it’s a lot easier now. I know everyone, the environment, and I’m more familiar with what I am doing.’

‘I’ve made a lot of amazing memories and I got to meet so many nice people.’

‘I learned how to use tools more, cutting wood for the bridge which is useful. I also learned which edible plants to eat.

‘I think my social connection here is good. Being at Thrive gives me a distraction from my problems. Getting fresh air and exercise if also helpful for me. I feel proud of my achievements.’

‘Thank you for being there for me. I felt really happy and appreciated and safe in that space, and it was needed.’

‘I love being able to do something meaningful. We have helped look after the woodland.’

‘A huge thank you for you all for everything you did for me. I will never ever forget this memory of being in a Green Team Thrive group, and how much I’ve grown from it. I learnt so much and was very proud and happy that I managed to do my best. I will never forget the expedition and it still makes me happy by thinking of it. I got to explore because of you!’

‘The Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition was a good experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I really enjoyed it. The expedition changed my perception of myself as I didn’t know I could do something like that, and what I was capable of.

Thrive Programme 2025 - last session (4)
Thrive Programme 2025 - last session (3)
Thrive Programme 2025 - last session (2)

The feedback we receive from parents, carers and our partners also demonstrates the essential impact of The Green Team’s Thrive Programme,  

‘John asked me yesterday if he could come back to school full time. You imagine how delighted I was that HE asked. He also asked if he could work on his reading. 

‘I can’t tell you how massive this is after how difficult John has found attending school over the last year. I for one would say a lot of this progress is down to his attendance on the Thrive course.’ 

Discover more about Thrive

Are you a young person who feels you would benefit from Thrive?
Working with a young person who you feel would benefit from Thrive?