Avon Tyrrell 11th October 2009

Well hi all, what shall we focus on today, I guess as last week we received some emails from the Council of Learning outside the Classroom this is what we should look at. They invited us to become a member, which we duly did, as we are passionate about using the outdoors to enhance learning and experiences. We think that one of the quotes from the LOtC Manifesto is a good reminder to those responsible for Young People to think about what the Manifesto says;

“Every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development, whatever their age, ability and circumstances”

We have always had that ethos here at Avon Tyrrell, but maybe people read the above and think of only school aged children, well we think young people reach beyond the school leaving age and we therefore cater for such groups, so our range goes from primary school all the way to the oldest young people and beyond.

We have the facilities to work with all these groups in an educational environmental setting and we can focus on educational development, personal development and teambuilding and much much more, and we never forget the element of fun that’s needed. We have the perfect environment here at Avon Tyrrell and we want everyone to enjoy what we have, and use our site because it is such a fantastic place. We ask you to take a look on our website www.avontyrrell.org.uk or drop in and say hello because we are determined to get that message across what a wonderful asset Avon Tyrrell is for young people and those responsible for them.

We exist to be used and we try our utmost to make Avon Tyrrell a place you want to use especially for Young People and it is a superb learning venue for all of us.

And lastly, just to let you know we have made further progress with our new environmental pond and with great help from Kate our resident Kiwi, the Eco Health Project and the Maintenace Staff the pond is now begining to become a pond and fill with water.

Remember… experience – learn – develop

Avon Tyrrell 2nd October 2009

Gosh! the time just flies by at the moment and Avon Tyrrell remains very busy. We continue to enjoy visits from schools and currently we have Grange Community School and Northern Junior School staying, and everyone is getting on very well and having fun whilst experiencing the outdoors and learning from their experiences.

We also have three Princes Trust Teams on site staying in our self catering lodges and they are undertaking our 5 day programme.

Members of the Centre also recently partook in the Ringwood Carnival with a homemade float. This was led by Kathryn, our Customer Services Officer, and her willing family as well as other members of the Centre. We should say a big thank you to Kathryn’s husband Andy who kindly built the float in his own time; his help was very much appreciated. The reason for our entry in to the Carnival was to help to raise local awareness of Avon Tyrrell, as even after 60 years of operating Avon Tyrrell in the New Forest it is amazing how many people do not know we are here. We continue to try and improve local knowledge and inform everyone what a wonderful place Avon Tyrrell is, and that it should be used, but as a charity with limited resources this is not always as easy as we would like because of cost….. Any help or advice in this area is always welcome.

For those interested in the site improvements we are now working on, two projects, the completion of our Reed Bed for our sewage plant and finishing off our environmental pond by our strawbale classroom.

To find out more about Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Centre and the many varied opportunities we offer please contact us on Tel; 01425 672347 or email info@ukyouth.org or view our website www.avontyrrell.org.uk/

Remember… experience – learn – develop