Avon Tyrrell - December 11

The end of year draws near and we are now preparing the Avon Tyrrell House for the festive season. The Housekeeping team will undoubtedly decorate the House amazingly and with our beautiful Christmas trees the House will look very festive.

We will have a Christmas Fayre starting at 4pm on the 7^th December and then at the weekend we will be hosting a family Christmas weekend with activities supported by HCC that will enable children and young people with disabilities and/or additional needs to experience and participate in a host of outdoor and arts and crafts activities as well as evening fun activities. We also have it on really good authority that Father Christmas will make both events, yippee…..

Wildlife Watch Group have recently visited and there was a really good turnout for the volunteer group with some new faces and some old. The group carried on clearing the bracken at the Avon Tyrrell SINC site and clearing the ground back to bare soil. The area is really starting to take shape and the group made a fire to burn all of the bracken and to keep warm. The group were still a little cold so they had a competition to warm them up! This involved using a Kelly Kettle to boil water so they could all enjoy a hot chocolate. After initial difficulties getting the kettles started they were soon blazing. The hot drink was very much appreciated by all. Finally to wrap the day up the group made bird feeders using Pine Cones, seeds and peanut butter. It was a fun day and everyone enjoyed themselves. 

We have now established an Activity Instructor post to Coordinate Inclusive Activities for all visitors to Avon Tyrrell.

As part of Alex Robert’s 2011 NVQ 3 apprenticeship at Avon Tyrrell, Alex chose to work with groups and individuals with disabilities, working towards making their even more accessible and inclusive time whether participating in adventurous activities or not.  Based on the success of his work and the great feedback he was receiving from groups, Alex was able to demonstrate how important having someone with these skills is to those who visit us.

His time required him to manage residential short breaks for families who have someone with a disability, and create an experience that is assessable to the whole family by coordinating an adventurous and non-adventurous residential programme for up to 150 people.  He also worked with specialist groups gathering information before they arrive, liaising with them during their visit, working with them as the lead instructor and seeking feedback post visit to ensure that the entire centre is growing and learning with each and every group that visits.

Groups have commented on how useful it is to have someone passionate and skilled enough to work directly with the groups to guarantee every part of their visit has the required attention.  Groups have also observed how much Avon Tyrrell is developing over time with the accommodation and access becoming more accessible providing positive feedback on the “Can do” attitude the entire Centre has when aiming to meet the needs of all groups that visit the centre.

We have some very excited groups looking forward to their next visit here at Avon Tyrrell and we are very excited to see these develop with particular interest in looking forward to the next inspirational residential in two weeks' time.

We have also had an enjoyable visit from a group of young people from Ringwood Sheiling School.  Earlier in the year they had created some lovely flowers that are currently brightening up the Field Studies Avon Tyrrell Garden having participated in a competition with other local schools to design something for our Garden.  As a thank you for their lovely craft work we provided them with a tour of our site, a chance to re- look around the Garden that now displays some of their work and take part in some fun activities such as making rainbow cards and spotting some animal tracks. We had a lovely day with the young people and hope to see them again soon.

You are most welcome to visit and see what we are up to or to find out more about Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Activity 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