Youth Vision programme for High Schools
Our weekday programme is offered to Midlothian High Schools and we pick up groups of 6-8 pupils and transport them to our base in the Pentland Hills. Currently, Youth Vision runs on two weekdays for ten-week blocks in autumn and spring providing places for eight participants each day. They spend one day per week for ten weeks following the Youth Vision programme, doing some work around the cottage and taking part in our activities before being taken back to school at the end of the day. We will also provide a follow-up programme which includes additional counselling and support when required for any young people who have completed our programme. We support the Curriculum for Excellence and it is recognised that outdoor learning motivates young people to become successful learners and develop as heathy, confident, enterprising and responsible citizens.
Our days begin with the walk up to the Steading and all the young people take responsibility for transporting the water and equipment required for the day's activities which will include chopping wood for the fire, digging and planting herbs and vegetables in the garden, repairing a section of dyke or working towards their John Muir Award. This gives an appreciation of the difficulties faced by the original inhabitants of Threipmuir and the opportunity to reflect and compare this with their own lives.
Cooking and fire making are popular activities and it's an opportunity for the young people to prepare and cook fresh vegetables. They take these skills home along with an new awareness of the joys of hot, home-made soup or potatoes baked on the fire after a morning outdoors!
Our ambition is to be able to provide enough places for young people to have groups running at our base in the Pentland Hills, Threipmuir Farm Steading, four days of the week all through term time.Our aim is to educate and develop the strengths and confidence of young people in their transition to adulthood and to provide them with the opportunity to identify and work out any personal problems through practical wilderness exercises, archaeology, dry stane dyking, storytelling, drama, art and discussion circles.
We work with young people who may be struggling with formal education and we aim to promote their development by confronting problems of isolation, inadequacy of expression and lack of support.
We aim to connect the youngsters to Scotland's past through learning about the history and archaeology of Threipmuir Steading. The Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting Youth Vision to protect and rebuild the 18th Century farm steading and our ultimate goal will be to completely restore the buildings.
For more information and to find out what Youth Vision could offer your school please use our Contact Form or phone Sara on 0131 4493547
