Research and Community Programmes
Trinity College – Carmarthenshire Outdoor Youth Project (2005)
Project Evaluation
Background
The Trinity College – Carmarthenshire Outdoor Youth Project was piloted in the winter of 2004 and spring of 2005. The project had two clearly identifiable aims:
- To raise young people’s awareness of the opportunities for higher education study in Wales, in particular in the subject area of outdoor education.
- To introduce young people to outdoor skills and activities as a future recreational interest.
Three local youth clubs (St. Clears, Whitland and Carmarthen) were targeted and information about the project was disseminated to interested youth club members via the Head of Outdoor Education for Carmarthenshire Youth Service and local youth workers. Four young people, aged between 14 and 16, from each of the three youth clubs were invited to attend an introductory evening session at Trinity College aimed at providing the young people with an outline of the project and an opportunity to try out a range of possible activities.
Taking into account the interests and aspirations of the young people a programme of 12 x 3 hour sessions was agreed (appendix 1). Due to the time of year and the young people’s other responsibilities/interests the programme was designed to run on a Wednesday evening. The young people met at their youth club at 1800 p.m. with the evening session commencing at 1830 p.m. at Trinity College, Carmarthen.
The culmination of the programme saw the group organise and undertake a week long kayak and walking expedition to Loch Ness and Ben Nevis in Scotland that resulted in half the members of the expedition successfully reaching the summit of the highest mountain in the United Kingdom.
Evaluation
An evaluation of the project was undertaken six weeks after the expedition. Comments were sought from all those involved with the project including:
- The 12 young people
- 3 youth workers
- The Head of Outdoor Education for Carmarthenshire Youth Service
- The Project lead instructor from Trinity College
- The Project Coordinator/Head of Outdoor Education at Trinity College
The general consensus from those involved in the pilot programme was it had been successful and the young people who finished the project and took part in the expedition had gained much from their involvement. In particular, the two main aims of the project (to raise young people’s awareness of the opportunities for higher/outdoor education study in Wales and to introduce young people to outdoor skills and activities as a future recreational interest were identified by the young people to have been satisfactorily achieved. Indicative evidence includes:
- All participants confirming they were more aware of higher education as a post-school opportunity.
- Ten of twelve participants indicating they were interested in knowing more about outdoor education as a subject of study in higher education.
- Ten of twelve participants indicating they would be interested in doing similar activities with friends and family.
- All participants indicating they would be willing to recommend the programme to their friends.
- All participants suggesting similar projects should be offered to all young people in the county.
In addition a number of other strengths of the pilot project were felt to be worthy of note.
- The establishment of an effective working partnership between Trinity College and the Youth Service in Carmarthenshire.
- The inclusion of an expedition as a culmination to the project
- The contribution of students from Trinity College as secondary instructors.
- The central location of Trinity College as a base/meeting venue.
A number of additional points were also identified as matters that would require further consideration if a similar project were to be repeated in the future.
1. Timing
Disruption was caused to the continuity of evening sessions due to holiday periods (Easter) and staff non-availability (prior arrangements).
The expedition was felt to be too close to school examinations leading to some participant drop-out from the expedition
Recommendation: Start earlier or later in the year in order to allow weekly meetings that are uninterrupted by other events.
2. Attendance
Generally the young people’s attendance was very good however some individuals missed important programme familiarisation experiences linked to camp craft, kayaking and navigation during the project.
Recommendation: All group members who wish to undertake the expedition must have completed at least one preparatory weekend and be experienced with cooking, camp craft and hygiene requirements of expeditions.
2. Staff
Some youth leaders had only limited outdoor skills and expedition experience. This was offset to some degree by their enthusiasm and willingness to take part in the project and support young people’s learning.
Recommendation: Interested youth workers should follow a programme of skills development and training appropriate to planned activities organised between Carmarthenshire Youth Service and Trinity College, Carmarthen.
Outdoor education students from Trinity College provided valuable technical and skills support throughout the programme and in particular during the expedition.
Recommendation: Involve more students with a specialist outdoor education/social inclusion interest in future developments and organise opportunities for students to gain experience working alongside trained youth leaders in local youth club settings.
3. Facilitates at Trinity College
Indoor facilities, in particular the swimming pool (for kayak training), meeting rooms and college grounds were felt to be appropriate and supportive for the activities undertaken. Alternatively, the climbing wall was felt to be of limited value.
Recommendation: Canvas LEA on future plans to invest in an indoor climbing facility. Approach senior management of Trinity College to link building or sitting of a climbing wall into the Estates Department strategic development plan
Improved computer access would allow the young people to integrate IT skills into their learning and allow for the programme to link to school based projects.
Recommendation: Organise computer suite access and incorporate a research project into the programme based upon the chosen venue for the expedition.
4. Other Venues
Both Llanstephan and North Dock were felt to assist young people’s learning.
Loch Ness and Ben Nevis were generally felt to be too distant and required too much time to be spent in transit, alongside the attendant fatigue factor associated with long-distance travel. However, they did provide the expedition with peer group kudos and facilitated a rich learning experience.
Recommendation: Depending upon the focus of the expedition closer destinations could be identified or a longer expedition period (ten days) should be identified for trips to Scotland with due consideration given to the need for a comprehensive risk assessment in advance of their use.
5. Activities
All the activities were received enthusiastically by the young people and helped to broaden their awareness of the recreational opportunities linked to outdoor activities. However, some young people/youth workers struggled to cope with the technical and physical demands of the expedition.
Recommendation: More open water kayaking and local camping experience needs to be built into the programme on additional days (weekends) in order to better prepare the group for the technical and physical demands of the expedition.
6. Equipment
The availability of only six sea kayaks meant that some members of the expedition were disadvantaged on Loch Ness. Tents provided by the Youth Service were not felt to be particularly robust.
Recommendation: LEA to purchase an additional fleet of six sea kayaks and a range of new expedition style tents.
7. Recognition and Publicity
It was generally felt that an opportunity was missed to recognise and publicise the achievements of the young people involved in the project by linking it into the school work, records of achievement, OCN certification and local publicity.
Recommendation: Establish links with schools and organise local publicity events.
Conclusion
The Trinity College – Carmarthenshire Youth Clubs Outdoor Learning Project was highly successful in achieving the aims of raising young people’s awareness of the opportunities for higher/outdoor education study in Wales and introducing young people to outdoor skills and activities as a future recreational interest. The strong links that have been established between Trinity College and Carmarthenshire Youth Service have laid the basis for future programme expansion that would facilitate increasing the number of projects and participants to provide similar opportunities to all the youth clubs in Carmarthenshire on a rotating / annual basis. Realistic projections would identify the potential for between 96 and 128 young people to undertake the same or a similar programme in the future*.
Dr. Andy Williams
Centre for Outdoor Education Research
School of Sport, Health and Outdoor Education
*Figures are based on two courses per week of sixteen young people per course for a rolling twelve week programme repeated three times per year (2 x 16 x 3 = 96) or two courses per week of sixteen young people per course for a rolling ten week programme repeated four times per year (2 x 16 x 4 = 128).
Appendix 1
Trinity College – Carmarthenshire Youth Clubs Outdoor Learning Project
Project Coordinators:
Dr. Andy Williams (Centre for Outdoor Education – Trinity College, Carmarthen)
Mr. Chris Davies (Head of Outdoor Education, Carmarthenshire Youth Service)
Instructor in charge: Mr. Jethro Moore
Programme Outline
|
Week |
Activity |
Content |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Kayak and Climbing wall |
Introductions |
|
2 |
Kayaking |
Warm up |
|
3 |
Climbing |
Intro to climbing wall |
|
4 |
Climbing |
Recap and warm up |
|
5 |
Camp craft & Expedition |
Tents – types, advantages & disadvantages |
|
6 |
Kayaking |
Warm up |
|
7 |
Kayaking |
North Dock |
|
8 |
Climbing |
Recap |
|
9 |
Climbing |
Llanstephan |
|
10 |
Camp craft |
Personal kit – what to wear/what to take/where to get it? |
|
11 |
Camp craft |
Challenge – blindfold tents |
|
12 |
Expedition |
Expedition planning – final details |
