Landscape showing Challenge Wales anchored at Lundy Island

The Impact of Blue Space

Posted by Challenge Wales on

Research by various sources has found that ‘Blue Space’ can be good for us. And with this week being Mental Health Awareness Week and Challenge Wales being a charity which provides outdoor learning at sea it seemed a perfect opportunity to highlight the positive impact of being on the water.

The Ocean can have a hugely positive effect on our mind and mood and did you know that according to the Mental Health Foundation, 65% of people find being near water improves their mental health.

NHS and Mind have identified Five Steps to Wellbeing and every step directly fits into a Challenge Wales voyage (whether you are sailing with us for a day, a week or longer!). Our own independent research proved there was a positive impact between being on one of our boats; Challenge Wales or Adventure Wales and positive mental wellness; take a look at a couple of our case studies.

Sail training is a unique type of outdoor education, in fact it is outward bound on the water providing hands-on experience, leadership training and personal growth opportunities for young people. It isn’t all about sailing it’s the other fun, social and teamwork parts that creates the impact.

Step 1: Connect – sail training is about making new friends and learning more about existing ones. It’s a social experience.  Feel that sense of belonging as you work as part of a team…everyone is literally in the same boat (pardon the pun).

Step 2: Get Active – According to the NHS being physically active can help improve your mental wellbeing. How? By raising self-esteem, by setting goals and achieving them and the chemical changes that happen in your brain (those little endorphins) which helps to positively change your mood. Sail training activities are designed to involved the whole crew, working to a common team goal and setting & achieving personal goals.

Step 3: Take Notice – Paying more attention to the present moment can improve your mental wellbeing – this includes the world around you as well as your own thoughts and feelings. While sat onboard Challenge Wales you can breath the fresh air, feel and hear the rain drops, keep a look out on the horizon, awe at the dolphins swimming alongside you or do star gazing if you are on a night watch. Why not listen to the lapping of the water against the boat once the engine is switched off. There’s no time for scrolling now!

Step 4: Learn – Learning new skills can help boost confidence, help you connect with others and sail training is a great way to do just that; learn how to tie knots, learn a new nautical language, learn about new ports and geography, learn about ocean literacy and science, learn how to cook a meal for 18 hungry crew. Even better – no prior knowledge of sailing or any of the above is required!

Step 5: Give – Small acts of kindness can help create positive feelings. Whether a volunteer donating time and skills, or someone on board helping to make the cup of tea. We are all part of a team and we all look after each other.

In addition to the mental health benefits, sail training is fun and exciting, provides an opportunity to explore the natural world, learn new skills, meet new people, improves confidence and can be life- changing for many. It can help young people develop coping skills and resilience. It can open up doors to new things, be the start of a marine career or working in the outdoor sector, it could be the start of volunteering or just be something to give yourself a new start and a bit of down time.

Can you help us? Challenge Wales is looking to understand more about the needs of young people, in particular those facing mental health issues and those effected by the cost of living crisis to ensure our  programme is as accessible as possible to those who will benefit. It is a project we are working hard to find funding for. If you have a few moments and wish to compete or add any comments to our survey as you have experience of working with young people with Mental Health issues in particular you can complete it here.

Challenge Wales – Helping young people achieve their potential
through outdoor learning at sea.

Young people winching onboard Challenge Wales yacht

Boat Camp Is Back

Posted by Challenge Wales on

Following the success of our first Boat Camp in 2021, we’ve launched another date for Boat Camp for those that are a little bit older aged 16 -25 years.

Although most young people jump on Challenge Wales or Adventure Wales boats as part of a group, we know that being part of a group isn’t possible for everyone and that was when Boat Camp was realised.

The next Boat Camp is Thursday 14th April and is a full day on the sail training vessel Adventure Wales. No sailing experience is required to take part and all waterproofs and equipment is provided.

Those onboard might be interested in trying something new, improving their social skills or learning new activities as part of a team. The day voyage is great for those looking to put something on their CV and highlight those important soft skills, while others are looking to just have a day on the water with like-minded people. The activities onboard help people understand more about ocean literacy, are evidenced to improve mental health and wellbeing and give young people an opportunity to learn more about having a career at sea and future opportunities. Our experienced crew will be there to help everyone get the most out of the day and support them.

The full cost for the day is £95 but a guaranteed bursary is available to reduce the cost to £50. Should a participant require further financial assistance then an additional bursary of £20 is available which reduces the full cost to just £30. Fundraising has made the bursary possible, but if someone doesn’t require a bursary then they can pay what they can afford (between £30 and £95) and the bursary not utilised will go towards helping someone else to come onboard.

To book a place, please email the Challenge Wales office or call 029 20 704657.

Download the Boat Camp poster here!

The Only Outdoor Education Provider To Be Shortlisted For a Welsh Government Award!

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What a huge achievement it was to be nominated for a Welsh Government Youth Work Excellence Award 2020. It was amazing to see so many fantastic youth work projects alongside us. Every finalist was deserving of a win. There is certainly some magical stuff going on in youth work in Wales that isn’t always seen and even more so when you’re in the middle of a pandemic.

Although Challenge Wales didn’t win an award (we were nominated in the Equality and Diversity category), we were alongside some really exciting, life-enhancing, life-changing projects that were making a positive difference to the young people of Wales, but it was interesting to see that Challenge Wales was the only finalist to represent the Outdoor Education sector.

Although it was very nice to be the only Outdoor Education provider shortlisted, we were surprised there weren’t more when Outdoor Education plays a major part in many young people’s development…..and Wales is home to an amazing outdoor classroom!

Outdoor Education is a personal experience, helping young people develop skills that can’t be learned the same way in a formal setting, it can put everyone on the same playing field regardless of their abilities and background, it provides a skills-focused learning environment with adventure and fun within a framework of safety.

Outdoor Education gets minds exploring and encourages participants to take greater responsibility in their actions, it’s about active learning and problem-solving, it helps the understanding of the natural environment and in many creates a life-long appreciation for, and long-term engagement with, the outdoors. The outdoors can create a piece of calm and digital-detox space in the madness of the modern Covid-19 world. Our own independent evaluation of our activities evidenced the positive impact and improvements being on the water had on mental health.

Outdoor Education, and going to sea, is a truly powerful tool and residential experiences in particular, as we often see on our sail training vessels, are life-changing, empowering and offer positive spaces for all.

At the moment many outdoor education organisations are struggling while residential experiences are banned despite operators like ourselves putting in new covid-safe practices and changing how activities are run.

Everything we do in life is often not risk-free, and like all outdoor education providers assessing and managing risk is something we are very much used to….it is at the heart of our operations. We sail with the most precious cargo imaginable – people. We know COVID-19 is here for a while yet and with this uncertainty, we know we have to work with this shadow over us and adapt to manage the new normal.

For those in formal education, outdoor education will form part of the new curriculum in Wales which is supposed to be introduced in 2020. Sail training and outdoor centres are going to play a vital role in this. For those in informal and non-formal learning settings, the Youth Work Strategy for Wales is about ensuring young people can thrive and have the tools and experiences to ensure that. Sail training and outdoor centres play a vital role in this as well.

The Environment Act (Wales) 2016 and the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (Wales) 2015 together create modern legislation for improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. Did you know that outdoor learning contributes to all 7 Wellbeing Goals as well as providing ‘opportunities and activities that expand horizons within and beyond the traditional learning environment of the classroom.’ (source: Wales Council for Outdoor Learning).

Like many other outdoor education providers, we feel we can offer a fantastic, positive outdoor learning experience and this educational experience shouldn’t shut its doors on those that need it.

“I regard it as the foremost task of education to ensure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self-denial, and above all, compassion”
Kurt Hahn (A key figure in the development of experiential education and founder of Outward Bound)

Challenge Wales is supporting the ‘SaveOutdoorEd’ campaign and working with the sail training industry and outdoor sector to ensure its voice is heard. Feel free to tag us into the conversation using the hashtag #SaveOutdoorEd and don’t forget you can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.