MYA’s Outdoor Education Centre launches!
It’s been a long cold winter but spring is finally here at ‘The Dam’. The MYA outdoor education centre is now fully up and running and welcoming groups to the beautiful surroundings of the Lord Derby estate in Prescot, Knowsley. March and April have seen us deliver a wide variety of outdoor education sessions to a broad spectrum of groups. We have seen over 300 young people take part in activities such as canoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, nightline, archery, problem-solving and rock climbing. Its been a joy to see young people from a variety of backgrounds interact with each other and work together to overcome challenges and push their comfort zones. It may be a cliché but the power that outdoor activities have to act as a vehicle for personal and social development cannot be underestimated. We have witnessed young people who previously would struggle with interactions strike up conversations with unknown group members, we have seen the class ‘troublemaker’ support less able members of their team and encourage them to succeed and on numerous occasions, we have stood back whilst young people with no previous leadership experience have stood in front of their group and lead activities like they have been doing it for years.
Although school and youth groups make up a large part of what we do we also deliver National Governing Body (NGB) training courses. Our British Canoeing and Mountain Training leadership and coaching awards are going from strength to strength and we are developing excellent professional links with organisations such as the Canal and Rivers Trust. We can offer a wide variety of courses to support school teachers, youth workers and members of the volunteer sector so they are able to offer outdoor and adventurous activities to the young people from their respective organisations.
Our final offer area is DofE. In November we became the only Directly Licenced Centre in the borough of Knowsley, this allows us to deliver a full DofE programme to anyone who wishes to complete their Bronze, Silver or Gold award. We currently have 30 young people signed up across the three award levels, this will culminate with them undertaking their expedition element this summer which is sure to be a highlight of their year.
As we head into the summer we have lots of plans to get as many people involved in outdoor activities as possible if you would like to find out what we have to offer or would like to book with us please contact the centre manager Matt Giblin on mattg@mya.org.uk