Avon Tyrrell 22nd May 2009

We heard a very good slogan today, “See Your Own Back Yard before the Rest of The World” and this was from the parents of a New Zealand GAP Student who is staying with us for 9 months. What a great statement and what a good reminder to us all at Avon Tyrrell as to what a Great Back Yard we have and why so many people come to visit Avon Tyrrell. Have a look on our website, then come see for yourself, you will love it here http://www.avontyrrell.org.uk/

Another Bank holiday weekend looms and as we say farewell and thank you to Locks Heath and Beecholme Primary Schools, our Princes Trust teams and Sheiling School for staying with us at Avon Tyrrell, we look forward to a busy weekend.

Yesterday unfortunately one visitor was taken poorly and as our staff prepared for the arrival of an ambulance we were surprised by the arrival of the air ambulance. In the end the decision was made not to take the person to hospital, although this caused much disappointment from those concerned who were looking forward to a helicopter ride. The reason I mention this is to demonstrate how well our staff react to a medical problem, as a high proportion of staff are First Aid trained and have advanced knowledge of oxygen and defibrillation. The centre although based in the rural surroundings of The New Forest is also very well supported by the local community responders and ambulance service when a medical issue do arise. We are happy to say the person concerned is again fit and well.

This week we also sent a couple of staff to run a stand at the Children and Young People Show at London’s Earls Court and we hope the two days were of benefit to those who attended the show in learning more about Avon Tyrrell, http://www.avontyrrell.org.uk/ and our charity http://www.ukyouth.org/

Site Developments this week saw our replacement shed arrive, which will be used for our 3 year funded Ecominds Project. This project starts next month in association with Solent Mind and aims to help people with mental health problems, and is funded by The Big Lottery Fund. The project will include gardening, conservation, estate maintenance and environmental projects. Outdoor activities improve the mental and physical health of the participant, and the project will improve the recreation, conservation and educational value of Avon Tyrrell for all to enjoy. We hope this project will help reduce the stigma surrounding mental disorders and help create a society that treats people with experience of mental distress fairly, positively, and with respect.

And finally, we were very fortunate to receive a visit from B&Q Store Planning Team, who volunteered their labour for the day to help out at Avon Tyrrell. The 17 strong team worked with our maintenance team and after an arrival introduction and sausage and bacon roll, they set off to tackle tasks down by our small lake which involved;

• Building an oak fishing swim
• Clearing vegetation to create a parking area for disability groups when visiting our strawbale classroom and environmental area
• Building raised beds for the environmental garden.

It was a hard day’s work and we kept the team going with drinks, biscuits and cake as well as a hearty lunch. We finished the day by giving the B&Q staff time on some of our activities to say a big thank you for their magnificent effort in completing all that we asked of them. We achieved a lot within a short space of time and the B&Q team contributed to making our site a little better for the visitors to Avon Tyrrell.

If anyone wants more details on our corporate volunteer days please do contact us – Tel; 01425 672347 or email info@ukyouth.org

Remember… Young People need to Explore to Learn

5th May 2009

Bank holiday has been and gone and I am happy to say we were very busy with all the accommodation and campsites being used, and fortunately with the good weather we had a lot of positive feedback on how enjoyable everyone’s weekend was. Last week we had two schools staying in the House, Beechwood and Ferndown First, and again the weather was kind and everyone had a marvellous time. In total we had over 100 children staying and despite the large number we managed to accommodate them and give them enough space to do their own thing as well as opportunities to get to know each other. This worked very well and helped develop social skills.

We also had a residential visit from Dairy Crest the UK’s leading chilled dairy foods company who asked us to deliver a three day programme to complement their own in-house development training. The programme would be for individuals from all across the company from a range of different positions. Through discussions, meetings and even a management visit to try the activities, a programme was tailor-made to fit the needs and desired outcomes of the organisation which was to explore the company’s values. From the feedback we received from Dairy Crest Training and Development Team and participants our programme was a success with such quotes as;

“Just a quick note to thank you all for an outstanding three days. The organisation and facilitation was top notch, as we have come to expect from the Avon Tyrrell team”

“I have never seen more powerful and effective feedback sessions as I witnessed last week. I think the five mixed group model we used was a resounding success and exceeded our expectations, we will definitely base future programmes on this model"

“You all did a fantastic job which contributed to the best programme we have ever had, this is a view shared by the entire coaching team”

For more details on what we can offer the corporate sector please visit http://www.avontyrrell.org.uk/page/corporate.jsf or contact Sharon or Mike on Tel; 01425 672347 or email info@ukyouth.org


Site Development;

The volunteer and staff lodge is now complete and in use with some very happy volunteers and staff using it. This lodge has been built and equipped and furnished in 3 months and all the staff who have worked on this project have done an outstanding job in completing the project so quickly and to such a high standard.

We will now be focusing on completing the strawbale classroom, which without too many issues should take 2 to 3 weeks.

Then it’s over to the Reed Bed to get that completed.

And after that we have plenty more thoughts to try and make this site a fantastic venue for all our visitors.

If anyone wants more details on our projects please do contact us – Tel; 01425 672347 or email info@ukyouth.org


Remember… It’s good to be outdoors and PLAY! Whatever your age or Whatever you do ....

23rd April 2009

Easter has gone and we have our first school back in the main Avon Tyrrell House, and it is the local school from Bransgore. Everyone is having a good time and although the school is local to us, because of the uniqueness of the Avon Tyrrell site it still seems as if they have gone on an adventure away from home and they are getting that valuable opportunity to learn outside the classroom. For more info on Avon Tyrrell and why it is so unique and special please visit http://www.avontyrrell.org.uk/ you will be surprised.

We have also recently run a lifeguard course under the watchful eye of Bex Thomas, which was successfully completed by instructor staff and a couple of external students. The participants enjoyed using the outdoor pool and were grateful the sun shone occasionally.

The site this time of year is beautiful as we move further into Spring we see more plants beginning to bud and wildlife. I can just not express how much there is to see and do here and can only recommend you visit and stay in our main grade 1 listed Avon Tyrrell House, or our log cabins, or camp, or just come for the day. Look at our Avon Tyrrell website and see what you can do. http://www.avontyrrell.org.uk/

Remember… Experience Comes from Adventure

Avon Tyrrell 8th April 2009

Well Easter is almost here and we have our daily fundays running which are a great way of entertaining children aged 8 to 12 years for a day. For more info check this link out on our website: http://www.avontyrrell.org.uk/funday_listings_2009.pdf

Last week we had visits from two primary schools, Sarisbury Junior School who stayed Monday to Wednesday and Bartley Church of England School who stayed Wednesday to Friday. Both schools brought lots of children and had a fantastic time with the weather being good all week. If you read this and want to no more about what we offer schools have a look at this web page it may inspire you to come and see what a great outdoor learning venue Avon Tyrrell is: http://www.avontyrrell.org.uk/page/schools.jsf

Development on site since our last Blog, include the rendering of outside of the strawbale classroom, which gives the final finish to the exterior of the building. Unfortunately we ran out of lime rendering and still have a small piece to do at the back, but this will be done very soon.

Also the Volunteer/Staff lodge was sprayed and we will soon begin the internal fit.

And finally, for all those of you who remember the black tarpaulin on top of one of our South facing Bay Windows, it’s gone; as we finally managed to raise the money to repair all 3 Bay Windows and we have been told they will now be fully waterproof. We await the next real rainstorm to see if this is so. Now all we need is the scaffolding removed.

Sorry just one last thing, anyone remember seeing this chap about, he is one of our instructors?

Remember… Every Experience Matters

Avon Tyrrell 27th March 2009

Hello all,

Another week gone by and Avon Tyrrell has been as busy as ever. Last week we had Newlands School staying in the House and this week it was South Wonston Primary school. The Wonston teachers each morning have gone for an early morning run, unseen and unheard by the children and on the last morning their run was different around the grounds in their dressing gowns with the children watching cheering and shouting words of encouragement from their bedrooms and a couple were on the finish line timing them. Afterwards the teachers were spotted in the dining room enjoying a well earn’t cup of tea or two and desperately trying to recover…

Both schools were very well led by their teachers and helpers and seemed to make the most of their visit to us. When speaking to the children they have always been positive and said what a great time they were having, which to us is the most important requirement as we as a charity are here for young people.

At the weekend we had a cross section of Youth Groups staying in the House and Lodges all of whom got on together very well and again had a great time. It is good to also to know we are supporting a big cross section of groups and they are all making the most of their stay with us . You may be glad to know also that we do ask for feedback from those who stay and we do act upon comments as we need to know what people think of us and we are always willing to improve when we can.

In response to the question asked of our last blog “is Avon Tyrrell haunted” why don’t you come and stay with us and find out….

Again we have made little progress on the strawbale classroom, which we are all finding frustrating, yet with only four maintenance staff and so many projects running to try and improve our facilities, we have to accept that things do not always move as fast as we would like. The decking is slowly being built .

The Reed Bed work has pushed on and we now have the bunded walls almost complete. Next stage will be to build the inlet and outlet pipes and sampling point and to fit the liner and then start shipping in stone.

Internal work within the new Volunteer and Staff Lodge is well underway and our amazingly hardworking Estonian Builders will soon be returning home. The electrics and plumbing are almost complete and soon our staff will begin completing the final fitting of the kitchen and bedrooms. We now just need a man to spray the lodge so we can do the rest of the internal work. Maybe These lodges would be an answer to the UK Housing problem, as they are fantastic economical buildings which are environmentally friendly…..

Finally this week we thought you would like to see a picture of one of our Australian GAPS in a stylish hat…

Remember… enjoy everyday

AT Blog 18th March 2009

Hi all, hope your week is going as well as ours?

Well after some initial teething problems for a couple of days our new website finally hit the worldwide web and we are happy to say initial feedback has been good and it is working well. We must thank Mercury1 for their kind generosity to build the site and host it for us for free, without this type of support charities like ours would find it difficult to survive. Special thanks also to Tara from Mercury1 for her help and support in building the site and to Sharon who works for UK Youth and has been key to putting our pages together and redoing them whenever we have had a new bright idea. We know the new website will reach many more groups and individuals and they can now see easily what we have to offer. http://www.avontyrrell.org.uk/.

Last week we had a visit from Townhill Junior School and they had an absolutely splendid week and all the children completed successfully the Junior Achievement Award, so well done to them for doing so well. At the weekend we had the second of 3 visits in successive weeks from Greg City Academy and again it was good to see everyone having a great time. We have also seen the return of campers now our campsites are open.

It has been a fine few days working on the Reed Bed and we are beginning to see the site take shape.

As for the new Volunteer and Staff Lodge, again an amazing few days which has seen the roof fitted and the start of the first fix for plumbing and electrics.

Finally for our followers in New Zealand and Australia, do you recognise this pair and note the exclusive shopping bags……



Remember… it's good to laugh

Avon Tyrrell 10th March 2009

Well I have been rather reminisce recently in writing the blog as we have had so many balls in the air the time has just flown by. I shall now try and cover all that has happened recently to bring you back up to date with events at Avon Tyrrell.

Starting with today and the launch of our new look website, www.avontyrrell.org.uk which I hope you will all review and pass comments that will help us develop it further if needs be. The idea of this website is to make it easier for groups, families and individuals that use us to identify the areas they wish to find information about us on without having to get bogged down with information that is not required, fingers crossed it is well received.

Where next, I will start at the bottom of the Avon Tyrrell site by the small lake and the excavation of ground next to the strawbale classroom to enable volunteers, with our Environment Team, to build an Environment Garden. This garden will be situated next to a pond to allow pond dipping studies to be undertaken on a safe platform around the pond for young people to access easily. The garden itself will have full accessibility for all users and will complement the surrounding lake and marsh area perfectly and will be s super place to learn about our environment

Meanwhile at the top of our site by the lodges we have uncovered a well, which with the assistance of a Southampton University Engineer Student we are looking at the feasibility of using to supply water to the site. This is an interesting project which may end in us doing nothing and continuing to draw all our water from our local water company, as the cost of purifying water for such a large site may not be practical. We know the water company would rather we bought their water however they have never really understood the philosophy of a charity who would rather try and keep its core running costs to minimum so we can spend more money, in our case on young people.

Next; as we are talking about money, we have extended the services provided from our kitchen and now run a limited café services for customers, which we hope will be utilised more in the summer months when we have more campers.

Since our last Blog we have had the snow and rain which saw our lakes at their highest levels ever seen by even the oldest member of staff. The levels are now back to normal and our Activities staff are no longer paddling all over the lower regions of our site.

Finally I cannot go without mentioning where we are with our new volunteer and staff lodge, which has seen the foundation pillars’ completed, the lodge delivered, and now it s being built by a crew of 4 builders from Estonia where it was made. We believe the lodge will have its ridge beam on by the end of the week which is fast considering the team only arrived last Thursday night. The staff and volunteers are looking forward to the lodge completion.

Now that was a very fast update and I promise I will be a little more diligent in publishing our Blog, especially as it is now so accessible on our new web site.

Remember you are always welcome at Avon Tyrrell.