Surrey Countryside at High Ashurst 2022

The Surrey Hills National Landscape is the designated area of outstanding natural beauty in Surrey, protecting the landscape for people and nature. This project forms part of the Surrey Hills' 'Nature Connections' programme, connecting communities with barriers to the countryside feel an empowered sense of purpose, belonging and safety in the landscape.

Big Leaf Foundation is a charity that supports displaced young people living in Surrey and their aim is to help them integrate into the UK so they feel more comfortable here. Many of the young people they work with are really isolated and it's very hard for them to meet other people so all the social activities Big Leaf Foundation do are very important.

A group of young people from the refugee community spent the day at SOLD'S outdoor education centre, High Ashurst and to spend the day undertaking group team building activities. Some of the group already knew each other but some live on their own and have not had the opportunity to connect with other people their age from their communities.

Ben Rayner SOLD's training and development coordinator and lead instructor on the programme said:

'During their time with us at High Ashurst, the young people have been rock climbing which is really good activity in terms of communication and trusting one another. It was great to see their excitement which was evident by their noise levels that kept going up and up.'

The main thing we wanted the young people to get out the programme was for them to just have fun. Often stuck inside they don't get many opportunities to enjoy the natural environment whilst enjoying each other's company and building trust within the group.

Other activities the group enjoyed were high and low ropes courses, team tasks as well as creative and artistic sessions in order to increase their confidence in the natural environment'

Connection to nature is integral to both physical and mental well-being and the partnership between Natural Surrey, Big Leaf Foundation and Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development has demonstrated the benefits this group of displaced young people have gained from being able to enjoy the natural environment together. This project is funded by Natural England to empower connection with nature and SOLD have been thrilled to be part of this hugely beneficial programme.

Take a look at this video about their learning journey.