This is the award that we offer to all children who are working with us part of our alternative education programmes. Participants complete 12 challenges relating to the outdoors, and when they have completed them all they receive an award. The challenges are flexible and can be differentiated for the ability and age of the participant, and the challenges have been selected because they are all amazing ways to build relationships with children and young people. The award works particularly well as a 1-1 session and we highly recommend it for children and young people with attachment presentations.
The challenges are:
- Explore somewhere new
- Build a secret den in the woods
- Light a campfire
- Sit quietly and draw a map of the sounds you hear
- Record the living things you find
- Meet a new ‘friend’ in nature
- Go on a barefoot walk
- Follow a sensory trail
- Take home some treasure
- Create visual memories with art or photographs
- Make a journey stick
- Toast marshmallows and cook outdoors
The award is named after Tifa, who worked with Taleblazers for over two years. With us she achieved her John Muir Discover and Explorer Awards, as well as her Arts Award and Duke of Edinburgh Bronze. She was a passionate conservationist who loved the outdoors and brought laughter to everyone around her. Tragically, Tifa passed away in the autumn of 2023, and with her family we have developed this award in her memory. The challenges are based on activities that Tifa enjoyed, and had on her ‘bucket list’ for this year.