The children came to us on Monday and Tuesday for two days of outdoor activities. We built dens in the woods, swung around on hammocks and played loads of outdoor games including Swedish Kubb! The children made their own healthy bannock breads with natural ingredients and we made pancakes for lunch too, all cooked over the campfire. We spent as much time as we could exploring nature and interacting with it, and even our lunches had a foraged theme – some of the braver children tried eating a stinging nettle!

Then on Wednesday night everyone came for an overnight camp, with sleeping bags and teddies in tow. The weather was a little wet but nobody seemed to care! The highlight of the overnight camp was the amazing night walk where we found traces of deer in the woods, a fresh sparrowhawk kill, and listened to the sounds of bats echolocating as they swooped above our heads.

This camp was possible thanks to Social Farms and Gardens, a fantastic organisation who encourage communities to get outside and grow together. They have partnered with the Hilden Fund to get more children outdoors and enjoying nature together, and they kindly provided the funding to allow this camp to go ahead. We are very grateful for the support.

Thank you also to Yuliia and Ash from Torbay Community Development Trust for all their help in co-ordinating, making lists of children, finding spare sleeping bags and organising transport; the amazing Karina and Anya who came as volunteers, we couldn’t have done it without you; our own team Rich, Jo and Elaine who worked so hard throughout the camp; and finally to Freddie and Alex who took on the role of peer helpers and made sure all the children felt happy and safe.

What a great camp!

Our session leaders are experienced SEND professionals, and our camps aim to give every child the opportunity to spend quality time in nature. We aim to give as many children as we can a wonderful experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Available Dates:

19th-22nd August (7-16 years)

Our four day programmes generally run as follows:

• Monday (10am-3pm): Meeting with the children at Treacle Valley for some fun outdoor games, and some sensory activities to switch on our senses and learn about some of the creatures we might find in the outdoors. Lunch is our special bannock bread, cooked by the children over the campfire!
• Tuesday (10am-3pm): Exploring the woods and taking part part in environmental activities and games, with some creative and artistic activities thrown in as the day goes on. Today is pancake day, don’t miss the spectacle of Rich attempting to toss a pancake without either burning it or flipping it into the fire.
• Wednesday/Thursday (5pm-midday, overnight camp): What an experience! Sunset games, fireside storytelling, a walk in the woods at night, marshmallows, breakfast around the campfire. For many children this is their first experience of camping and being away from home and they are always so excited and happy to join us. Children are accommodated in our giant bell tents and will only need minimal camping equipment – a sleeping bag and a torch – everything else is provided.

The format for young people aged 11-16 is similar but the activities are more mature and have a bushcraft/conservation focus. We generally include activities such as firefighting, knife and axe work and tracking with this age group.

The full programme costs £120 per child for the full four days. We can offer sibling discounts if you are booking places for more than one child. Our holiday clubs run at a small loss each year and we do not currently receive any external funding to provide them, but we want to be able to offer these experiences to as many children as possible. We understand that times are tough for lots of families, so if you would like your child to join our Treacle Valley Adventures but cost is an issue, then please let us know and although we can’t promise we will see what we can do.

For more information, please contact Rich at rich@taleblazers.org.uk or to book a place please complete the Microsoft Form below.

We have also ‘twinned’ our new toilet with a toilet in Nepal through Tearfund’s Toilet Twinning scheme, so a Nepali village has also benefitted from the installation of our loo! Rich and Elaine have a soft spot for Nepal, having spent some time out there in the early 2000s, so we loved to be able to support this brilliant scheme.

We will run alternate weeks at our bases at Treacle Valley and at Cockington with a different focus each week. At Cockington we will run an art-based programme, while our Treacle Valley sessions will be focused on traditional crafts and conservation. We want to create friendly and welcoming spaces where you can come and meet other families of children with SEND, learn some new skills, be inspired and have some fun.

Children are very welcome to attend and depending on their age and numbers we may provide alternative activities for them so that parents can relax and enjoy the sessions.

To sign up, please complete our Microsoft Form by clicking here!

Mental Health Benefits

• Stress relief: Crafting can be a great way to relax and de-stress. The repetitive nature of many crafts can help to calm the mind and body.
• Improved mood: Engaging in creative activities can boost the production of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. This can help to improve mood and reduce anxiety.
• Increased self-esteem: Completing a craft project can give you a sense of accomplishment and boost your self-esteem.
• Cognitive stimulation: Crafting can help to keep the mind sharp and improve cognitive function.

Physical Health Benefits

• Improved hand-eye coordination: Many crafts require fine motor skills, which can help to improve hand-eye coordination.
• Reduced pain: Crafting can be a distraction from pain and can help to reduce its intensity.
• Improved sleep: Engaging in relaxing activities like crafting can help to improve sleep quality.
• Strengthened social bonds: Crafting can be a great way to socialise and connect with others.

Additional Benefits

• Creativity: Crafting can help you to tap into your creativity and explore new ideas.
• Productivity: Crafting can help you to be more productive by providing a focus and outlet for your energy.
• Mindfulness: Crafting can help you to be more mindful and present in the moment.
• Sense of community: There are many crafting communities online and in person where you can connect with other people who share your interests.

Why not come along to a Taleblazers session and try some of our crafting activities for yourself? 

The big task of the day was the tarp line and Karl and I arrived early to get the rope in place. We harvested some saplings from the newly-levelled car park area and the team got to work sharpening these into points to use as stakes. Chris meanwhile was salvaging some boards to build a raised fire pit, removing old nails and screws and working with Hollie to cut them to size. It was an amazing team effort with everyone chipping in and showing the children how to use the knives!

The results are fantastic, I can’t believe that this overgrown patch of woodland has become such a wonderful space in such a short space of time and I am so grateful to everyone for all their efforts.

The workshop is for all ages and experience levels and will feature a range of fun games and exercises that explore how we can create exciting art and theatre in response to a particular place. In this case, we will be exploring the spirit of Treacle Valley woods.

The workshop is part of the celebrations for Doorstep Arts’ upcoming show, The Inheritance – a new play created by Doorstep Youth Theatre taking place at Kent’s Cavern in July and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Please meet in the woods at the usual place from 6.30pm and we will have hot drinks and a campfire to welcome you. If you haven’t been to an Earthworks session before, please drop Rich an email at rich@taleblazers.org.uk and we will arrange to meet you at the campsite car park. We expect the evening to end at around 8pm.

Our lovely team also busied themselves in clearing a pathway between two big tress so that we could move the slackline into a better location. It now has a lovely long run and when the children came back from Tim’s session they loved bouncing and balancing along it!

Thanks to everyone who came, it was a lovely fun morning! Our next Earthworks event is on the evening of Tuesday July 4th when Doorstep Arts will be putting on a special session for us.

Slacklining is a great way to stay active while also improving balance, focus, and coordination. Plus, it’s just plain fun! It’s amazing how quickly they can make progress, developing confidence after a few turns up and down the line.

Students are encouraged to work together to figure out the best way to use the slack line and help each other out as they learn. It’s a great way to build teamwork and cooperation skills — all from just something so simple as two sturdy trees and a line.

If you visit us at one of our Earthworks community days, you’ll have to come and give it a go!