The first group of participants in the Sirius Scholarship Programme arrived back safely from Scotland last night, having spent a week on Rannoch Moor. While the weather had been less than kind, from speaking to Jo as she made her way back on the train, it was clear to me that this has been a truly wonderful experience for all involved. “They’re just a great bunch of kids” she told me “Everyone was keen to participate and had so much to share. It was a pleasure to spend the time with them in such a beautiful, remote setting.”
Jo has a quick turnaround, as tomorrow (Sunday) both she and I will be boarding the train to Glasgow from London’s Kings Cross Station, in the company of the second group of Sirius scholarship holders – this time a mix of three girls and two boys from a variety of schools across the UK, plus Matt O’Connor, a teacher at St. Bonaventures School. Matt, like the students, will be there to experience the programme for himself and enjoy the experiences – in no way is he there to be a leader or guiding force behind the programme, and this is something we are keen to expand upon in year two. It is important that when they get back to their home communities, students and teachers alike are able to use the new skills, experiences and insights that they have gained from their time in wilderness to work towards achieving the results that they want to see on issues such as environment, climate change, species protection and so much more.
The Sirius Scholarship Programme is a joint venture between the Wilderness Foundation UK Ltd., headed by full time volunteer Jo Roberts, our Chief Executive and Tellus Mater, a grant giving foundation created by James Arbib, who along with his assistant Charmaine Dean has worked closely with the Foundation to develop this exciting new programme.
On my return from Scotland, I will be posting up my diary entries here so that you can have more of an insight into this special and unique experience and perhaps be inspired to do something similar yourself.
