We wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year and hope during this madly busy time that you will find a quiet, wild and natural place to sit peacefully and draw breath. We certainly need this at the Foundation after a very busy year with great outcomes and several exciting future plans for 2012.

We will be sending out a more comprehensive newsletter in the New Year when hopefully people will have more time to digest news. As a taster we will include our achievements and future hopes for:

• Sirius – our environmental leadership programme in Scotland
• Wild Swans – our passion filled programme for young women in social and environmental leadership
• TurnAround – working with some of the most vulnerable young people in the country and linking wilderness, connectedness to nature and vastly improved self esteem
• Wilderness Trails – for young people in South Africa – getting to understand the true value of wilderness experience for their own development but also creating guardians of wilderness and wild places into the future.
• Down to Earth – linking nature and our neighbours through community gardening
• Sustainable Peace Network – continuing to share the learning of how wilderness experience can ‘humanise’ enemies and people in conflict with each other,helping to find common purpose and understanding.

• Expanding several of our established projects into new areas of the country;
• Rewilding our meadows and natural space around our offices in partnership with Strutt and Parker (Farms) with an educational motive around farming and bio-diversity;
• Taking on a base in Perthshire, Scotland from which we will run several of our programmes
• Setting up a Wilderness Academy to provide environmental education in Essex and its surrounds.

Your support is vital in helping us to achieve our goals.   On behalf of our beneficiaries, the staff and our trustees, may I thank you for the help that you have given the Foundation throughout 2011, and the many precedeing years.   This past twelve months has highlighted the vital importance of our work more than ever before and the urgent need to reconnect people with the natural world.

With your continued support, through Friends Subscriptions, Donations, attendance at our fundraising events and so generously giving of your time, next year we will be able to touch even more lives.

Thank you.

No related posts.

Christmas Message

Derek Jacobs M.A. (Oxon.)  was a South African born businessman.  He received his BA from Rhodes in 1965 and went on to enjoy a prestigous career leading businesses to success in senior roles, including  MD of Metal Box (SA) and later Nampak Ltd.

During his time in South Africa Derek was an ardent supporter of our sister organisation the Wilderness Leadership School and was described by our Founder and Patron Dr. Ian Player as “one of the few people who understand wilderness and business.”

Derek and his family relocated to the UK and following a period as an active trustee of The Wilderness Foundation, he was unanimously elected to the role of Chairman on the retirement of his predecessor Euan Macdonald.   Under Derek’s guidance and with his support the Foundation has gone from strength-to-strength, and both we and the wilderness movement owe Derek a great debt.

Derek was much admired by staff and colleagues alike and is someone for whom we will all hold a lasting affection and very fond remembrances.

Derek died peacefully with his family around him on 13th November, following a difficult illness bravely borne.   He will be sadly missed by all.

No related posts.

Derek Jacobs

Survival of the species, for most of the world,  has a human agenda as number one on the list whether we like it or not..

Visiting a very poor community on the fence line of the Imfolozi Game Reserve brings this rudely  home. On the side of fence where the park lies, the grass grows tall and yellow, waving in the bush wind. There are large trees and thick bush cover. On the other side of the fence, in the Hlabisa community, the soil is red and dry, tree cover is limited, there is almost no water, and the incidence of HIV/Aids is high, with bill boards offering reminders for health care. Children gather in excitement at strangers in their midst, and kick soccer balls made of rolled up plastic bags.

School buildings as you pass through the town  look melancholy and abandoned, with not a single window pane intact – all shattered – not a blade of grass in the courtyard, and no tree for children to sit in the shade at breaktime. Asking our Zulu friend and guide why the windows don’t get fixed, he shrugs, and says that when you have more pressing issues you don’t focus on aesthetics.

Members of the community get on with their daily chores and life goes on.

A horrifying statistic in the school that we are building support for with a UK school based in Birmingham (they will support  capacity building and sponsor  local youth on wilderness trails) is that out of their 350 scholars, 30% are orphans…in other words, one in three of the young people we talk to have no parents.  Looked after by the community, the school and the government school fees programme, and daily meal provision, they survive.  With all the talk of poverty and lack of opportunity – there was no poverty of community ethic and spirit – people were helping and providing and sharing with each other. Traditional values and stoicism prevailing –something we all admire and may have lost in our more affluent, socially isolated lifestyles.

But still that doesn’t bring jobs or training or a future.

The good news is that we can do small things. Rodney, as one of our Zulu lead trail guides, is inspirational and has orchestrated for this UK school to support his small community school with teaching, capacity building, equipment and moral support. He has initiated communityleader wilderness trails with members of the town and region and inspired them to experience this ‘wilderness over the fence’ for the first time. This trail programme initiates understanding and collective cultural and emotional ownership of the rich natural resource so close to hand.

We talked with an ex-trailist and  local councillor about healthy environment- healthy people…our need for wild nature and ecological balances for safe water, clean air, invigorated spirit. He was there and viscerally understands that the two are inexorably linked…but also he has to think of hungry mouths in his community and a government that is hard to engage and doesn’t deliver much without a struggle. But he definitely had been inspired by his wilderness trail and the experience.

Seven youth from the school, chosen for their leadership and hard work, will now go on trail with seven UK students who also come from an area in the UK that has endemic poverty and  unemployment, lack of aspiration and opportunity.  The comparisons will be fascinating.

The sharing of a wild experience together will be remarkable and enlightening. We need to follow up on the longer term impact of the wilderness trail on the social learning that takes place, but vitally on the  thinking, learning and consciousness of why it is so import to preserve what we have. …. what do these young people carry home in their hearts when their back packs empty? What did they learn about each other? What did they learn about themselves? What next?

At the University of Cape Town, a fellow anthropologist wrote an article on Education for Frustration – the build up of knowledge in rural black communities and the dashing of hope as jobs are as distant as the evening star in the dusky night.

Our responsibility is to support the school and students with practical sustainability programmes, such as  vegetable plots, chicken and poultry enterprise, an orchard, goats as a micro finance project. The idea is for UK teachers to visit and support the local teachers, help with revision for final year students, provide necessary equipment where possible, and to visit the wilderness on their doorstep.  We hope to create a school that can become a centre for hope in the community where they see real things happening, lead by their young people.

We also need to build a mutual understanding that the fact that people travel the earth (and therein lies a contradiction) to visit the last remaining true wildernesses, brings the benefits that we talk about to their school. We need to make the link that it is the wilderness that is the source of all this life.

All this can be mixed in with acute poverty without contradiction but it still needs care and forethought.  There needs to be a clear link with the wilderness trails programme bringing extra capacity to the community because of it. Bringing on these wonderful, bright young people is critical and their connections to the park and nature that result from this activity will be essential, as otherwise , I think the long grass waving in the wind over the fence is surely doomed.

No related posts.

Too many people, too little wild nature

As Greenpeace said on Radio 4 yesterday, no offshore windfarm would have the same catastrophic environmental disaster  as the oil spill has evoked….and they are right…of course. What really makes me mad followed another recent article that highlighted the fact that there was not enough  forward planning put into the recovery of disaster situations in advance by oil companies, or proper risk management in the case of a spill. One has to seriously question the ethics of  agreement to this kind of risky exploration,  and the responsibility given for the natural environment, and the care needed to make sure that all damage is risk managed well in advance or planning rejected.

Focus on extraction not redemption is my guess as to the reasons why. But then this is the same issue for the on shore wind energy companies, some of whom have no built in restoration budget for when they need to de-commission their turbines. What was their life of a turbine again…25 years?  And then what?  Probably, and this is the cynic in me speaking, the land will have been so desecrated by the infrastructure of roads for the management of the turbines that planning departments will have no compunction to avoid development of housing and other progressional initiatives, depending of course on what you deem ‘progress’ to be. A slow industrialisation of the wild parts of the island may well ensue.

All this of course relates to  wind farms established in areas of outstanding natural beauty or of wild land value. I have no issue with development on development. I do have a deep issue however with the violation of last remaining tracts of wildness that are destroyed by technologies that have yet to be total proven.  Hmmm…back to the old risk issue again and the what is good for us, versus what is good for nature battle, most often decided in the depths of Government departments in the cities, rather than on the ground with the view of the landscape affected in front of them. It has echoes of the Galipolli of the environmental peat bog  battles.

And what else was new ? Lake Tankanyika has been discovered to have an ongoing temperature rise from the time that researchers were able to get back, to something like 500BC, which is pretty extraordinary. But they say that the vast hikes in temperature over the last forty years or so is definitely caused by human activity….what outcomes for fish…and those that feed on them…not only the bird life – but humans as well. It does not bode well.

And then discussions by the IPCC yesterday mentioned that actually humans have not made a huge impact on climate change after all…I am so confused….and I am really interested and reasonably well informed. What about the poor blighter who is relying on the environmental specialists to give balanced information?  I must admit that my instinct takes me to join the Lake Tanganyika team and not the others. Hope I am wrong. But whomsoever caused the problem does not take away the fact that we have a problem. Lets put energy into solving that than finding who is at fault. That comes later when the energy (sic) is there to do it. And that takes us back  full circle. The tragedy of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Someone described the oil as looking like melted chocolate. What an analogy with something that makes you feel good and is sweet. There is nothing sweet about this.

No related posts.

Oil spills and responsibilities in search of the treacle drops..

The bigger picture

For me, this year has highlighted the need for personal integrity, mirroring the need for us to show integrity and respect for the planet and nature. We have to start by respecting ourselves and each other and keep this foremost in our minds in all we do.

This was the theme of the talk delivered at the Wild9 Congress in Mexico (Humanising The Enemy – Wilderness and the Peace Process) by myself and Alistair Little (an ex-loyalist paramilitary and now a respected leader in reconciliation processes). Many scientists and participants reflected back how it had complemented the event’s outstanding scientific initiatives and environmental learning and touched them personally.

Social benefit from wilderness experience has been a strong focus this year. In May we were part of the cutting edge conference on Wild Europe held in Prague. This highlighted the need to protect tracts of old growth pristine forest which still remain in countries such as Romania and sections of unchanged landscape that ironically have been protected by the military no-go zones dividing East and West Europe. Here insects and flora remain untouched by any intervention giving huge opportunities for conservationists to maintain their status under protection.

To prevent the loss of these areas of forest and meadow to industrialisation and development, we have to offer alternatives demonstrating the benefits of social health, water and tourism alongside biodiversity protection. Toby Aykroyd, our Vice Chairman, is working at the highest political levels in Europe and maintains a steely determination in keeping this battle right at the top of what is a vital agenda.

A new story to tell

We know scientifically through the work carried out by the University of Essex that the wilderness trail experience is a highly effective tool in raising self esteem and lifting mood. This has once again been demonstrated as our second group of TurnAround youth have graduated. The seven young people who came to us with violent histories, vulnerable to crime, drugs, school exclusion and a lack of self belief now have a new story to tell thanks to this ground-breaking project that supports them for the long term. Having braved -15 degrees wind chill with snow and ice in the Scottish wilderness, they carry their coping strategies and personal learning in the wilderness as a badge of honour, paving the way to a brighter new future.

Tomorrow’s leaders

This year we launched a new wilderness trail initiative called Wild Swans. Young women from South Africa and the UK came together for a fifteen day wilderness trail in South Africa – aimed at growing their leadership skills, environmental and cultural understanding. It was challenging for them, but the learning was significant. In 2010 we hope to work with young women from across communities in Derry in Northern Ireland, girls from London and from two communities in South Africa. This will be the start of a three year programme building up for the London and Derry historical celebrations in 2013.

Our Sirius Programme for Environmental Leaders, in partnership with Tellus Mater, entered its second year. The outcomes and vision that the young people share with us through this experience leaves us almost breathless with excitement. It is a real privilege to spend time in the wildest parts of Scotland with the brightest young people. We are convinced that their youthful wisdom, energy and passion will ensure a positive future. The trail experience gives them a deep understanding of the balance required to see environment not just from human need perspective, but in a holistic way incorporating wild nature and biodiversity as part of the spectrum. This theme was followed up at our youth conference in November, as we invited some key and current thinkers in the field to put the hard contradictions of climate change and other issues on the table. It was a challenging day but all felt worthwhile and gave huge food for thought.

Touching lives and gaining new ground

Over the course of 2009, more than 100 young people from a variety of schools and partner groups across the UK went to South Africa on various trails, including our first trail in the Kgalagadi Game Reserve with a San-Bushman, a totally remarkable experience. We are really proud to have a long term relationship with our schools and cadet groups and value the relationships that we have forged over time. Thanks to all the staff who work with us to deliver the best life experiences possible to young people.

Back home we have a dynamic hands-on team working in local schools. From building wildlife and climate change gardens to running outreach to young people in Chelmsford, we are teaching sustainability in a variety of ways. It is a great way to engage ‘little’ people who are too small to go on a trail but can learn to love nature and benefit from it in other ways.

Our allotment programme, under Richard Corby, is also gaining new ground with regards to mental health and nature, as we aim to become a centre of excellence where people can come and learn how to run their own gardens and be more self sufficient. Not ‘wilderness’, but it really does reach people who want and need to stay local and change the way they do things.

All of this work continues in 2010, a year which marks a new outreach programme for wilderness therapy activities in Scotland, and hopefully another hub opening up in the North East to include activities such as walks and talks and social events. So as you can see we’re on the move…

We would also welcome your feedback on how you would like to hear from us. Would you prefer we kept you up to date by post or via online communications such as emails, blogs and website updates? We would value your thoughts on this and any other matters that are important to you, so please do contact us via email, letter or just give us a call on 01245 443073.

We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your continued support

Seasons Greetings

Jo and the Wilderness Team

No related posts.

Jo Roberts Review of the Year

Whatever your experiences through 2008, I hope that you get some quiet time and have a chance to get outside into the crisp and fresh air of winter. So much of our focus on the environment is intellectual – particularly for those of us who live in cities – and we so easily lose touch with the sensory side of what Nature has to offer. Take time to soak up the smells of damp woodland and pine forests, the soft carpet of fallen leaves underfoot, the clear tinking of tits in the branches, and a lifting of Spirits just from the quiet, wonder of it all. Try to take stock of what the new year will bring and the lessons learned of last year.

In 2009 we will continue to support as many people experiencing wild places as possible, and will also focus on nature conservation and climate change issues, risks facing old growth forests from the logging industry in the surge for carbon sequestration, the challenges of preserving wild landscapes with our insatiable need for energy. We will make sure that everything we take on is relevant, important and makes a difference to awareness and practical conservation of wilderness.

As friends you are vital to this all happening and we welcome emails, phone calls and communication from you all if you want to discuss any part of the Foundation’s work with us, or get more involved.

We have a fantastic team of staff in the office, and Trustees, who are driven by passion and not their rather meagre pay packets – and they do a superb job in everything they touch. I am really proud to work with them.

For my New Year resolution I aim to give more time to them, to the Friends of the Foundation and to sit quietly in a wild place each day just to remind myself of why we do what we do.

Kind regards and happy reflections.
Jo

No related posts.

A New Year message from CEO Jo Roberts