CASE STUDY
In this case study you will discover how The Green Team has cleverly combined different awards together within the same programme to maximise the range and types of recognition and accreditation participants can add to their credentials and carry with them throughout their lives, whichever path they may take.
The Thrive Programme is a specialist therapeutic programme for young people wanting to improve their mental health, and can have a positive lifelong impact. Thrive works with people for up to a year and offers an invaluable opportunity for a small group of young people to form friendships and work together as a team, in connection with nature.
The small group size and long-term work allows the participants to feel safe to be themselves, make friends, and talk with other young people or adults. This year, six young people have worked so hard and achieved so much for themselves.
For this programme participants completed the Junior Forester programme which is a self-delivered programme of 6 Sections. Participants complete practical tasks and enhance their knowledge of trees, woodlands and forestry. Sections include:
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Bronze level is aimed at young people aged 14 and over and requires completion of four sections over a minimum of six months.Completing these sections helps develop personal growth and new experiences.
The volunteering aspect of DofE allows participants to also claim recognition through the Saltire Awards scheme due to its way or formally rewarding individuals with different award levels for their volunteering activities. The scheme highlights the positive contributions of young people to their communities whilst helping them gain valuable skills and experiences. Therefore the Green Team are skillfully demonstrating ways to group together compatible awards and give a focus to the different types of activity and areas of development for each individual.
As participants reflected on their year long experience it was clear that they received reinforcement for existing skills and were taken out of their comfort zones to discover new talents and passions along the way.
‘Thrive has given me a platform to be more confident and express myself. In this group I don’t feel any anxiety, fear or judgment. When I first came to Thrive I didn’t feel all that comfortable. I felt a bit nervous for the first 5 or 6 weeks. I didn’t know people, I didn’t strike up conversation much. But it’s a lot easier now. I know everyone, the environment, and I’m more familiar with what I am doing.’
Young Person
‘A huge thank you for you all for everything you did for me. I will never ever forget this memory of being in a Green Team Thrive group, and how much I’ve grown from it. I learnt so much and was very proud and happy that I managed to do my best. I will never forget the expedition and it still makes me happy by thinking of it. I got to explore because of you!’
Young Person
‘The Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition was a good experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I really enjoyed it. The expedition changed my perception of myself as I didn’t know I could do something like that, and what I was capable of. ‘
Young Person
‘John asked me yesterday if he could come back to school full time. You imagine how delighted I was that HE asked. He also asked if he could work on his reading. I can’t tell you how massive this is after how difficult John has found attending school over the last year. I for one would say a lot of this progress is down to his attendance on the Thrive course.’
Parent
Blending Awards to Thrive with the Green Team
This year, six young people have worked so hard and achieved so much for themselves, and completed all these awards:
Read the full case study and find out more about the Thrive programme with the Green Team here.
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