Enviro-Mentors, Kinghorn, Fife
Overview
Enviro-Mentors is a project based at The Ecology Centre, Kinghorn. The first target group are people aged over 50 to take part in healthy outdoor pursuits. The aim is that they will feel better, learn new skills, improve self esteem, socialise and make new friends. The second target group is aged between 16 to 25 years of age. Old and young take part in joint activities. Some of the young ones are mentored by older volunteers who pass on life and work skills.
Enviro-mentors welcome anyone in the relevant age groups. The project also works with a range of voluntary and statutory agencies and organisations, taking referrals, training and basically building up a complete package for volunteers. It aims to improve health and wellbeing, give new skills and where appropriate, supply skills that will help with employment.
Success stories
The project was set up following observations on site that older volunteers were taking younger people under their wing and helping them with advice and guidance. We have a number of targets for the project but mainly health benefits, learning outcomes and mentoring. The project has only been running for 5 months and to date there have been a number of older volunteers recruited doing everything from gardening through to photography and helping with building projects.
We have found that our volunteers bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise that we are able to use. We have already had some successes including 20 volunteers coming out on a Sunday morning and planting 700 bulbs on site. The great part of the day was how all age groups gelled and people formed new friendships as a result of working together. There were 6 children present with their parents and they also took a full part in the day. This is only one of several projects of a similar kind that have been done since the project launched.
The Ecology Centre,
Craigencalt,
Kinghorn,
Fife, KY3 9YG
T: 01592 891567
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