Wild & Wellbeing for Girls & Young Women
Full day workshops
6 week evening course
Workshops to develop skills and strategies to alleviate anxiety and overwhelm through an experiential and supportive environment using nature connection, creativity, yoga & mindfulness.
Workshops for girls and young people (who identify as women). The day will offer experiential learning around ways to cope with anxiety and overwhelm.
Our venue is the beautiful National Trust Footprint. A private woodland with a beautiful and cosy straw bale building, situated on the outskirts of Windermere in the South Lake District. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the building bring nature connection whilst indoors and the woodland is rich with a variety of native trees, plants, and animals.
We’ll take breaks throughout the workshops for nourishment, with refreshments provided.
Workshop Host: Nes
Nes is an accredited UKCP child and adolescent psychotherapist, ecotherapist, well-being coach, yoga therapist, level 3 forest school leader, mountain leader, and is trained in somatic trauma therapy and outdoor first aid. Nes has also worked as a youth worker and primary school teacher. She has worked at CAMHS, in schools, for charities with young women with a variety of mental health challenges.
Nes has over 22 years experience of working with children and young people. She has vast experience of facilitating groups and workshops outdoors.
Nes is a co-author, with Babette Rothschild, of 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Recovery Workbook and soon-to-be-released Wild and Wellbeing Card Deck.
Nes lives in the Lake District and enjoys walking, growing and eating veggies, dog cuddling, and cycling.
Workshop Host: Emily
Emily is an experienced and qualified level 3 forest school practitioner, primary school teacher and mum of three.
Emily lives in the Lake District and enjoys
Where?
The National Trust Footprint is a beautiful secluded and spacious straw bale building with cosy wood burner, with accessible toilets and car park, and a beautiful woodland with covered spaces that are wonderful even in the rain.
You wouldn't know its only 20 minutes walk from Windermere and the train station that you can arrive to from London, Manchester etc and Windermere Town, bustling with cafes, galleries and shops.
Who?
The workshops are open to all young people, identifying as female, we tend to run them for a specific age range, such as aged 7 to 11, aged 11 to 14, aged 14 to 17.
You don’t need to have any prior knowledge, experience, or particular skills. You are welcome just as you are. Though the workshops are rooted in increasing confidence, joy, and self-esteem and help develop skills to alleviate anxiety, you will not be required to share any personal stories about your anxiety, or what may have happened to cause these feelings.
We will be a small group so that the space is inviting even for the introverted. All activities are an invitation, you are welcome to spend time alone or to adapt the suggested activities to best suit your needs on the day. We will offer suggestions for those adaptions too. We will ask that everyone is respectful of each other’s boundaries, including personal space, to maximise comfort.
We will move between being indoors, outdoors, and undercover outdoors. All activities will be gentle and accessible for those reasonably mobile, you don’t need to be particularly fit, and the site is wheelchair accessible. However please get in touch if you have questions or additional needs.
Practicalities
Cost
Full day workshops: £95; Additional siblings £65
Food
Full day workshops: The workshop includes mid-morning and mid-afternoon refreshments and a delicious plant-based lunch.
Evening weekly workshops: We will provide drinks and snacks.
Please let us know about any specific dietary requirements when you complete the booking form. We appreciate that you may wish to bring some of your own food and drink, that is absolutely fine.
What to bring
For all retreats, please bring layers of comfortable clothes, and sturdy shoes that you don’t mind getting muddy. Waterproof coat and trousers are handy, especially in the changeable weather of the Lakes. Slippers or cosy socks would be good to wear indoors, as we’ll ask you to remove your shoes.
It may be useful to bring a notebook and pencils or pens. It can be a great opportunity to take a break from screens, so we ask for phones to be switched off. We will provide a phone number when you book for people to be able to contact you if they need to.
Access
Access to the woodland and wider grounds is via steep steps or a medium slope.
Accessible toilets.
There is an accessible drop-off point at the front door of the Footprint building.
Level access to the Footprint building
Getting There
We ask that an adult caregiver drop off and collect their young person on the day.
On foot
A 20-minute walk from Windermere train station, via the woods from the bottom of Orrest Head.
By train
Windermere Station 1.5 miles
By bus
Services from Windermere Station to Troutbeck Bridge.
By road
Off the A591 to Troutbeck.
Parking: There is a small car park that can park up to 12 cars. Parking is free and only for the use of those booked on to the retreat.
Sat Nav: Use: LA23 1NH
Accommodation
We do not offer accommodation as part of the day retreat. There is some info here.
Please note, the group may not go ahead if the numbers are low or in very bad weather or high winds. We will try to give you as much notice as possible of this, but we recommend getting insurance to cover accommodation and travel expenses in case this happens.