Trash Free Trails have launched three TrashMob Academy taster days will kick off in Glentress, Scotland on August 15th.
Sunday 15th August sees Trash Free Trails kick off their TrashMob Academy Taster Days to give educators, parents and local authorities a chance to get a feel for what Trash Free Trails is all about.
Photos by Rich Baybutt.
What is the TrashMob Academy?
TFT’s TrashMob Academy is a youth engagement project that seeks to improve self-esteem, confidence and overall well-being through the development of nature connection, attitudes to the environment and attitudes to single use pollution, with the opportunity to learn MTB skills as the catalyst for change.
Upon signing up to the programme, teachers receive 6 nature connection sessions as presentation slides, for delivery as and when is most appropriate for the young people they are working with, and are put in touch with one of TFT’s coaching partners in their local area to deliver the MTB coaching sessions. A sample of the session content is available for download on TFT’s website here, along with a number of other excellent resources including “Information for Educators”, a detailed summary of the theories of learning and up to date nature connection literature that underpins the programme content. A report detailing the outcomes of the project’s pilot phase is also available, along with the TrashMob Academy’s pricing structure and how to get involved.
What does the Taster Session involve?
In order for the young people involved to make the most of interventions such as the TrashMob Academy, it’s imperative that the ecosystem of influencers in their lives are involved in that process. So, now that the programme has been through a rigorous and successful pilot phase, TFT are inviting spark makers of all riding abilities; the teachers, coaches, local authorities and parents that will be lighting fires in the young people they are responsible for, to come along and have a go themselves – ride bikes with qualified leaders from Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland, British Cycling and Bike Park Wales, connect to nature, and of course, collect some Single Use Pollution on the way.
These stakeholders are invited to come along and get a taster of what the sessions might look like when they deliver the content to their students, as well as having the opportunity to offer feedback, ask questions and find out more about the Academy and TFT as a whole. Representatives from TFT HQ, their ambassador team or A-TEAM for short, and coaching partners will all be in attendance so that everyone has a fun, safe and informative day out on the trails and in the “classroom”.
- Find out more about Trash Free Trails
- Find out more about the purpose of the TrashMob Academy, and what it hopes to achieve
- Learn about the importance of Nature Connection in young people
- Find out what happened in the pilot phases of the Academy
- Put yourself in the shoes of one of the young people that might be on the receiving end of the programme, and see what a session might look like
- How to sign up, and what the possibilities for participant progression might be after the programme
- Ride bikes (if you want to) collect Trash and have fun
When and where you can attend a taster session
Three taster sessions will take place on the following dates:
- Sunday 15th August with Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland – MBCoS, Peel Tower, Glentress EH45 8NB
- Monday 16th August with Cotic Bikes – Parkwood Springs, 57 Cooks Wood Rd, Sheffield S3 9AA
- Wednesday 18th August – Bike Park Wales, Gethin Woodland Centre, Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil CF48 1YZ
At Glentress and Bike Park Wales, attendees are requested to arrive at 09:30 for a 10:00 start, and each session will aim to finish in time for lunch – ish (around 13:00).
For the parkwood Springs Taster Day, attendees are requested to arrive at 1600 for a 1630 start, and will aim to finish in time for dinner (around 1900ish).
There are a very limited number of spaces. So If this sounds like something you and your school/club/organisation might be interested in, please let us know ASARP (the R is for reasonably) at [email protected].
Oh yeah. Free bike and equipment hire and uplift at Bike Park Wales.
