Why Campsites Matter...

Today, my partner and I took our dog on a walk through some nearby villages as we do on a lot of Sunday mornings. We always try to take a new route, see a new bit of countryside, and read various bits of information about the area we're currently living in. It has it's upsides (like the fabulous dog friendly tea room we've discovered), but also it's downsides - usually in the form of run-ins with the local wildlife. Our dog is a rescue from Memphis, Tennessee, rehomed to Massachusetts, and then brought over to the UK with her owners relocation. She's been here 7 months, but still hasn' quite got use to the abundance of animals in relatively close proximity to humans. Today wasn't an exception.

For a short story, we escaped a near run in with a bull by discovering a gate across an unoccupied Scout campsite. Thank you to the Scouts of Northamptonshire for providing a handy gate, helping us to find a safer route into the village. I know it's not technically a public right of way, so I owe you one!

I believe spaces are very much what you make of them. A field is a field, until you put p a few tents and it becomes the site for confidence building and empowering activities people of all ages. I have somewhat neglected the third part of this project with my frequent relocation's of late, and I felt it was time for me to reiterate why I feel that camping out is so important.

I have had some of my most memorable experiences whilst sleeping under canvas. I did my Gold Duke of Edinburgh award at the age of 17 in the black mountains of south Wales. 4 days and a total of over 80 miles - the last 5 of which were spent in a piggy back relay as one of our team members sprained her ankle. That was a tremendous sense of accomplishment and some incredibly strong friendships forged in  few days.

I took part in a survival skills course as a teenager where we started with bare woodland and had to construct our own shelters to sleep in, start our own fires without matches or lighters and learn to make tools like string to help us to do more than just 'survive'. One of the instructors really summed up the power of the experience "You bring kids who feel like they've achieved nothing, who struggle in their day to day work at school, and you put them in this wood. They learn here by doing, by making, by surviving and they go home with a whole lot more confidence".

Then there's all the camps and residentials I have been part of through Girlguiding - too many to mention but all incredibly important in making me the person I am today. So that's why this is the Speak Out, Reach Out, Camp Out project. When I set out on this project, I didn't just want to talk about stuff (but have valued that to spread messages at all levels). I didn't just want to create resources (but I believe access to information is critical to make informed decisions). I wanted to create the experiences that give real empowerment, the experiences that create the confidence in a person to go out and believe that they can make a huge difference to the world. Because they can. Everybody can if they put their mind to it.

Posters made at Camp Out in 2011

I have only been able to put on 1 real 'Camp Out' event so far in this project. And so it really saddens me that the site we used, which belongs to Girlguiding Cambs West, is closed until further notice. It's more than just that event though. It's the site where I first went to meetings about a County trip to Switzerland - the event where I really discovered the Senior Section and got even more involved in Guiding. It's the site that was the central base for a night time incident hike that I took part in every year from the age of 11 to 16. Imagine a team of 11 year olds (with adult supervisor who just made sure we were safe) navigating their way across 15 miles, over 12 hours from 7pm to 7am, completing challenges at 12 different bases. I went from being relieved we made it round the course with 10 minutes to spare, to being ecstatic that we won and raised a load of money for the team to attend a summer camp at the same time. All of these emotions are connected to this building.

The building isn't abandoned, plans are afoot for fundraising for either repairs or a new build. But fundraising for this sort of thing isn't easy. We watch adverts for cancer charities are can feel a personal connection through the emotional stories. Animal charities have a similar ability to tug on the heart strings. But people don't immediately see the appeal of helping to resurrect a breeze block structure with a major case of subsidence. That's my next thing I want to change, because actually they can be just as life or death for some people. People like me. 

When I was 13, I was depressed to the point of being suicidal. I was bullied at school and dropped out to become home educated. Girlguiding become my main means of socialising, my main source of friends, and pretty much saved my life. Looking forward to my next camp, my next event, was the thing that kept me going through my teenage years and in the end taught me a lot of skills I'd never have learnt in school. Ripton Lodge, the building in Cambs West was at the centre of a lot of those events, and so I really do feel like I owe it to the building and the site to make sure it's there for future generations.

The total needed or final plans for the site are yet to be decided, but we're kicking off the fundraising with the sale of the souvenirs and merchandise from the site. Many of the items would make ideal stocking stuffers for Christmas. If you've got a few quid to spare, fancy a cute teddy bear, and want to help us out, then head over to our facebook page to see the items on offer.

I'll let you know as the plans develop!