Campaigns
Campaign for Adventure
The Campaign seeks to show that life is best approached in a spirit of exploration, adventure and enterprise; to influence and better inform attitudes towards risk; to build wider recognition that chance, unforeseen circumstances and uncertainty are inescapable features of life and that absolute safety is unachievable; and to demonstrate that sensible education and preparation enable an appropriate balance to be achieved between risk & safety and achievement & opportunity. Details are available at www.campaignforadventure.org.
Outdoor Adventure Week
In 2010, Outdoor Adventure Week will take place from 2 to 11 April as part of the BBC ThrillSeeker initiative which will highlight lots of ways that you can get involved in the outdoors. From a nature walk to a bungee jump, from a picnic in the park to kayaking a river. Details are available at www.bbc.co.uk/thrillseeker/.
Learning Outside the Classroom
The English Outdoor Council supports the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom and forms its sector partnership group for the adventuours activities sector. Details are available at www.lotc.org.uk.
Early Day Motion
Your help is needed. Some of our friends in parliament have recently tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM). This is a written motion in the House of Commons which all MPs are free to sign. EDMs that are signed by a small number of MPs achieve very little. EDMs that are signed by a hundred or more MPs have a far more significant effect. We therefore urgently need the help of everyone in the outdoor community who cares about the future of learning outside the classroom. You can help by writing to your MP and asking him or her to sign EDM number 4. This is written in the unusual format that is standard for EDMs but it spells out clearly what we need of the next government. It reads:
That this House notes the conclusion of an Ofsted report that learning outside the classroom contributes significantly to raising standards; recognises that learning through experience is a powerful educational tool; applauds the work put into the Manifesto for Learning Outside the Classroom; regrets that despite this work, its aspiration to provide all young people with a wide range of quality experiences outside the classroom, including one or more residential visits, is not yet embedded in all schools; and calls on the Government to find a way of making this a reality for all young people, including those who need financial support.
You can write to your MP at the House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or by email link at http://www.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/mps_and_lords/alms.cfm#A. You might want to explain briefly why it’s important that they sign the EDM but you’ve no need to spell out the content of the EDM – just ask them to sign EDM number 4.