A total of 14 young people aged 14-16 received an accredited John Muir Award for their commitment to the programme, designed to connect young people to their home, its environment, heritage and history through exploring, learning, protecting and promoting what surrounds them.
The group successfully completed adventurous activities to learn skills in rowing, canoeing, boat restoration, bushcraft, hiking, camping, dry stone walling and marine biodiversity before the COVID pandemic and lockdown brought the programme to an early end.
Programme Coordinator Jim Allen said: “There is a natural synergy between the ethos of the National Trust and what we were doing as Causeway Adventures to engage with young people in the region. The John Muir Conservation Award Scheme was a natural fit to provide accreditation for the participants. It is based on the four pillars of DISCOVER, EXPLORE, CONSERVE and SHARE.
“The 2019/20 season was unfortunately cut short due to the lockdown but not before we had spent a great winter and early spring exploring the beautiful Causeway coastal region with this great group of young people. We had hoped to get everyone together to celebrate the young people’s achievement but the virtual gathering is the only way we can ‘get together’ at the minute. It was lovely to see everyone and bring a successful closure to what is a unique programme of outdoor learning.