BLACK2NATURE
CAMP CHEW
Saturday to Sunday July 2019
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| Camp Chew 2017 Copyright Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig |
I have been running camps for primary age children in the Chew Valley since 2017. I have had around 150 children attend since then and each one has gone home having had an amazing time, got connected with nature and made new friends. We also make time to play sport and learn how o use the outdoors to relax.
We will talk about nature, how you can learn to enjoy it and use it to help your mental health, what's becoming extinct, what is happening environmentally, why you should care and how you can be an activist, fighting for your future.
Make an advance booking onto this amazing nature camp for young people aged 8-11 years. Into its 3rd year, Camp Chew has attracted a number of children to Chew Valley Lake near Bristol, to spend a night birding and getting involved with nature. It is aimed at those who have no experience of nature and have never been to the countryside or camped as well as those already interested in being outdoors.
In 2020 we hope to have lots of children who are Visible Minority Ethnic (VME) and or live in the city's areas of deprivation as well as those who live in the countryside. We will have plenty of activities for all those attending.
Book onto this amazing nature camp for children aged 7-11 years. The camp is organised by Black2Nature who have been organising nature camps for inner-city Visible Minority Ethnic (VME) children and young people since 2015. The primary age children come to Camp Chew which takes place in Compton Martin in the Chew Valley just south of Bristol to spend the weekend birding and getting involved with nature.
Book onto this amazing nature camp for children aged 7-11 years. The camp is organised by Black2Nature who have been organising nature camps for inner-city Visible Minority Ethnic (VME) children and young people since 2015. The primary age children come to Camp Chew which takes place in Compton Martin in the Chew Valley just south of Bristol to spend the weekend birding and getting involved with nature.
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| Camp Chew March 2019 Copyright Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig |
It is aimed at children who have no experience of nature and in many cases have never been to the countryside or camped. One of our aims is to promote community cohesion and so we encourage children from all backgrounds and areas to attend, as well as those already with a keen interest in nature who we hope will share their passion.
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| Camp Chew March 2019 Copyright Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig |
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| Camp Chew March 2019 Copyright Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig |
We take safety very seriously and so girls and boys sleep in separate tents with adults sleeping at the entrance, making it impossible for strangers to enter undetected. DBS checked adults will be supervising the children at all times. All food prepared at the camp is vegetarian. We may offer halal fish and chips and a vegetarian option for lunch on Saturday if this is available. Otherwise, we will be having a picnic lunch.
Camp Chew - Saturday
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| Sports at Camp Chew March 2019 Copyright Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig |
10.00 am Pick up St Paul's Learning Centre
11.00 am Drop off CMAF for Chew Valley children
Activities
Setting up camp
Camp cooking
Socialising/rugby & parachute sessions
Dinner by campfire
Camp Chew - Sunday
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| Camp Chew 2017 Copyright Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig |
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| Camp Chew March 2019 Copyright Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig |
5.00 pm Pick up CMAF & finish
6.00 pm Drop off St Paul's Learning Centre
- when parents and siblings are asked to meet and share memories of the camp
Activities
Bird ringing
Mothing
Nature walk
Birdwatching from hides
Growing food at The Community Farm
Sports activities such as football/cricket
Ice-creams
Please see separate kit list & ask your children to bring only 1 small packet of veggie sweets/snacks, drop nothing & recycle everything
Camp Chew – Programme
Saturday
All activities dependent on weather
6.00 pm – 7.00 pm (CMAF)
Set up camp, camp cooking, sports & time to socialize
7.00 pm – 8.00 pm (CMAF)
Dinner by the campfire & toasting marshmallows
Sunday
7.45 am – 8.30 am (CMAF) Camp breakfast
8.45 am - 11.15 am (CVRS)
Bird ringing demonstration and looking at moths
11.15 am – 11.30 am (CVRS)
Refreshments
11.45 am – 1.15 pm (CVLPS)
Farming workshop & lunch
1.30 pm – 3.45 pm (CVL)
Birdwatching in bird hides & nature walk
4.00 pm - 4.30 pm (CVLHB)
Ice-creams
5.00 pm (CMAF)
Pick up and finish
Key to locations
CMAF – Compton Martin Amenity Field, The Street, Compton Martin, Bristol, BS40 6JN
CVRS – Chew Valley Ringing Station, Bishop Sutton, Bristol, BS40 6HN (from Herriots Bridge turnright opposite mirror)
CVLHB - Chew Valley Lake, Herriots Bridge, A368, Bishop Sutton, Bristol, BS40 8XS
CVL – Chew Valley Lake using Morton Hide accessed from the B1134, coming from CMAF turn right between the Blue Bowl and Herons Green.
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| Camp Chew March 2019 Copyright Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig |
Cost
£10.00 per person (or £15 for two siblings)
Grants
Free places are available to those children who would otherwise not be able to come for example who are from areas of deprivation, are VME or are disadvantaged. Camp Avalon recognises that there are almost no young birders from VME backgrounds and so hope that these grants will encourage disadvantaged children to be able to attend. All equipment needed will also be loaned for the weekend.
Black2Nature
Thank you to Compton Martin Village Hall and the many people who have supported Black2Nature and these camps and to Chew Valley Ringing Station and the birders who have offered their time in order to pass on their knowledge to young birders. Thank you also to Yeo Valley for the donation of ice-cream and butter.
Thank you to Opticron for the donation of five pairs of compact binoculars and discounted optical equipment to this project and to Bristol Ornithological Society for the donation of binoculars.
Thank you also to Go Outdoors for discounted camping equipment and Blenheim Scouts for discounted use of their minibus.
Thank you also to Go Outdoors for discounted camping equipment and Blenheim Scouts for discounted use of their minibus.
Thank you also to Burns Price Foundation, Quartet Community Funding, Community Access Support Services and Alpkit for helping to fund our projects.
Transport
Free transport is available to and from Bristol, with pickup from St Paul's Learning Centre, Grosvenor Road, Bristol BS2 8JX.
How to Book
Please e-mail helenabcraig@hotmail.co.uk with your name, address, phone number and date of birth and your child's name and date of birth with any dietary requirements. Please also get in touch if you would like to get involved by volunteering.
About the Author
Young environmentalist and birder Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig
Copyright Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig
Mya-Rose Craig is a 17-year-old young British Bangladeshi birder, naturalist, conservationist, environmentalist, race activist, writer and speaker. She is based near Bristol and writes posts about birding, nature conservation, environmental issues and racism from around the world.
Mya-Rose has been organising nature camps for teenagers since 2015, Camp Avalon, and nature camps for children, Camp Chew, since 2017. She has organised nine camps since then and is organising more for 2020. She also wrote to five of the biggest NGO's in 2015, after her first camp, asking them what steps they were taking to make their organisations ethnically diverse.
Her first camp led to her organise a conference in 2016, Race Equality in Nature, aiming to increase the ethnic diversity in nature by looking at the barriers to Visual Minority Ethnic (VME) people going out into nature, what can be done to overcome these barriers and how we can create VME role models. She had speakers Bill Oddie and Kerry McCarthy MP. She also organised a second conference, Race Equality in Nature: The Next Generation 13-30 in October 2019 with Speakers Chris Packham, Bristol Deputy Mayor, Councillor Asher Craig, and RSPB CEO Beccy Speight.
She has also set up Black2Nature with the aim of working with organisations to increase the access to nature of VME people and is President. Please connect with her on LinkedIn (Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig) so that she can invite you to join the Race Equality in Nature LinkedIn Group and be part of the change.
She was a Bristol European Green Capital Ambassador along with Kevin McCloud, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Tony Juniper, Simon King and Miranda Krestovnikoff. She has also been listed with the singer-songwriter George Ezra and actress Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones as one of Bristol's most influential young people.
Mya-Rose has been organising nature camps for teenagers since 2015, Camp Avalon, and nature camps for children, Camp Chew, since 2017. She has organised nine camps since then and is organising more for 2020. She also wrote to five of the biggest NGO's in 2015, after her first camp, asking them what steps they were taking to make their organisations ethnically diverse.
Her first camp led to her organise a conference in 2016, Race Equality in Nature, aiming to increase the ethnic diversity in nature by looking at the barriers to Visual Minority Ethnic (VME) people going out into nature, what can be done to overcome these barriers and how we can create VME role models. She had speakers Bill Oddie and Kerry McCarthy MP. She also organised a second conference, Race Equality in Nature: The Next Generation 13-30 in October 2019 with Speakers Chris Packham, Bristol Deputy Mayor, Councillor Asher Craig, and RSPB CEO Beccy Speight.
She has also set up Black2Nature with the aim of working with organisations to increase the access to nature of VME people and is President. Please connect with her on LinkedIn (Mya-Rose Birdgirl Craig) so that she can invite you to join the Race Equality in Nature LinkedIn Group and be part of the change.
She was a Bristol European Green Capital Ambassador along with Kevin McCloud, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Tony Juniper, Simon King and Miranda Krestovnikoff. She has also been listed with the singer-songwriter George Ezra and actress Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones as one of Bristol's most influential young people.
She has been involved in the UK organisation of the Youth Strikes encouraging young people from around the world to not go to school once a month and protest instead demanding immediate action to prevent climate breakdown. She is involved with Extinction Rebellion, setting up a local group. This is an interview in New Statesman. She has written articles for Resurgence & Ecologist Magazine, New Internationalist, The Big Issue and was listed as a local hero in The Guardian.
She has given over 50 talks, speaking at conferences such as being on a panel with George Monbiot and Caroline Lucas on Sustainability and the Future of Cities. She is a Minister in Chris Packham's Manifesto for Nature in 2018 and spoke in front of 10,000 people at the Walk for Nature. She has also appeared on TV and radio and is particularly proud of being in Silent Roars, a short film which was part of Listen to Britain 2017 https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-the-silent-roars-2017-online. She has also appeared on Channel 4 News, local BBC News and BBC2's Hugh's Wild West.
She has been awarded the Bath and West Show Environmental Youth Award 2017 for Bristol for her Black2Nature work EYA 2017. She was also listed as one of Bristol's BME top 100 powerlist and was nominated in the Birders' Choice Awards 2019 as Conservation Hero of the Year with Sir David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot.
She loved seeing Mountain Gorillas in East Africa and Penguins in Antarctica over Christmas 2015, her 7th continent. She became the youngest person to see half the birds of the world, 5369 birds in Brazil in August 2019 age 17. Please also like her Birdgirl Facebook Page and follow her on Birdgirl Twitter. If you would like to contact Mya-Rose about her work, please e-mail helenabcraig@hotmail.co.uk.
