Woodland activities receive funding to help stressed families

KENT Community Foundation has awarded Silverback Projects CIC a grant of £1,975 for a series of eight family Silverback Wild Ways sessions that will help them develop knowledge of the woodland and work on improving their self-awareness.

The sessions will include dream catcher making, clay modelling, fire lighting skills, camp building, knife and axe-craft, whittling and stool or bench making.

Participants of the Silverback Wild Ways family sessions will gain an understanding of how a positive relationship with the environment can help them to become mindful and connected with their family, improving a sense of well-being and confidence and resilience in both children and adults. 

Cormac Martin, Silverback Projects CIC said:

“Silverback Projects CIC wants to help families spend time together in the Woodland. We understand that in the modern world, especially with the cost of living crisis, families are under extreme stress. This stress impacts family relations, children’s mental health, parents mental health and their capacity to cope, parent, earn and exist. We want to teach people the skills to be able to enjoy the extraordinary free resources of the natural environment that is so good for our health.

“We want parents to see their children exhausted and full of oxygen, to see them content and happy that they have spent a positive time together. We are passionate about this because we have experienced the benefits of having these outdoor opportunities to counteract the impact of living surrounded by computers and multimedia while juggling modern world demands.”

Natalie Smith, Director of Grants and Impact, Kent Community Foundation said:

“The work that Silverbacks Projects CIC is doing in this district to alleviate the stress that families are under was an initiative that fitted within our funding priorities and we were delighted to support their application for a grant.” 

To find out more about funding for charities and community groups call 01303 814500, email admin@kentcf.org.uk or visit: www.kentcf.org.uk/funding.