Adam

REWILD mentor & theraputic expedition leader.

I've primarily worked with young people in various settings for the past 25 years, and during this time, I've accumulated some challenging, humbling, though ultimately wonderful and rewarding experiences. I initally volunteered to work with children from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the Summer of 1997 for a London based charity that offered respite care to famillies on low incomes. The children of these families were offered the opportunity of a weeks residential holiday in Suffolk, and my role was to provide care and emotional support whilst encouraging the children to participate in physical and therapeutic activities throughout that week, as well as driving the mini-bus to and from the charities various planned destinations.

This proved to be a life changing experience for me, so I additionally volunteered to work for the same charity and project a year later in 1998. I was then inspired to work with young people on full time basis, and eventually was fortunate enough to gain employment in a residential school based in Brighton with children that often presented challenging and complex behaviours. After spending three incredibly happy years in this setting and gaining some valuable experiences, I moved on to work in a number of residential homes, again with children who presented complex needs. This line of work continued until I became Youth and Deputy Manager of YMCA in Hove and additionally managed to accomplish my Certificate of Education teaching qualification in 2013. I remained at YMCA until moving to Hastings in 2015. 

Once in Hastings, I began a new role as a Behaviour for Learning Coach with a local outdoor education charity, Education Futures Trust. It was here that I swiftly recognised the valuable therapeutic benefits of working both outdoors and in nature, and the positive impact this could have on the young people I worked with, the majority of which, often presented challenging behaviours and had evidently experienced trauma of varying degrees in their lives. In addition to this, I began to deliver outdoor sports and therapeutic activities to adults, who were experiencing low confidence, low self-esteem and subsequent difficulties with their mental health. 

Therefore, whilst working in Hastings, my passion for working outdoors and spending valuable time in nature was taken to another level. 

It was also during this period that I got to know and worked with Luke Funnell, who also shared a deep passion for nature, the outdoors and the therapeutic and positive impact this could have on the client groups we worked with. As a consequence, I now take great pride in working for Project Rewild from April, 2021 until the present time.