The Welsh pilot experience took place in Pencoed Comprehensive School located between Cardiff and Swansea, South Wales.
From meetings with the geography department and the Deputy Head the pilot was organised to run in the school’s ‘Eco-Club’ – a voluntary lunchtime group taking place every Friday. The project ran with a group of 15 pupils from years 7-9 (ages 12-15) over 4 months and approximately 26 hours of workshops. Students kept a record of the sessions through a reflective journal and took part in a range of activities from the SfR activity bank including values workshops and community exploration. Through this the students decided to improve connections in their local area by organising and conducting the cleaning of a river that was used by both the school and local community. Students advertised around town and promoted the event through posters in local communal spaces and word-of-mouth. The event was attended by several members of the local community including shop owners and residents; even the local Member of Parliament turned-up. The result from the project were connections between the school and a few key members of the community as well as an improvement in the physical environment, i.e. the river Ewenny.
