Back To The Wild CIC
Projects & Events
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2026
Our successful Wild Tots term was extended from 10 to 14 weeks this year.
The 14-week program was split into two 7-week blocks:
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Spring Tots: March 6th – May 1st
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Summer Tots: May 8th – June 26th
Sessions are subsided by B2W to make them affordable and include campfire cooking, nature inspired craft and woodland games.
"Friday's are the best day of the week, when we can get together and play in the woods!"
Outdoor Learning Conference 2025
The 5th biennial Outdoor Learning Conference was held at Hellens in November 2025.
The keynote was delivered by Erica and Sarah from 'The Children's Forest'. They discussed restoring nature-connected culture through forest school practice, including tree planting, games, ancestral skills, creativity, song, storytelling, and practical ecology.
Participants also chose three workshops from Green Woodworking, Music Pedagogy, Bird Connection, and Exploring Fibres.
We welcomed 40 people, including professionals and volunteers, who enjoyed the valuable opportunity to network,, have fun and learn new skills.
2025
Wild Tots -Connecting children under 5 years and their parents/ carers with the natural world through weekly seasonal sessions in Hall wood, Spring through to Autumn - more info here
Hellens Garden Festival - We ran a migration themed B2W space at the annual 2 day festival, making swifts on sticks to fly around the gardens and grounds of Hellens. Celebrating people, plants and the planet, 20% of festival profits are donated to B2W.
Hellens Produce markets - Supporting the produce market, promoting our work and running simple free activities for children and young people to join in with.
Our site is also regularly used by the local primary school and scouts for more nature based learning and connection.
2021-2024
Hellens Garden Festival has donated 2% of profits to B2W Project since 2016. This pays for planning and delivery of projects and has enabled us to reach more young people than before.
DE-FRY (Deep Ecology for Rural Youth) Project..
This 6 month project will provide opportunity for 15 young people between 11-14 years old.
Our first funded completely online project in response to Covid-19 and the impact of lockdown and social isolation on our mental health.
We will be running engaging activities designed around the natural world and key life skills, designed for home-based participation, participants will have fun, by connecting with others, exploring and learning about the natural world, creativity, and develop communication skills, individual confidence and motivation, well-being and resilience.
Woven throughout DE-FRY is iHeart training (Innate Health Education and Resilience Training) which is a new language and curriculum in mental health, well-being and resilience. ( https://iheartprinciples.com )
We are working with Back to the Wild Partners to provide additional activities via our you Tube Channel. Which include:
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Stone Age Experts
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A creative writing specialist
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Recycled materials 'Music Making Master Class'
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An inspirational Local ceramist and youth ecologist.
Funded by the Coronavirus Community Support Fund distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund. Thanks to the Government for making this possible.
2020
In early March 2020 we ran an outdoor teambuilding day for 30 staff members from Worcestershire Early Intervention Family Support. Several people had attended previous B2W projects with groups of children and all were given skills and activities to take back and use in their work with young people.
This summer, we have not run any of the planned projects due to Covid-19, but have maintained contact with the organizations we work with and interacted with them virtually. Using the new equipment from the Fastershire grant, we recorded a couple of short films in collaboration with partner organizations that were made available during HGF online.
The project we were due to run in August with Strong Young Minds, a Hereford-based mental health charity, was cancelled on the day due to a member of their team having Covid symptoms, but we recorded a ‘Creative clay’ film and ‘Meadow-tation’ (meditative walk through Hellens grounds) for them to use with young people online.
We ran two projects in October half term with HOPE support services online!
2019
Projects in Hallwood included;
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Early Intervention Family Support (Worcester) 1 x Day project for young people and staff
8 children (5-11 yrs) and 6 staff members
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Early Intervention Family Support (Worcester) 1 x Day project for young people, parents/carers and staff
4 young people (5-11 yrs) 8 Parents/Carers and 4 staff members
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Strong Young Minds – Young people aged 13 – 24 years with varied mental health issues, young champions and staff.
11 Young People and 3 members of staff
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HOPE Support Services , young people (5-11 years) and staff 1 x Day
10 children and 3 staff members
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HOPE Support Services , young people (11-19 years) and staff 1 x 2 Day Residential
13 young people, 2 x staff members and 1 volunteer
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Members of the public, parents and children at Hellens Garden Festival 2019, in collaboration with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust (HWT)/Wild Play with volunteer help from HOPE support young people and staff.
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Hope Y team day, October 2019
15 -24 years old X 9
Aim of session: To bring a new cohort of Y-Team together, works as a team, build on relationships, increase self awareness & learn individual strengths and weaknesses.
Nature connection, basket weaving - making lanterns, campfire cooking, night walk.
Youth consultation.
2018
2017
We ran HOPE residentials, with the Strong Young Minds, Early intervention Family support family sessions
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HGF activities including ‘wild at art’ open day
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E.I.F.S (Worcester) Family Support (2 x Day Family project activities)
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St. Michaels’s Hospice / Hope Support Services (2 Day residential)
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FCA – Foster Carers Association (1 X Day activities for kids and carers)
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Members of the public/children at Open (Wild at ‘Art) session
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Members of the public/children at Hellens Garden Festival
We have loved working with other partner organisations. Such as the Herefordshire Forest School Association and Herefordshire Wildlife Trust. Sharing skills and best practice for staff and volunteers.
Katrina Preston - B2W Director
It is really very special to be able to host the Outdoor learning conferences with the Herefordshire Forest School Association at Hellens in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Welcoming and meeting so many like minded Forest school practitioners.
Kat Terry - B2W Director
