Leaside Trust's Four-Day Adventure

15 December 2023

We were delighted to sponsor 14 children between the ages of 9 and 15 from the Leaside Trust who checked in to Cameron’s Cottage recently for four days of activities and adventures in the New Forest.

The Trust, based in Hackney, is an organisation dedicated to delivering inspiring and engaging outdoor activities to young people. Their aim is to encourage children to stay in education, develop their confidence and build leadership skills. This was the Leaside Trust’s first every dry land residential outing all made possible for sponsorship from The Cameron Bespolka Trust.

Over the course of the four days the young members of the trust took part in a range of activities in the Forest designed to enhance their social and team building skills. The group arrived around lunch time on day one leaving enough time to unpack, sort out the cooking and cleaning roster before heading out into the forest for some blindfold teambuilding games, slackline walking and wood chopping. After dinner the group gathered round the open fire to toast marshmallows and boil water for hot chocolate in ghillie kettles.

A massive thank you to Corinne, the Cameron Bespolka Trust and the RSPB for hosting us and making the trip so memorable.

Day two saw the group clearing growth of invasive rhododendrons before building natural shelters from the branches. Next they learned how to make cordage from nettles and rushes followed by a short scavenge through the woods to collect material for making mobiles. After dinner they learned how to make bannock bread, baking it on an open fire they built in the woods.

The group spent time working in teams, working independently, doing solution focused activities ... we saw huge progression through the 4 days in all our young people

On day three the group spent the morning map reading and learning how to use a compass. Splitting into the groups, they headed out into the forest tasked with navigating their way to set points on the map. It proved a tough challenge crossing boggy ground, through thick woods and over fences to reach their goals. The afternoon was spent whittling wooden owls under the expert guidance of instructors Simon and Amanda.

All too soon it was the final day of the trip. The children packed, loaded the bus and cleaned the cottage before heading outside to finish up their wooden owls, split more wood and explore the forest for one last time. In all it was a great experience for the children.  They had very limited access to their mobile phones and social media so had to find other ways to amuse themselves during their free time.

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Building shelters from branches

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Making cordage

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Making Bannock Bread

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Toasting marshmallows

Autumn Wild New Forest Camp

02 November 2023

We were delighted to once again sponsor the Autumn New Forest Wildlife Camp. The camp was held at the newly renovated Cameron’s Cottage in the New Forest at the end of October. Izzy Fry attended the camp as a mentor and blogged about her experience.

Wild New Forest Camp

by Izzy Fry

This weekend I have been down in the New Forest for the Wild New Forest autumn camp which is sponsored by the Cameron Bespolka Trust.

On the Saturday we spent most of the morning searching for the weird and wonderful fungi around the forest and didn’t we find some amazing specimens! Highlights included Stinkhorns, Hedgehog fungi, Fly Agarics and Purple Deceivers.

The forest is home to an abundance of fungi

I joined the camp this year as a mentor and one of my roles was leading a group as part of a BioBlitz competition! My group was fantastic and preserved through the torrential rain to find and identify a huge 81 species.

In the evening we listened to some great talks about Pine Martins and camera trapping in the New Forest as well as a bird ringing talk from me and also a mentor interview from myself and photographer Dimitri Moore.

There was much to discover in the New Forest

Later that night we headed out for another walk in the dark around the forest. We found lots of new species of fungi including Puffballs, Cauliflower fungus, False Deathcaps and many many more!

We started off our second day in the forest bright and early to do some more bird ringing and the slightly better weather led to a nice selection of birds! The highlights for me were Goldcrests and Marsh tits, one of which I was lucky enough to ring. It was brilliant to see how many of the young people were interested in ringing and the process of it and lots are inspired to start training themselves! (All birds ringed under license with HPAI precautions to ensure all birds and people involved are safe)

Happy Campers

We then checked the moth traps that were put out the evening before and my favourite species was this beautiful Merveille du Jour. Later that morning we headed for another fungi walk that led us up to a patch of heath land. We spotted loads of fungi species including Rosy bonnets, Jelly babies and Hedgehog fungus as well as the rare Nail Fungus which grows on the New Forest pony poo! In the afternoon we had a bit of time to dry off from the torrential rain we walked through earlier and played a couple rounds of bird bingo which has become a camp favourite and tradition over the years.

For our last evening in the forest we headed out to do some more fungi photography and a final walk around the cottage before saying goodbye until next year. I had a brilliant weekend as always and would like to thank Wild New Forest for organising and running the camp and the Cameron Bespolka Trust for funding us to go.

The BioBlitz is a highlight of the weekend

Young Leaders Course moves to Cameron's Cottage

09 September 2023

After a successful run at Spurn Bird Observatory, the Young Leaders Course (YLC) has moved to Cameron’s Cottage, a facility ideally suited to educate and entertain.

With the change in venue came some changes in the programme; lecturers from a range of backgrounds and sectors were invited to deliver talks and presentations to the 12 participants who had been carefully selected for the course. One of the key aims of the YLC is to make clear to participants how they can move into leadership positions, even if they are not yet at the CEO level. The sheer wealth of expertise on offer made the course hugely valuable for those wanting to forge a career in this area.

It was a busy four days for participants and lecturers

The Lecturers
The course was hosted by Faye Vogely who is Youth Entertainment Manager at the BTO. She was ably supported by youth staff member Rachael Griffiths and youth volunteer Mya Bambrick. There was a very busy programme with lectures and sessions from 9am until 6pm. Faye led practical sessions on delivering presentations, CVs and job applications, giving guided walks, and running successful meetings. Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link focused on negotiating and influencing with his interactive workshops showing participants how they can influence others by using effective storytelling and understanding people.

“A huge thank you to the incredible staff and people supporting the course. It has been a valuable week, where I learned priceless lessons which I will carry with me throughout my career, and personal life.”

Dr Anjana Khatwa, Earth Scientist and EDI specialist, focused on creating inclusive communities and understanding how to be an ethical leader. Her workshop forced participants to think about their own privilege and how to use it as a leader. Jack Baker, Pangolin Podcast creator and PhD student talked about the importance of communicating effectively as a leader, and showing the different ways we can communicate to different audiences. Helen Robinson and Paul Walton from New Forest National Park Authority looked at the importance of partnership working and how leaders need to be able to understand the needs of different stakeholders.

The outdoor classroom proved an ideal learning environment

There was plenty of opportunity for socialising

Students gather media content for presentations

Social activities were not neglected; ice breaker games were played at the start of the programme to help people get to know each other and after dinner each night camp fire games were played and evening walks undertaken. In addition attendees were given the opportunity to go birdwatching before and after the programme each day. This was an offer that was eagerly taken up. RSPB staff joined the course at times during the four days to talk about life as wardens and demonstrate bats in the hand as part of a ringing programme.

The feedback for the course has been overwhelmingly positive. All sessions were well received and were found to have relevant elements that will help participants in their career. Most of the participants reported that their confidence increased during the four days and said they recognised that their self-worth was key for successful leadership.

Roasting marshmallows on an open fire

The Kilner Path

07 September 2023

At Cameron’s Cottage there is a path dedicated to the memory of Jim Kilner who died recently at the age of 83. Jim spent much of his later years quietly raising money for the RSPB and the Kilner Path has been named in his honour to celebrate his tireless efforts.

Jim was a very proud engineer by profession and still kept the tools he made when he was an apprentice in his extensive engineering workshop. From this workshop he made bird nest boxes out of felled trees to his own very specific design.  The proceeds from the sale of these lovingly-crafted boxes went to the RSPB and that money was used to purchase tools for the Lodge Garden and the benches under the shelter.

Jim was invited down to Franchises Lodge by the RSPB to see what had been bought with his money. On the visit he spotted a neglected tricycle chassis and asked if he could buy it from the RSPB. Within two months he had renovated the chassis and turned it into a cargo carrying bike. It was sold to a young fisherman to carry his gear to fishing spots. The £400 of profit went to buying the trees at Cameroons Cottage and the residual used towards the costs of the Kilner Path.

Three months before died he travelled down to the cottage and took a ride in his off road tramper around the path. Jim spoke of how wonderful it was to have been a small part of the Cameron’s Cottage story and how proud he was that the RSPB had named the path after him.

Jim Kilner was tireless in his fundraising efforts

Winnall Primary School's Day Out

28 July 2023

Sponsorship from the Trust enabled a group of children from Winnall Primary School in Winchester to travel down to Cameron’s Cottage and enjoy a jam-packed day of activities.

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