April was a fun and busy month here at Winchester & District Young Carers. Despite the April showers, the wind and rain didn’t stop us this month enjoying our Easter holiday activities with the Young Carers.
During the first week of the Easter Holidays, the young carers attended the CREATE workshop, learning how to stage, film and edit their own films! Day 1 was all about getting to know the group, doing some fun games and getting to know the camera and equipment. We learnt about the different styles of shots in film and were challenged to make a mini story exploring different shots. Things got very silly, helping everyone relax and laugh in our groups! Day 2 took place in Whiteley Shopping Centre, where the young people got all the footage for the films! One group especially made use of lots of shops, creating an adventure film with a group of puppets! Day 3, we were back at Unit 12, onto the editing, playing around with sound and cutting shots together. We also created the artwork for opening our 3 movies – Who Done It? Runaway and Puppets Day Out! A viewing party together finished off a unique 3-day workshop which was so well led by professional film maker Linda and the CREATE team.
In the second week of the holiday, we wrapped up and donned our waterproofs for a day trip to Marwell Zoo with 13 young people and three fantastic volunteers. After meeting at the entrance, we headed into the zoo and started with the penguin enclosure. Moving round, we got up close with the giraffes and particularly enjoyed seeing the meerkats enjoy a break in the weather. We took a break half way round to check out the play area before walking down to explore the Tropical House and spotting the sloth. After lunch, we wandered down to the Wallaby Walk and then explored the monkey enclosures! Speaking of monkeys, despite the changeable weather, the group had so much fun and embraced the blustery weather hanging out in the trees!
Our final activity of the Easter break was a Bowling and Arcade trip, at Eastleigh’s Hollywood Bowl. Across four lanes, the young people had a great time bowling together and cheering each other one. We definitely had some star bowlers amongst the group! After the game, we had some lunch and then went to hang out in the arcade. Collecting tickets was a bit hit, working together to trade them in for prizes.
April was a fantastic month, filled with lots of fun and respite opportunities for our young carers. Our Activities Programme, which runs throughout the year, offers young carers a bit of time for themselves, to socialise, relax and have fun with other likeminded young people. It is with the support and generous funding of organisations like British Land Trust that we are able to offer a diverse range of fun activities to young people on the project throughout the year – thank you!