Fellow's Profile
Fellow's Profile
Into the wilds: getting young people in poverty on outdoor adventures
Increasing access to adventurous outdoor activities for young people growing up in poverty
2024
I work at the Ramblers, Britain's walking charity, where I lead our programme to widen access to the outdoors for young people - the Out There Award. Outside of work I love being in the outdoors, from Scouts aged six to more recently completing my Mountain Leader qualifications and Rock Climbing Instructor training.
Young people growing up in poverty in the UK have less access to adventurous activities in wild places. Research shows adventurous outdoor play reduces anxiety and depression in young people, particularly in lower-income families. Yet rising costs are making school trips harder to afford and many local authorities have had to cut their outdoor activity programmes. Young people from poorer backgrounds are twice as likely to have not visited a natural environment like a beach or forest in the last 12 months.
I want to help change that. For my Fellowship research I will travel to the Pacific Northwest - an area renowned for its outdoors activity sector - to understand what businesses, governments and not-for-profits are doing to address this problem. I want to bring this learning back to the UK to influence systemic change on this issue and explore how I can personally help get more young people on outdoor adventures.
Alistair Cooper participated in a panel discussion alongside Shadow Defra Minister Robbie Moore and Outward Bound UK, discussing how to improve access to the outdoors for young people, and sharing insights into his upcoming Churchill Fellowship research plans.
By Alistair Cooper, 1 October 2024
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Alistair Cooper participated in a panel discussion alongside Shadow Defra Minister Robbie Moore and Outward Bound UK, discussing how to improve access to the outdoors for young people, and sharing insights into his upcoming Churchill Fellowship research plans.
By Alistair Cooper, 1 October 2024
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
