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May finally sees the conclusion of a three-year collaboration between #itsgreatoutthere and the Comunità di San Martino al Campo (SMaC) association, which has been working with young people from difficult backgrounds and providing them with new perspectives in life through outdoor experiences. After a pandemic-enforced break, SMaC has resumed its work with ‘Down by the River’, which will see participants follow the course of the Tagliamento river, via a variety of activities.

We are delighted to announce details of six grass roots projects that have secured funding through the latest round of #itsgreatoutthere grants. Each will receive up to €5,000 to help them introduce new participants to a wide range of activities in nature. The grants awarded ahead of summer 2022 will deliver almost 800 Outdoor Activity Days in Croatia, Greece, Latvia and the UK.

Applications are open until 28th February

Grass roots projects around Europe are set to deliver thousands of days of outdoor activities after securing support from the It’s Great Out There Coalition. In the latest round of #itsgreatoutthere grants, seven non-profit initiatives will receive between €1,000 and €5,000, which will help them to deliver almost 2,000 ‘Outdoor Activity Days’ (OAD) in a natural environment, bringing together physical activity, inclusion and nature conservation. Thanks to the grants, projects in France, Finland and the UK will now be able to give many young people new experiences in the outdoors, safely and responsibly.

The following seven projects have been awarded #itsgreatoutthere grants of between €1,000 and €5,000:

Early in 2020, we awarded an #itsgreatoutthere grant to a ‘En Passant par la Montagne’ (‘Through the Mountain’), a non-profit initiative that allows young people and adults in underprivileged or challenging circumstances to access the mountains and outdoor sports as a source of motivation and support to rise above their current situation.

The It’s Great Out There Coalition has confirmed the 10 projects that will be supported in the latest round of #itsgreatoutthere grants. Local initiatives in six different countries that mainly involve young people, will each receive €1.000, to help them get new participants active in the outdoors, experiencing activities that include climbing, camping, trekking, adventure racing, orienteering, canyoning, skiing and snowboarding.

One of the most rewarding aspects for everyone involved in our movement is receiving news of how an #itsgreatoutthere grant has helped introduce young people to the outdoors for the first time. Our grant programme was launched in 2017 and we’ve already supported 17 projects of different sizes and types around Europe, directly benefiting around 5,300 people. In our first round of grants in 2020, we backed two great initiatives and they have recently reported back after a successful summer.

The It’s Great Out There Coalition has announced details of a new round of #itsgreatoutthere grants, designed to fund projects by non-profit organisations that take new people into the outdoors.

For several years now, the CREPS Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Vallon Pont d’Arc has been making outdoor activities more accessible to young people who do not engage in physical activity, are lost on the education system, looking for work, and often in social difficulties, aged 16 to 25 years. The activities aimed to achieve this goal, highlight the benefits both on mental and physical health of outdoor activities and focus on the transferable skills required to enter the world of work take place naturally: effort, surpassing oneself, risk taking.

“Free to be Kids” projects for lasting positive memories outdoors:
The projects the kids undertake with “Free to be Kids” are designed to give them the opportunity to experience adventure, inclusion, safe challenge and to make lasting positive memories in natural settings.

One day out to enjoy the beauty of nature and learn more about the benefit of mountain life. More than 100 young mountain lovers in Fai Della Paganella (Dolomites, Italy) had an amazing experience at “ORME – The Outdoor Festival Along the Trails”.

We run a service called Skills for Living, for Care experienced Young people aged 16-24. These are vulnerable young people whom usually struggle mentally and social, we therefore work with them around their mental health, relationships and emotional anxiety. We work with them over a long period of time to try and build trust and the relationship as they rarely trust anyone. We try and look for ways to help their confidence and self-esteem as well as building resilience within them.

On the 6th of may 2019 eleven students of the SMaC school embarked with their educators and some volunteers in a 5-day bicycle journey in the Wachau region of Austria. Starting from the medieval town of Melk, the group followed the course of the Danube river for 120 km, sleeping in Tulln and Krems am der Donau, before reaching Vienna for the final stay.

Each year, students in 9th, 10th and 11th grade at a school in Hamburg (Winterhuder Reformschule) prepare for a 2-week challenge. A challenge that pushes students physically and mentally.

Follow your heart, take a chance and blaze a trail! TrailBlazers is a youth empowerment mission to build confidence, resilience and life skills to help teenage girls tackle mental health issues and live courageously. On a beautiful sunny weekend in October 2018, 50 girls had the experience of a life-time at the inaugural adventure camp at PGL in Dorset. Here is the story of what happened…

Hundreds of young people from a school in eastern England are enjoying new experiences in the outdoors thanks to the award of an #itsgreatoutthere grant. Over 400 students, including 128 who had never been on the water before, have already been canoeing in boats that were purchased using the grant, led by Dom Brister from Stamford Welland Academy in Lincolnshire, part of the Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust. Thousands more will be given the chance to explore the outdoors in the canoes in the coming years, learning a wide range of new skills in the process.

Hundreds of young people from a school in eastern England are enjoying new experiences in the outdoors thanks to the award of an #itsgreatoutthere grant. Over 400 students, including 128 who had never been on the water before, have already been canoeing in boats that were purchased using the grant, led by Dom Brister from Stamford Welland Academy in Lincolnshire, part of the Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust. Thousands more will be given the chance to explore the outdoors in the canoes in the coming years, learning a wide range of new skills in the process.

TrailBlazers is a ground breaking youth empowerment initiative to help teenage girls develop the confidence and skills to navigate their own path and live courageously

The It’s Great Out There Coalition has confirmed that the next #itsgreatoutthere grant will be awarded to a collaboration between Finnish children’s outdoor brand Reima and an inner city primary school in London. The grant will help the two partners run a project designed to create a culture of being more active among young people and those with whom they interact.

The It’s Great Out There Coalition has awarded its seventh #itsgreatoutthere grant to a Dutch project called De Buurtcamping. The initiative is designed to unify local communities and provide opportunities for those living on low incomes to have a holiday, by giving them outdoor experiences in campsites set up in city parks. The #itsgreatoutthere grant is helping De Buurtcamping engage with local sports companies and activity providers to host a range of activities within the camps over the summer months.

The 37 pupils of class 7b from the „Freie Waldorfschule am Kräherwald e.V.“ are travelling by bike through the Netherlands. For two weeks the girls and boys discover cities and the landscape of Holland, sleep in tents and will have to resist wind and weather. They will do something they would never do on their own – but as a group they will reach their goal and share a great experience together. Hopefully it will inspire them to make this way of travelling an option for future holiday activities as well as outdoor activities in general.

Every year on the first saturday of June, FFM (Madrilenian federation of mountaineering), convene the mountaineers from Madrid to share a day in nature.

Adventures take many forms, and can have a different purpose and meaning to every person that takes part.

Thirteen Teenagers From Northern Germany Accomplished A Huge Challenge This Summer

Trek with donkeys is an easy and educational trek which is perfect both for children and adults and amazingly fits for the goal of #itsgreatoutthere. The donkey is the perfect mate for children’s treks: it is smart and calm, it loves being petted, it walks with regular and slow steps, it makes the trek more fun.