Following on from the very successful Awards Celebration for our young participants in the Raising Stars football project in in the New Horizon Centre in May, Cadella, who is one of the parents and an active volunteer at RS writes about an exciting activity taking place this weekend.
Raising Stars has been invited to take part in a fantastic residential opportunity, thanks to a partnership between Young Merton, Merton Connected and the RSPB.
From Friday 24th to Monday 27th July 2026, four of our young people will head off to Cameron’s Cottage on the Franchises Lodge Nature Reserve in the New Forest, supported by two of our coaches and a parent volunteer. They’ll be joined on the trip by young people from Ashdon Jazz Academy, making it a brilliant chance to meet new faces while getting stuck into nature.
The residential is completely free and all-inclusive, giving our young people an unforgettable long weekend away, packed with adventure, wildlife and creativity. Over the four days, the group will take part in activities including woodland team building, nature art and creative writing, an evening bat walk, bracken bashing, bushcraft basics, a social action project, shelter building, and setting up camera traps to see what wildlife passes by overnight. The trip wraps up with a fun team challenge session, including a blindfolded trail, slacklining and the spider’s web.
Opportunities like this are exactly what help Raising Stars grow, giving our young people access to experiences, skills and memories they might not otherwise get the chance to have. We’re incredibly grateful to Young Merton for making this possible, and can’t wait to share photos and stories from the trip when our group gets back.
