Coastal Activity Leader Training 7 days - Accredited Level 2 Qualification

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever”

Jacques Yves Cousteau

Our Coastal Activity Leader Training (CALT) is a unique alternative to

Beach School which consolidates the most essential outdoor skills

needed to lead your own exciting outdoor coastal sessions. CALT

empowers educators with the skills, knowledge and expertise to deliver

inspiring environmental education, tailored to the needs of your students,

patients or clients.

About Wild Things!

Wild Things! is an award-winning Scottish charity seeking to overcome

educational, social and economic disadvantages through fostering a mutually

beneficial relationship between communities and the natural world. Founded in

2003, our participants include children, vulnerable teenagers and adults as well

as older people. We provide whole communities the opportunity to gain new

skills, qualifications, interests and community connections, whilst

simultaneously enriching their relationship and engagement with the natural

world, improving their health & wellbeing and quality of life.

Why become a Coastal Activity Leader?

As a charity, it's important to us that we pass on

the skills and expertise we have generated over our

16 years’ experience in delivering environmental

education and conservation programmes. By

training others to utilise outdoor leadership skills,

we aim to empower people across the UK to

integrate outdoor learning into their own professional and personal contexts,

enabling as many people as possible to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits

and transformative experiential learning that results from meaningful

interaction with nature.

In the UK, we’re never more than 70 miles from the sea and usually much closer.

As an island nation, the UK boasts some of the most stunning coastlines in the

world, rich in marine and coastal flora and fauna. The coast is one of the most

exciting and interesting places to learn about the natural world and our CALT

provides an in-depth, seven-day training course ideally suited to anyone

interested in leading groups of all ages and abilities on an exploration of the

weird and wonderful world of marine and coastal ecosystems.

CALT covers a broad array of topics including:

Environmental education methodology – Gain insight into the many

methodological approaches to outdoor learning and plan sessions which are

accessible for people of all abilities.

Naturalist knowledge – Learn about the animals and plants which inhabit the

coastal environment including the ecology of rock pool invertebrates, marine

mammals, animal tracks and signs, coastal birds, seaweeds and coastal plants.

Health and safety – Understand risk assessment and group management

techniques for safely leading groups in the outdoors. We will discuss legal

considerations and responsibilities including access, emergency procedures and

leader requirements.

Tool use – You will learn to demonstrate and supervise the appropriate and safe

use and of knives, saws and loppers.

Fire lighting – Practice effective and safe fire lighting using flint and steel (fire

starters) including making tinder and kindling from natural materials as well as

structuring a fire to deal with coastal weather.

Bushcraft – Learn a variety of outdoor skills including wood carving, making

shelters, setting up tarps on the beach, knot tying, coastal foraging,

environmental craft ideas using natural and washed-up coastal materials.

Environmental Education Games – Come away with a wide variety of fun coastal

themed games and activities for a wide variety of abilities, ages, learning styles

and learning objectives.

Conservation Activities – Learn how to leave natural environments in a better

state than when you found them, with leave-no-trace policies and conservation

ideas suited to coastal habitats.

You will gain:

• A level 2 qualification, accredited by the NCFE.

• Your first coastal session plan, designed by yourself for use in your own

context.

• Confidence to deliver inspiring outdoor sessions in safety.

• Naturalist skills that will help you bring the coastal environment to life.

• A tool-box of environmental activities and games that will enable you to

get outdoors with students straight away.

• The CALT course handbook, packed with resources and further reading.

• Access to the on-going support of our instructors and fellow students, as

well as useful resources to help you develop further session plans in the

future.

Assessments Each of the course units are divided into a variety of learning sessions. Assessment of learning outcomes will take place at various points throughout the course. In order to obtain the Level 2 Award (Coastal Activity Leader Training) qualification, all Learning Outcomes for all 3 units must be met. There are 3 methods of assessment in this training:

Written assessments: These will be conducted under “open book” conditions, i.e. you will be able to refer to your learning materials, personal notes and the Wild things! library when completing the assessment. Written assessments will include short answer responses, multiple- choice tests and the creation of a portfolio of paperwork necessary to support delivery of a Coastal activity session.

Oral assessments: These will be carried out in the field during or after a practical activity. Some oral assessments will be individual, and others based on collective responses.

Practical assessments: Will be carried out in the field and assessed though observation. We appreciate that assessments of any kind can feel daunting, but trust us, they’re not as bad as you think! Our instructors make every effort to support you in gaining your qualification and our pass rate is extremely high as a result.

Pricing and Delivery

Our expert instructors regularly run CALT from our base in Findhorn where we

utilise the stunning coasts of the Moray Firth to explore beaches, dunes and

rocky shores. Students from further afield are able to easily access our location

due to the convenient location of Inverness airport. We also endeavour to run a

smaller number of courses further afield utilising the beautiful beaches in and

around North Berwick, East Lothian, visit our website to book onto our courses.

Course Duration and Considerations

Our accredited training courses provide an intensive, seven-day information and

fun packed experience. The course content is extensive, so be prepared to start

at 9am and finish between 5-6pm each day. The fifth day of the course is usually

designated as a supported self-study day during which participants take all that

they have learned and develop their own unique outdoor session plan, to be

delivered to fellow students in subsequent days.

Weather: As an outdoor, all-weather training experience, be prepared for

unpredictable coastal weather by bringing a good set of boots and waterproofs

to keep you warm and dry.

Bespoke and Private Delivery

In addition to our public courses, we regularly run CALT for private clients

including councils, charitable organisations and schools. When delivering

privately, you gain the benefits of our instructors coming to you: we are always

excited to explore your local coastlines together and many students find this a

useful way of becoming more intimate and knowledgeable about their own local

shores. When delivering privately, we charge for between 10 and 12 course

places which clients are expected to fill independently.

We are not-for-profit! All proceeds generated by our accredited training programmes support our charitable work, helping

disadvantaged people of all ages and abilities to learn from and enjoy the great outdoors.

Place of Delivery Max No. of Participants Cost

Findhorn, Moray 12 (Public) £525pp North Berwick, East Lothian

12 (Public) £625pp

Private (your location)

10-12 (private, arranged by client)

£6250-£7500 (additional fees for accommodation, venue hire and transportation not included)

FAQs

Is there any preparatory reading or post-course work? There is no formal preparatory reading

required to undertake the course as all course content is covered as part of our programme. A small

degree of post-course work may be required in an instance in which the student has either failed to

adequately complete an assessment or was otherwise unable to sit the assessment due to absence.

In such cases, our instructors will support you through any post-course assessments work.

Are there any prerequisites? There are no prerequisites for undertaking the CALT.

Are there any restrictions (age, additional needs)? As the course content is quite demanding, we

recommend this course for people of 18 years or over. We will make acceptation for students of 16

years and over, but would advise against this. If determined, 16 years plus should be supported by a

parent/guardian as the level of learning may prove challenging and we cannot guarantee that

assessments will be passed. If you have other additional needs we will always make every effort to

accommodate them, just let us know prior to booking.

How practical is the course? The course is a mixture of indoor and outdoor learning components. On

average you will spend at least half of each day indoors and half outdoors. This may be subject to

change to take advantage of good weather or to take shelter from bad weather.

How long is the day? The CALT is an intense course packed with information and outdoor skills. Expect

fairly long days, typically 9am-5/6pm.

Meals and accommodation? Meals and accommodation are not included in the course price. We

recommend participants bring pack lunches. If you are joining our Findhorn courses, we are happy to

recommend options for both food and accommodation.

Contact and Bookings

As an accredited training centre we are also equipped to tailor our courses, or even design new ones,

to meet your specific needs.

Our friendly team is always happy to help. If you would like to make an enquiry about our public,

private or bespoke accredited training delivery, please don’t hesitate to give us a call or drop us an

email.

enquiries@wild-things.org.uk

# 01309 690 450

wild-things.org.uk