Equip supports 24 young people with Outward Bound Trust residential in fourth year of partnership

Equip Outdoor Technologies Ltd (Equip), the parent company of British outdoor brands Rab and Lowe Alpine, supported 24 young people to attend an outdoor course in Wales as part of its ongoing partnership with educational charity The Outward Bound Trust.

The partnership between Equip and Outward Bound Trust is built on shared values and a passion for encouraging more young people to experience the mental and physical benefits of the outdoors, whilst educating them on how to act responsibly and sustainably in wild spaces. It is part of Equip’s wider CSR strategy supporting the Partner activity within its four pillar Rab DNA agenda; Product, Planet, People and Partner.

Equip supported the David Nieper Academy in Alfreton, Derbyshire (the location of Equip’s headquarters) for the second consecutive year, with a five-day Outward Bound Trust residential course for 24 pupils in February 2023.

The aim of the course was to raise aspirations and help the young people gain life skills which will aid future employability. Over the week, they took part in a range of outdoor activities such as rock climbing, hiking, canoeing and an overnight expedition to encourage collaboration, building connections and to support an increase in their communication skills and confidence.

Following the course, the young people completed a retrospective pre/post questionnaire to assess key outcomes:

• 87% of young people reported improvements in confidence
• 77% of young people reported improvements in their ability to cope in emotionally challenging situations
• 70% of young people reported improvements in resilience

Katherine Turner, Progress and Achievement at David Nieper Academy commented:

“It was an incredibly rewarding experience for our pupils, throughout the week you could see the change in them as their confidence developed. They still talk about it now even though it was weeks ago, and some have even expressed an interest in the Duke Of Edinburgh award as a result!”

Two Equip volunteer employee ambassadors accompanied the young people for the week, acting as positive role models whilst providing emotional and practical support as a key part of the initiative.

One of the chosen ambassadors, Anna Proffitt (Equip Digital Marketing Assistant) reflected:

“It was such a rewarding and eye-opening week which has left me inspired to do more to help and facilitate opportunities for young people; it’s so significant what just one week in Ogwen Valley can do! To see the transformational powers of the outdoors on a group of students was amazing.”

Equip’s employee ambassador programme will continue to support the David Nieper Academy with a range of activities for students throughout the academic year in an effort to extend opportunities and exposure to the outdoors for a wider cohort of students.

Karen Jewell (Equip Director of HR & Organisational Development) added:

“We’re proud to once again be supporting the David Nieper Academy with The Outward Bound Trust, through our shared passion we’re enabling more young people to experience the power, freedom, mental and physical benefits of the great outdoors. Our volunteer employee ambassador programme makes a huge impact on the lives of these young people in our local community who may not usually have access to these unique learning opportunities, which are so important for their development.”

The four-year partnership with Outward Bound has now supported 131 young people to access the outdoors with further residentials in the plan for 2024.

Martin Davidson, Chief Executive, The Outward Bound Trust concludes:

“Young people have faced unprecedented disruption to their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many continue to be socially disconnected, emotionally fragile and lacking the confidence, inspiration and resilience they need to regain feelings of control and purpose in their lives. As we emerge from the pandemic, the need for what Outward Bound does for young people has never been greater.

By combining the unpredictability of the outdoors with learning and adventure in the wild, our instructors and Equip UK Ambassadors will support young people to build self-belief and resilience, often transforming lives for the better. We are delighted to work with Equip UK for what promises to be another successful year.”

For more information on the partnership, please visit here.