International Day Of Happiness

On International Day Of Happiness we celebrate….

A year ago today we launched The Woodland Project campaign to gain valuable funding from The National Lottery. Nine months on, after winning the funds, we are pleased to let you know on International Day Of Happiness, how the Project has been going and what we have achieved!

What makes us happy…

Since July 2018, the funding has enabled us to run the following days:

• 13 FISS Family Days
• 4 CAMHS Family Days
• 3 Staff Training Days
• 10 Parent Taster Days
• 9 Teenage Woodland Days
• 1 Teenage Woodland Camp
• 1 Celebration Day

The Woodland Project in East Sussex offers days out in nature for families who have a child with a severe physical or learning disability, families who have a child experiencing mental health issues and 11-18 year olds who are accessing mental health services. The Woodland Project allows these families to spend quality time together, relax in their natural surroundings, free of distractions and judgement.

What would make us really happy

The Woodland Project is run by Circle of Life Rediscovery and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. The project is funded solely through donations and external funding. We desperately need continuous funding to support the future of the project! If you are able to donate, please do so by the link below and please share!

“In the woods my son is calm and happy. We look forward to coming to the woods because he can be himself in a safe environment. I can be his parent, rather than just his carer.”

“This project is one of the most valuable things we have. I don’t think of it as therapy when I am here, it feels like a family day.  It is difficult to find things we can do with my daughter. Here there are understanding people, who are able to keep her occupied which enables us to have a family day out. Often we are protecting her or others. Here it is relaxing, it’s not about protection and this is really, really rare.” 

“We have never used a service for the whole family before. We don’t get out much, I think this is the longest my son has spent outside in living memory. This is phenomenally good. He is safe and the girls are happily occupied, we haven’t had that kind of freedom before, today has given us a different perspective that it is possible.”

 

As well as funded programmes, Circle of Life Rediscovery offers unique nature-based experiences across East Sussex. These included bespoke camps for schools, forest school sessions and enrichment days. Plus CPD’s, in-house training and forest school training for adults.