The Outward Bound Trust powers up its first green course

Experiential learning charity The Outward Bound Trust has announced details of its first green course.  Developed jointly with npower, the five day residential course is designed to equip young people with the knowledge and appetite to return to their schools and communities and take the lead in projects to protect the environment.

The Green Outward Bound® course will use adventurous experiences in the outdoors to deepen participants’ awareness of climate change and sustainability.  The aim is to improve their appreciation of the environment and give them the tools to realise their own potential to preserve it.  All Outward Bound® courses link to and support the new National Curriculum in England and the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland, providing learning outcomes that enhance education in the classroom.  The green course is aimed at secondary school key stage three pupils (aged 11 to 14).

The Outward Bound® Green Course was developed in partnership with npower’s Climate Cop programme and will run for the first time from November 24-28.  It will be held at the Outward Bound® residential centre on Ullswater in the Lake District, where 100 young people from 10 schools across the UK will be the first to experience the course. 

npower has recruited the 100 students and helped developed the course as part of its Climate Cops programme - a £20million, five year initiative designed to motivate eco-aware students to turn their passion for the environment into positive action. The 100 students, who make up the finalists in npower’s Green SOS competition, are crusading to make changes in their local communities, including transforming recycling programmes, introducing outdoor classrooms and enforcing car-sharing schemes for drop-off parents.

Nick Barrett, chief executive of The Outward Bound Trust, comments:
“Outward Bound® courses are held in some of the most beautiful and dramatic surroundings in the country.  The Trust has a deep understanding of and empathy with the environment in which it operates, so the development of a ‘green’ course is something that has been a labour of love for us. 

“Working with npower, we believe that we have created a course that not only provides valuable learning to enhance the formal curriculum, but which will also inspire young people to become leaders in sustainability projects in their schools and wider communities.  For all of our futures, that needs to happen."

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For more information contact 01931 74000.

Notes to editors

About the npower Climate Cops Programme
In its second year, npower’s Climate Cops programme aims to reach 2,500 schools over 5 years by providing a combination of ‘green makeovers’ including free energy audits, helping to implement tailor made energy efficiency measures to reduce their carbon footprint and helping children learn how to be greener. For more information visit www.npower.com/GreenSoS

npower’s Climate Cops programme has just been awarded an IVCA Clarion Award 2008 for Climate Change Communication. The awards are not-for-profit and recognise best practice in communicating the importance of CSR, sustainable development, social inclusion and ethical debate.
www.ivca.org/ivca/live/news/2008/2008-ivca-clarion-award-winners.html

About npower

• npower is one of the UK's largest electricity suppliers and has 6.6 million customer accounts across the UK
• npower sponsors the Test Match Series in England, Women's Test Series, the Twenty20 Cup and Village Cup
• npower was recently awarded platinum status in Business in the Community’s CR Index

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