Teens

on

There’s no doubt that connecting with nature improves our mental health. Recent figures suggest that wellbeing, self-confidence and employability improve when young people spend time in green spaces. 95% said it boosted their confidence and 86% said it had a positive effect on their mental health. Being in nature also helps to reduces loneliness in cities, according to a study published in the Scientific Reports journal.

This summer we created a short film that demonstrates just how important it is for children to get out in nature, to be among trees, in green spaces, and with friends. It was created as part of our Holiday Activities and Food Summer Club (commissioned by East Sussex County Council), and in partnership with the South Downs National Park Trust. With young filmmaker Luke Lebihan behind the camera, we explored the Seven Sisters Country Park, had photography and sound recording sessions at Friston Forest, and went river paddleboarding. It was an unforgettable summer.

These trips out really helped everyone to leave their worries behind, and to be in the moment.

“Lockdown was very boring – I didn’t really have anyone to talk to. This is a break from normal life and it’s good fun. You stop worrying about things that you normally worry about and you’re able to just enjoy yourself.”

Young person attending Make (Good) Trouble’s Summer Club at the South Downs National Park

Amanda Elmes, who leads learning and outreach in the South Downs National Park, said:

“It’s been wonderful to work with these teenagers and see them blossom through this experience.

“Unfortunately a significant proportion of young people are disconnected from the natural world around them and the pandemic has only exacerbated this. We’re really passionate at the National Park about giving young people opportunities to get out into the South Downs, learn about nature and have fun – they might even come home with muddy shoes! The testimonials we have had really support all the research that getting out into green, natural spaces is good for children’s mental health and wellbeing. We strongly believe that all children should have access to nature.”

Make (Good) Trouble’s Summer Club attendees looking out over Cuckmere Haven

Read the article on South Downs National Park website

Further resources for making the most of the great outdoors

Educational guide packed with ideas for things to do: 50 ways forest and outdoor learning experiences benefit child development

Forest England resources for teachers (we think young people and parents will find some great info here too like tree identification charts and the teacher’s blog)

Finding balance: 6 ways to help your teen study (and avoid burnout) from My Tutor

on

As part of our programme of parent and carer get-togethers – our amazing beach walks – we spoke to psychotherapist Donna Peters-Lamb about teen mental health, wellbeing and tips for dealing with:

  • school stress
  • anxiety and exam stress – including how to speak to your teenager and the school about anxiety
  • the teenage brain – when teens seem like they just don’t care!
  • how to manage conversations around their mental health
  • breathing techniques for de-stressing
  • sleep and creating a better sleep routine
  • setting boundaries and expectations – around what we expect as parents, and what our teenagers expect
  • how to look after ourselves
  • and the benefits of having ‘worry time’.

It’s a fascinating discussion, so grab a cuppa and dive in!

This project has been supported by the Sussex Care Partnership, Brighton & Hove City Council

Brighton & Hove City Council logo

For further help & advice

If you need further help or advice, check our Help pages – they cover lots of different topics. (If we’ve missed something, let us know!)

Find out more about Donna at Make Sense Psychotherapy

on

I’ve followed women’s football for the past decade. Ten years ago, if I couldn’t make it to a match in the top flight of women’s football, I’d have to resort to following the action on Twitter, looking for anyone who was tweeting ball-by-ball coverage (hello Girls on the Ball, @Stillberto!). There was no TV coverage, no FA Player streaming matches. There was little to no coverage in the national press, and scant information about players, managers, tactics, strategies – all the things that make following the game interesting and exciting. But times are changing.  

It really feels as if we have reached a tipping point. After a 50-year ban by the FA between 1921 and 1971 (their view was that football was “quite unsuitable for females”), with women resorting to forming their own leagues and tournaments, playing in boys’ teams in boy’s or men’s kits, the tide has turned.

Over 1 billion people tuned in to watch the 2019 Women’s World Cup and for the first time England’s women had their own bespoke kit. In April 2022, 91,648 fans filled Camp Nou to see Barcelona Women take on VfL Wolfsburg in the Champions League semi-final. And with the Women’s Euros about to kick off in July, we’re going to see an explosion of coverage (at last!) of the women’s game. 

🎧Listen to our Goal Power podcasts 👇

This summer, get yourself down to Brighton Museum. You’ll be treated to an amazing exhibition, Goal Power! Women’s Football 1894-2022,  dedicated to the unstoppable rise of women’s football over the last 100 plus years. They have a fantastic array of memorabilia, from the uncomfortable-looking boots worn by munitions worker Fanny Williams in 1921, to Brighton General Post Office team programmes, shirts and trophies from the 1960s and ‘70s, and (for the first two weeks) the 2022 Women’s Super League trophy. The exhibition runs to 25 September 2022.

You’ll also see a few QR codes that link to some fascinating interviews that Make (Good) Trouble helped to create…

Take your headphones to the Goal Power! exhibition at Brighton Museum and hear stories from the likes of referee Georgia Rooney about her part in the beautiful game

In April, Make (Good) Trouble worked alongside photographic artist and artist facilitator Lindsey Smith, to help seven young players, aged between 12 and 14, interview legends of the game, and those working in and playing football today. The resulting podcast series gives us real insights into what it was like to be a player in the 1960s and ‘70s, and how that is changing for those involved in the game today. 

The interviews

A fascinating conversation between young female footballers from Sussex

⚽️ Listen to the young players’ conversation (10 minutes)

Marta, Olivia, Bo, Lili, Rosa, Caitlin and Verity talk about their experiences getting into the game, their aspirations and how they deal with sexism. 

Young players learning how to use audio equipment and discussing what football means to them.

Eileen Bourne started playing football in the 1960s for Brighton GPO team and was part of starting up a local league and national women’s leagues. 

⚽️ Hear Bo and Rosa’s interview with Eileen Bourne (7 minutes)

“My dream was that I would be playing in a cup final at Wembley… That was a dream that was never going to come true, but now it’s different. Girls have played at Wembley.”

Petra Landers, German international player was part of the team that won the Euros in 1989. The German FA infamously presented their triumphant team with a coffee set for winning the trophy. Today Petra is a volunteer coach and mentor working with girls in Ghana.

⚽️ Hear Caitlin and Lili’s interview with Petra Landers (7 minutes)

“I’m going into the communities [in Ghana]. I will have football camps, maybe three or four days… My friend and me, we are going through the communities by motorcycle and this will be a brilliant adventure…. I try to find sponsors and even if I don’t find them I will do it. It’s my passion, my goal, my everything.”

Georgia Rooney, a professional referee and trainer. Inspired by seeing female referees at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, she Googled “how to become a referee”. Her ambition is to referee WSL and international matches. 

⚽️ Hear Marta and Olivia’s interview with Georgia Rooney (6 minutes)

“I always wonder because I was good when I was little, if there was anyone around who was focused on women and girls football and they’d have seen me play and thought she could go on a team or might have just fostered my interest a little bit and helped me go somewhere with it. I just wonder what a difference that would have made because no one paid any attention because no one thought that football was really for girls.”

Lewes FC’s Rhian Cleverly, Karen Dobres and Ellie Ramsauer

⚽️ Hear Bo, Marta, Caitlin, Rosa and Olivia’s interviews with Rhian, Ellie and Karen from Lewes FC

Rhian Cleverly, captain of Lewes FC Women and former Welsh international. She is proud to be playing for “the best team in the world”, the first, and currently only, professional or semi-professional club in the world that splits its resources equally between its men’s and women’s teams. 

“It’s given me the best experiences and friendships I’ve ever had in my life. There’s been tough times, but I think it’s also prepared me, like being released [from a contract] in France – I lost my home, I had a boyfriend at the time, so we broke up, I had lost my car, lost my job, and I was like, oh, what do I do now? So now I think little things like being injured and having surgery, it’s not as big a deal…  it’s prepared me for other things in normal life. So, yeah, I would say if you enjoy it and it makes your heart pump and it makes you smile, then definitely go for it because you won’t regret it.”

Ellie Ramsauer, coach for the under 14s development pathway at Lewes FC (since May 2022, Manager of Saltdean Women’s Development Side), has played football since she was 6. She works in the evenings and at weekends alongside a full-time job. 

“I think boys are more pushed and girls are more excluded. I mean, if you really want to, you can get into it, but there’s not the same encouragement as there is for boys… I think when I was younger, there weren’t many girls teams, not many girls in boys teams either. When I went to watch Arsenal women, they all had men’s hand-me-down kits. I don’t think they were paid either. They never played in big stadiums. Yes, I think respect for the game has grown exponentially.”

Karen Dobres, elected co-director at Lewes FC, the first (and currently only) football team to share its resources equally between its men’s and women’s teams. She is involved with fan and community engagement and financial sustainability. She is passionate about raising the profile of the club and promoting its ethos and practice of equality. 

“I think we’re a long way off equality, but I think that’s simply down to decisions in board rooms. So it’s not like there’s a lot to overcome, really, because we [at Lewes FC] had a lot to overcome when we introduced equality, but everyone seems to have come round to it. Now the sponsors are on board, right? And our men’s team have definitely not suffered. They’ve also been promoted. It’s an important thing to say.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce3lz3rIL0o/

👏 Take a look at Lewes FC and see the brilliant work they’re doing to promote equality.

♥️ This project was made possible with the support of the Lottery Heritage Fund.

on

Brighton has the most internet searches for the word ‘lonely’. Almost 20% of children living in cities say they often feel lonely. (ONS, 2018)

After two years of Covid restrictions, 35% of people aged 16-25 say they have never felt more alone (Feb 2022)

Loneliness can be a strange feeling because you can have feelings of loneliness even when you are around people. I think it comes down to the connections with people that really stop us feeling lonely or make us feel lonely when that connection isn’t there or is inauthentic. 

The pandemic has shown us first-hand the effects of loneliness and isolation and the risks many young people face today. Self care is extremely important for a young person and inclusion is something we as humans thrive on. The feeling of being accepted and being around peers where you feel included is vital for social and emotional development. This is often something that is overlooked in today’s society.

During Mental Health Awareness Week, we collected tips from our Make (Good) Trouble colleagues and from professionals about how to help with feelings of loneliness.

Social media connects us to millions of people yet we can still feel extremely isolated and alone in the world. Why is this? GENUINE CONNECTION. However social media can be so useful to connect us with friends, family and loved ones. It can be used to support and keep those connections alive and strong through long distance communication. Use social media to reconnect with old friends and to reach out to people. 

“I always find having a lengthy catch up over the phone or on Facetime makes me feel so relieved”. Hamzah Ali, Researcher, Make (Good) Trouble

“If I’m feeling lonely I pick up the phone and call a friend I’ve been meaning to speak to for a long time. Speaking to a good friend always puts a smile back on my face.” Jane Keating, Production Director

Loneliness can also come from lack of responsibility and sometimes human contact isn’t what we need. Pets can be very loving and calming to be around. Spending some quality time with animals has been proven to be therapeutic and can also give you a reason to get out into nature and explore your area.

You don’t even need to own a pet to enjoy the company of an animal, Borrow My Doggy is a great service where you can take other people’s dogs for walks! Getting all the benefits from time with an animal and getting outside which also has significant benefits to overall wellbeing and mental health. 

Having a supportive network or even one person that you trust and can be open with can be all it takes to pull you out of a loneliness hole. Maybe you are that person to someone, let them know you are here to chat or reach out first to start the conversation. There are also organisations such as Together Co who specialise in supporting people who deal with loneliness.

I remember doing this mindfulness practise a few months ago that involved writing letters of gratitude to people. I wrote what I was thankful for that person being in my life and how their presence and memories with them in my life has had an impact on me. It was wishy washy at first and some letters I never sent but it put a big smile on my face and helped me understand and appreciate the relationships I have/had with people. I definitely didn’t feel alone after writing those letters and felt so grateful to have those people in my life and it kind of made me want to go out into the world and make more connections. I also thought about the impact that I might’ve had on someone’s life that I don’t even realise or will ever know. It was pretty wild and eye opening. 

Smiling at people, it could make someone’s day showing some care, connection, optimism and love. It could be just what someone needs.

For further help & support

Listen to our episode of Raising Teens: loneliness on BBC Sounds

Our Help page with links to places that support people who are feeling lonely

www.meetup.com/ – an app that helps you connect with people and groups doing various activities in your local area.