The Rewild Project is delighted to offer craft sessions for young people on the autistic spectrum.

Spectrum Skills sessions are specially designed to allow young people on the spectrum to spend a day learning a craft skills and be accompanied by their families or not, in a way that works for each individual & family.

Wool craft

Wool is a wonderfully versatile material, often going to wast now, here in the UK, There are many ways of processing a raw sheep’s fleece such as carding & spinning, peg looming, wet felting, needle felting.

During the course of the day there will be the opportunity to try a 2 or 3 different ways of working with wool - let us know if you have any preferences when you sign up…

About Debbie

Debbie is a fibre artist, which started from her passion for historical reenactments. This gave her drive to learn and then pass on these specialist historical crafts.

Debbie has a board interest in crafting which has led her to explore every step of wool processing. Debbie finds joy in processing wool from raw fleece to carded or combed fibre. She has understands the use of wool from the breeds of sheep and other fibre animals and the endless uses for it!

She wants to continue to keep these ancient and viable skills alive through teaching and passing on her love for natural fibres

SPECTRUM SKILLS SESSIONS

We are parents of young people with autistic traits and diagnosed autism. We know the difficulties families face and we are now delighted to have funding to help others where we had none. If you have any feedback about how we can improve sessions to make these more suitable & accessible for families.

• Each session is limited to 5-6 attendees depending on the craft to keep the environment relatively quiet and calming, to prevent overwhelm.

• We will never put any pressure on anyone to take part.

• There will be 1 craftsperson (trained in supporting young people with autism) and 1 regular Rewild Project support person for continuity at the session and the day will run in a gentle and relaxed rhythm.

On the day

The workshop will be relaxed and informal.

We welcome you to arrive anytime between 10:30 and 11. This will give you and your young person the chance to settle in, have a drink and snack and get to know the Spectrum Skills Team. At 11:15 we will give you a small introduction about the site and the craftsperson will introduce their craft for the day. Families are free to stay and join the workshop or go for a walk around the site.

The structure of the day is kept casual to suit the needs of the young people attending the workshop. This means if they would like to take a comfort break or have some alone time we will be able to support them in doing this.

We will break for a simple nutritious lunch, with ingredients grown from our permaculture allotment at 12:45pm where we invite the young people and families to sit around and have a natter. This is a great time for everyone to talk about shared experiences and what other exciting Spectrum Skills can provide!

Spectrum Skills has been funded by NHS England to enable autistic young people to be supported to learn new skills and have specialist activities suited to their needs.

We are charging £10 nominal booking fee per place - which includes food for family members if they need to stay onsite or close by.

The Venue

This course is set at our off-grid woodland craft centre, Kensley Sheds, right in the heart of the beautiful Forest of Dean, situated on the famous Sculpture Trail, close to the Stained Glass Window and Wildlife Trust reserve ‘Woorgreen Lake’

Kensley Sheds is the home of our Social Forestry Project ‘New Leaf’. Here, local adults who are struggling with social issues come learn & practice new skills. We follow regenerative woodland management practices, to extract and process wood from disused Forestry England coppiced woodland. Here the wood is turned it into functional items, firewood and charcoal, giving people access to new careers and a sense of real community.

Kensley sheds has running water, a flushing disabled access toilet, onsite parking and is heated by wood-burner. You will be able to peruse our extensive library of eco / craft / alternative living books throughout the day

Any questions get in touch..