It has been a long time since the last entry on the site and a great deal has happened since January.
There has been a great deal of work done in the forest at Grizedale by all candidates, Discovery, Explorer and Conserver, on their journies of learning and self discovery.
Three candidates recieved their Discovery Award, Three candidates recieved their Explorer Award, and one candidate recieved his Conserver Award, the first to be presented this year and the first from the Witherslack group of schools.
For all the candidates it was a fantastic achieement to be able to undergo a prolonged period of study, sometimes in appalling weather, and then to go on and talk about it to a group of people, this in itself is a difficult task for many people.
To carry on with the journey to learn about the environment and themselves takes a great deal of courage as each progressive step makes more demands of a person; so for the Explorer recipients it marks a significant step to gaining a better understanding of the world around them. To want to go on and gain the Conserver Award is a notable achievement as it underscores the amount of dedication needed to gain this final certificate that the John Muir Trust offers.
As one of the candidates said:

"The certificate is a piece of paper. It's what the piece of paper represents that's the real prize."

Well done to all candidates for their achievements and a fantastically large thank you to Mary, Miranda, Mark and Brian for all their help in bringing about this success.