Adventure as a road to inclusivity
What do a white working class boy from Gipton and a Syrian immigrant from the other side of Leeds and a different school, have in common? Society would tell us very little. But for the fact they are standing side by side, at the entrance to a cave, feeling equal parts fear, apprehension, excitement and joy at the challenge before them. They put an arm around each other, take a deep breath, and step into the darkness…
Basecamp Adventure Trust is an outdoor adventure charity that came about from the collaborative, ambitious and inclusive network the Leeds Learning Alliance has built. We are proud to be in our 4th year of operation, now working with 75 young people across a number of LLA schools, and are as excited as ever about what adventure can do for young people. In the divided and disconnected world we currently finds ourselves in, adventure feels like a powerful road to inclusivity…
Last week, we held our first Basecamp Adventure Trip of our 2024 Programme, in Malham, and were reminded just how much outdoor adventure - by disconnecting us and isolating us in some ways - brings us together, breaks down walls and challenges limiting beliefs.
Our cavers in question openly admitted they would never so much as talk to each other if they went to the same school, let alone be friends with each other. But away from their phones, away from their normal reality, they find themselves in the middle of nowhere, united by the same experience. This is what adventure can do. It makes us equal, allows us to share our fear and vulnerability, creates powerful moments of joy, euphoria, pride and connection.
Adventure is raw, it’s real, and it sparks an immediate closeness that feels earned rather than assumed. When the rain is coming down in spades and the hill is steep, a simple act of generosity from one child to another - a kitkat broken in two – can be enough to challenge the prejudices and ideas they hold about others. Adventure doesn’t judge based on who you are, where you come from or how much money you have, it only asks that you show up with curiosity, kindness and bravery.
Once we had made it through the cave and it’s many challenges, I chatted with the young people about their experience of the 48 hour trip they had just been on. They reflected that it felt like they had taken a mask off that they didn’t even know they were wearing, that the new friendships they’d made had exposed a different part of their personality they didn’t know was there, and that they had learned just how much we have in common when we really allow ourselves to look. One boy concluded the conversation with ‘maybe I don’t need to stay in the box I’ve put myself in.’ We couldn’t have put it better ourselves.
