The Autumn Walk ended a third successful year of walks. The Equals IW Friends and Family Group recently came together to take part in the final Green Time Walk of 2024 the Rookley and Roslin Walk. Friends joined Mark who led this beautiful circular walk, leaving Rookley Village to walk down Bunkers Lane and on through Bunkers Copse.

We walked down the path passing a large field full of sheep and onto the marsh field that was very wet. We were faced with a challenge to work out a dry route to the stream bridge. Crossing the River Medina at the bottom of the valley we walked up hill to Loverstone Farm for a well-earned short break.

From there we climbed the short hill to view the surrounding countryside in the warm autumn sunshine and walked on to Ramsdown Farm. Here the walk re-joined the country lane to on to Rookley Farm to find an autumn coloured leafed wall for a fun photo opportunity.

We took the path back to Rookley Village to successfully complete the circular walk 

4.5 miles –7.2km, 473 Kcal being burnt and 10,215 steps taken.

Mark, who is the Green Time Co-ordinator is delighted to share the Green Time Walks will be returning in spring 2025 for a fourth season of walks. Next year walks will give an opportunity to explore even more different areas of the natural outstanding beautiful countryside of the Isle of Wight. 

We took photos

Green Time a fun, informal way using the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health. The Green Time Walks are a partnership programme between Equals IW, MCEnhancement, Isle of Wight Council Mental Health Alliance and Gift To Nature.

Friends form Equals IW Friends and Family Group joined Mark at Merstone Community Orchard and Railway Station to take part in a Redway Loop. The site is managed by Gift to Nature.

We were delighted to have a new friend join us for this walk along with Sandy and Jo from Healthwatch Isle of Wight. While walking the group discussed concerns about health and social care services on the Isle of Wight.

The walk started by exploring and learning about the Community Orchard and the heritage of the old railway station. The orchard is home to a range of wildflowers, fruit trees and the blossom provides a early source of nectar.

Mark lead the beautiful circular walk taking the country lane and woodland pathway to Redway. They continued round a field planted with sweetcorn and country fields to Horringford. The group then returned to Merstone Old Railway Station and the Community Orchard along the old railway line which is now a hard-packed cycle track.

The final Green Time Walk for 2024 is taking place on Sunday 13th October 2024 between 2pm and 5pm. More details soon.

We took photos

The Green Time Walk easy circular walk covered 5km (3 .2 miles) and participants burnt 289 Kcal taking 6,900 steps.

Green Time a fun, informal way using the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.

Friends from the Equals IW Friends and Family Group left their cars at home and made their way by bus to Newport Bus Station. After taking the bus to Ryde Interchange they hopped onto the Island Coaster to follow the eastern shoreline  to Bembridge, Sandown, Lake and Shanklin. The group travelled on the south side of the island through Ventnor, Whitwell and Chale . The bus then cruised west along the Military Road towards Freshwater and the iconic Needles Landmark attraction at Alum Bay where they had a picnic lunch.

After the lunch they caught the Needles Breezer. This is considered one of the most spectacular open top bus rides in England and normally has views that would simply take your breath away. But on this occasion the views from the cliff ride from Alum Bay up to the Needles Battery.were hidden behind low cloud and heavy mist. More typical of an autumn or winter day rather than a mid-summer day in July.

The route took the group through the beautiful and charming town of Yarmouth with its harbour and normally stunning views of Tennyson Down. Once back at Alum Bay they explored the Needles Landmark attraction. Due to the poor weather the group decided not to take the pleasure boat from the jetty for a close-up view of the Needles Rocks and Lighthouse with panoramic views of the coloured sands of the Alum Bay cliffs.

We hope to return next year as part of the Green Time programme to take the boat trip.

The return bus journey took the group through the pretty countryside and villages of the West Wight back to Newport Bus Station. Sadly the sights could not be seen from the bus due to the rain. We all made the best of the British summer weather and enjoyed a lovely day together in friendship touring on the buses together.

We took more pictures

Green Time - enhances positive emotional wellbeing, self confidence, self esteem and mental health.

Equals IW Friends and Family Group recently visited the Garlic Farm for afternoon home made cream tea as part of the Green Time series of events.

Group members explored the farm shop which was a treasure trove of garlicky goodness and local delights. They sampled garlic inspired tasters from the family-run business.

The group discovered the history of the farm and its archaeological finds. They learnt how garlic came to the Isle of Wight, how to grow it and garlic health facts.

Two younger group members enjoyed a large lawn with play equipment and lots of space for running.

Mark who is the Green Time Project Coordinator led a circular walk through the beautiful woodland. Group members had fun collecting pine cones with the idea of using them to make decorations. The visitors delighted in discovering the natural habitat teeming with birds, animals, insects, and wildflowers that thrive alongside the farmed crops. The group paused to admire the wild meadow in full bloom, a haven for resident bees, and enjoyed meeting the friendly farm goats. Ruth spotted and took photos of a wild rabbit and Niviera spotted a red squirrel and captured it on video. It was a delight to be up close with nature.

While roaming the group encountered Colin Boswell who is the owner of the Garlic Farm. He runs it with his wife, children, and extended family.

Colin was out walking with his dog and shared fascinating insights about the trees explaining how to collect seeds from pine cones to grow your own. He also discussed some archaeological finds as he headed to explore a local field. Colin took an interest in the group, asking where we were from, and we shared details about the Green Time Project.

The group celebrated Jayne’s birthday and were treated to Cece’s home baking by enjoying a slice of Monkey Bread*.

We took photos

Green Time is a fun, informal way of using the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.

*Monkey Bread is a type of pull-apart bread that is often sweet and sticky. It's typically made from balls of dough coated in butter, cinnamon, and sugar, then baked together in a ring-shaped bundt pan. The balls of dough can be pulled apart easily, making it a fun and shareable treat. Some variations include adding nuts, raisins, or a glaze on top.

We are delighted to present the ‘Green Time Multiply Award’ to a truly outstanding winner, Cece Shaw. The Isle of Wight Council Adult and Community Learning Team recently celebrated the Skills For Life Multiply three year ‘Maths’ funded programme by holding a special Multiply Awards Evening to celebrate the final phase and closure of the programme.

Equals IW and MCEnhancement joined a number of other partner delivery organisations with their nominees and guest, along with distinguished guest, tutors and trainers for a buffet held at the Westridge Adult Learning and Community Centre, viewing of organisational displays including Green Time and networking.

Each partner organisation gave a presentation of their programme during the special awards ceremony. Mark of MCEnhancement presented the following:

“Cece was one of 10 learners who joined the first Green Time – Multiply creative crafts with a splash of fun maths workshops in December 2022. The workshop enabled Cece to learn about percentages and create her own wooden Christmas/seasonal festive plate decorated with her own personal design.

Cece has completed

• Four Green Time – Multiply Walks
• Seven Green Tine Multiply Activity Workshops

Cece has developed her maths skills in

• Percentages
• Measuring Scales and using a Tape Measure
• Recognise and add simple fractions using amounts and quantities
• Reading, writing and comparing halves and quarters of quantities
• Understanding how to read and write common fractions
• Working out the cost of ingredients by reading and extracting information from a table
• Followed the recipe instructions to use the kitchen scales in order to weigh out the ingredients and used a measuring jug to measure out the correct amount of liquid needed
• Perimeters Areas and Volume
• Probability
• Metric Units of Weight and Capacity

Cece really enjoys the learning aspect of Green Time, being outdoors with friends, exploring new and different places around the island and finds Green Time Multiply is not only good for her physical fitness but also emotional wellbeing, a sense of connection with others and opportunities in a fun way to use individual skills, knowledge and keep the brain active and has helped her manage her challenges with self-confidence.

Cece also finds each workshop is very suitable to her ADHD traits as they have taken part in different places for the walking, have different craft activities and have different everyday maths skills activities that Cece aims to complete without the use of a calculator.

Cece added “I love maths, the Green Time - Multiply Workshops are fabulous for refreshing your maths skills. I use many of the maths topics we have covered every day, especially in my cooking. The worksheets have also helped me with teaching my foster children maths. I have enjoyed Green Time – Multiply and see it as First Aid for Maths.”

Cece, over the last three years of the Green Time - Multiply Programme, has only missed one workshop. Cece’s enthusiasm and energy to encourage others to get involved and attend is truly inspirational. In addition, over the last three years, Cece has made a range of different homemade breads which she has brought to share with all the other learners at each of the workshops. It certainly would not have been the same without her during the period 1st September 2022 to 31st May 2024.

We are delighted to present the ‘Green Time Multiply Award’ to a truly outstanding winner, Cece Shaw.

You can read the full presentation report (pdf 40kB)

Green Time - Multiply enables those taking place to relax with others and increase their confidence with numbers developing maths skills in a fun informal way through the use of walks, create crafts and arts activities with a splash of fun maths, focused on enhancing positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.

Good maths skills can help you find more job opportunities and lead to higher wages, or they can help you prepare for further study. They also help in everyday life, such as helping children with homework and budgeting money. From these workshops learners can progress to other Multiply Maths Workshops and brush up their maths skills to support children with their homework or progress to maths skills units, building towards a City and Guilds Functional Maths Level 1 and 2 Qualification.

The Equals IW Friends and Family Group came together in the beautiful grand house and gardens of Torwood in tranquil Bonchurch.

The workshop was the successful end to a three year programme of “Activities with a Splash of Fun Maths” held in partnership with Mark from MCEnhancement.

The group joined Cece to pick fresh wild garlic from the garden and prepare the garlic for use.

They used kitchen scales to weigh out ingredients and followed instructions provided by Cece to make "Wild Garlic Butter and Bread".

The group enjoyed taking part in some fun maths learning how to

• Convert litres to millilitres and kilograms to grams
• Calculate the perimeter, area and volume of swimming pool at Torwood
• Calculate the amount of water needed to fill the swimming pool and the time it would take
• Calculate the cost of heating the pool at Torwood
• Use temperature and time to cook the ‘Wild Garlic Bread’.

The group ended the final Multiply Green Time Workshop in friendship with a celebratory meal while relaxing in the peaceful surroundings.

We took photos (lots)

Green Time - Multiply is a way of developing maths skills in a fun, informal way by using the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.

The Equals IW Friends and Family Group visited Merstone Railway Station Community Orchard which is a Gift to Nature site.

The event was the successful culmination to a three year programme of "Walks with a Splash of Fun Maths" held in partnership with Mark from MCEnhancement.

Group members joined Mark to explore and learn all about the Community Orchard and heritage of the old railway station. The Community Orchard is home to a range of wildflowers and fruit trees with their blossom providing a great source of early nectar.

The group enjoyed taking part in some fun maths learning about "Areas" before joining Mark on a short walk along the old railway line, now known as the Red Squirrel Trail. They returned back to enjoy a picnic in the late afternoon warm sunshine at the Community Orchard.

We took photos

The Green Time Walks will continue throughout 2024.

Green Time - Multiply is a way of developing maths skills in a fun, informal way by using the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.

Equals IW Friends and Family Group recently came together to enjoy a round trip walk in Ryde.

They had the opportunity on this walk to get up close to nature by feeding the wild bird life at Ryde Canoe Lake.

Group members then took a gentle walk through Appley Park, viewing the magnificent Scots Pine trees, and explored the ancient woodland trail to find the Appley Park Picture Frame.

Friends then walked along the seawall to appreciate the spectacular views of the Solent, Spinnaker Tower, Spitbank, Horse Sand and No Man’s Forts, and Paulsgrove Hill Cliffs.

After walking on into Puckpool Park Mark shared the history of this fort and barracks and the role it played during wartime.

Refreshments were welcomed by all at the café in Puckpool Park before the group walked back along the golden sands and shoreline of Appley Beach.

They covered four miles with 9,250 steps and that enabled 390 Kcal to be burnt.

Green Time, enhancing friendship, positive emotional well-being and mental health, self-confidence and self-esteem.

We took photos

Equals IW Friends and Family and Ladies Groups recently came together to give something back to the local community. The Green Time – Multiply project evening involved a Fun Splash of Maths session where participants learnt about probability. They enjoyed playing the Bunny Drive game with lots of laughter and during the evening a cake raffle was held.

A Bunny Drive is a fun, social event used to raise funds for charity by having participants draw parts of a bunny based on dice rolls, aiming to complete their drawing first. It’s a light-hearted game that fosters community spirit and provides a platform for additional fundraising activities. (Quote from ChatGPT)

The evening was also themed on "Cakes from around the World" which resulted in a delicious selection of homemade cakes and bread donated by the Equals IW Ladies Group. The cakes included

• Indonesian marble cake
• Caramel cake
• Pandan cake
• English Victoria sponge cake
• Bara brith which is traditional Welsh tea bread
• Belgian buns
• Cinnamon buns made with sourdough
• Philippine pandesal bread with salt

Homemade baking entails everyday maths skills of reading and following a recipe, reading scales, weighing ingredients, metric or imperial measurements, amounts and quantities and the time associated with baking.

The charity Bunny Drive with a Splash of Fun Maths was co-ordinated by Mark Cox who said “We are all delighted at Equals IW to be able to give back to the community and raise £150 to support Mad-Aid in making a difference in getting medical aid delivered to those in need”.

We took photos

We ate cake

Multiply

Multiply is a Government funded programme delivered through Isle of Wight Council Community Adult and Community Learning. It enables you to increase your confidence with numbers and to develop maths skills in a fun, informal way. Good maths skills can help in everyday life such as cooking, travelling on public transport and budgeting money.

Mad-Aid

Mad-aid is supporting a team of 38 on the ground in Moldova who deliver hospital beds, wheelchairs and other much-needed aid brought in from the UK.

Mad-Aid provides

• Phoenix Homes that set a new standard for care of the elderly in Moldova.
• Social services in the Phoenix Complex with care and support for hundreds of disabled children each year.
• Everyday equipment including household appliances, new and used clothes, new shoes, school stationery and bags, cleaning materials and hygiene products.
• Support for Ukrainian displaced people by offering shelter from war in Moldova and Ukraine while helping support those arriving in UK.

For more information please visit their website.

Mad-Aid - Medical Aid Delivered Making A - Difference Medical Aid Delivered

Join Mark and Equals IW to explore and learn all about the Community Orchard and heritage of the old railway station. You will take part in some fun maths learning about ‘Areas’ before joining Mark on a walk through beautiful countryside.

• Sunday 28th April 2024
• 2pm to 6pm
• Meeting Point: Merstone Old Railway Station PO30 3DQ
• Free Car Parking – Route 2 Bus Stops at Station
• Merstone Station and Redway Loop 3.2 miles – 5km, 289 Kcal, 6,900 Steps

Circular Walk

The circular walk initially takes the country lane and woodland pathway to Redway. Then across the country fields to Horringford to return on the cycle track along the old railway line to Merstone Old Railway Station and the Community Orchard. The Community Orchard is home to a range of wildflowers and fruit trees with blossom which provide a great source of early nectar. 

Alternative Walk

We will have an alternative walk that is pushchair, child buggy, mobility scooter and wheelchair friendly along the hard-packed cycle track and the old railway line to Horringford. There you will meet the other group members who are on the circular walk and all return together.

Picnic

After the walk there will be a group picnic at the Community Orchard. Please bring and share food. Hot and cold water with cups and paper plates will be available. The orchard does have barbecues that can be used safely. Remember to bring a drink, if sunny a sunhat and sun cream, and please wear trainers, walking shoes or boots and clothing suitable for the weather.

This walk is open to children accompanied by parents, young people and adults, with no upper age limit. Dogs are also very welcome but must be kept on a lead at all times.

Green Time - Multiply is a way of developing maths skills in a fun, informal way by using the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.