The Friendship Group for Friends and Family came together on Sunday 19th June 2022 to explore the Eastern Yar as part of the Green Time, Walk Your Way to Health walking programme.

The group took a gentle walk to explore Sandown Community Orchard before joining the dismantled railway path alongside the Eastern Yar River. The group then left the Red Squirrel Trail at Alverstone Village to explore the rich habitats of Newchurch Moors Nature Reserve and mixed woodland of Martin’s Wood Nature Reserve.

Heading back through Alverstone Mead Nature Reserve they viewed and listened to kingfishers, herons, great tits and blue tits. The group then walked through the raised walkway beneath a canopy of trees and into the woodland. They saw a red squirrel leaping from tree to tree before returning back to Sandown Railway Station.

As part of the learning element the group found out about Sandown Community Orchard and the Sandown Water Works. The group also spent time learning about the estuary wildlife and river birds by using the Wildlife Watch Spotter Cards.

The Friends on the walk had a lovely time out in the natural outdoors and took lots of photos

7.5 miles round trip, 16,205 steps, 700 Kcalories,

Green Time - The Natural Way to Good Emotional Well-being and Mental Health

Equals IW with its Friendship Group are taking part in the St Helens and the Ryde Carnivals taking place just before the schools return.

The project is going to be filmed by Daisybeck Studios who are producing a programme all about the Isle of Wight. Daisybeck Studios is an independent television company producing quality factual, factual Entertainment and event programming for national television channels since 2013.

Join In

We would like you to come and join the following

• Carnival Preparation Session Tuesday 23rd August 2022 - 5.30pm
  • Location to be confirmed
  • All participants will be filmed.
• St Helens Carnival Bank Holiday Monday 29th August 2022
  •  All participants must arrive by 5pm.
• Ryde Main Carnival Thursday 1st September 2022
  •  All participants will be filmed and must arrive by 5.30pm.
• Ryde Illuminated Carnival Saturday 3rd September 2022
  • All participants may be filmed and must arrive by 7pm.

To join this project text or call Mark 0785 485 2518 to get your Green Time Carnival Entry Form.

You must complete the form by 7th August 2022 

Members of Equals IW recently met with Colin a Producer from by Daisybeck Studios, to learn about a programme being produced during this summer on the Isle of Wight. The programme will be shown on national television and will be all about people living and working on the Island.

Colin spoke with each person to learn more about how they came to Isle of Wight, what they do for work or spare time, and how they find life on the Island. Colin also found out more about the many activities of Equals IW over its history. Colin was keen to learn about the current Green Time programme and past involvement in Island carnivals.

Afterwards the production team confirmed that they wanted to include the Equals IW Green Time Programme and group members in their television programme.

Daisybeck Studios is an independent television company producing quality factual, factual entertainment and event programming since 2013 for national television channels. Programmes include well known to us all

• The Yorkshire Vet
• Made in Britain
• The Highland Vet
• Alton Towers A Roller Coaster Year
• Spring Time On The Farm
• This Week On The Farm.

Green Time - The Land of Butterflies, Carnival Project 2022 is going to be filmed as part of this programme. Filming will feature friends meeting the Isle of Wight High Sheriff, Kay Marriott JP. She will visit the group preparing for the Ryde Carnivals 2022 on Tuesday 23rd August 2022.

The group will also be filmed taking part in Ryde Main Carnival on Thursday 1st September 2022 as the procession makes its way through the streets of Ryde.

Funder Delighted with Green Time

Kerry Baker visited the Green Time Green Skills, Food and Culture Workshop that took place on the 10th June 2022. Kerry is the Adult Community Learning Quality Officer from the Isle of Wight Council Community Learning Centre  and her visit was part of the ‘Quality Assurance’ requirement. Her aim was to

• Check that administration and learning elements were being delivered according to the funding agreement
• Ensure funding was being spent as agreed in the contract
• Observe the session taking place and meet participants taking part

Green Time was given an overall Grade 2 Good with elements of Outstanding Practice. Kerry provided positive feedback on some small steps to improve the programme even further.

Kerry enjoyed her visit and meeting everyone. Her feedback highlighted the contribution of one of the group members working in partnership with Mark. This has been noticed and is of particular interest to the Isle of Wight Council Adult Community Learning Centre Team. We wait with excitement for more details on this.

The workshop comprised group members

• Reviewing their own physical, emotional and mental Health through a range of questionnaires
• Progressing on to create a Health Plan.
• Learning how to make their own Butterfly Feeder to take home.
• Identifying cultural healthy food and its preparation while making a food dish.

The food was enjoyed over lunch.

The afternoon element of the workshop looked at key elements of a health life style with handouts issued to take home and read. The workshop concluded with an Equals IW guest speaker giving a presentation on growing your own food based on Korean natural farming. This focuses on organic growing and sustainability.

We took alot of photos on the day

And a short video