Teenagers learn about the great outdoors at remote Alladale Wilderness Reserve

We joined a group of teenagers out on the reserve. Image: Alladale Wilderness Reserve

“Schoolkids in the UK are spending, on average, less time outside than prisoners,” said Kate Heightman as we bumped along the track in her all-terrain vehicle.

“That’s because prisoners are forced to go out.”

We were heading deep into Alladale Wilderness Reserve to Deanich Lodge – possibly the most remote in Scotland – where a group of teenagers from Golspie were three days into a five-day retreat. My phone had long lost signal, but that was the point.

“This is such a holistic, immersive experience, it’s about learning about nature and connecting with it, but it’s also about connecting with themselves,” said Kate.

“The digital age stops that from happening, because you don’t take time to look inward and check in on how you are feeling mentally. We want kids to have time to get bored here, because that is missing from childhood. Entertainment comes to them on a plate, they are overwhelmed with choice.”

The kids were camping on the reserve despite the Highland weather. Image: Alladale Wilderness Reserve

Kate is from The European Nature Trust and coordinates Alladale Wilderness Experience – the schools programme at the reserve. The aim of the programme is to encourage local schoolchildren to engage with nature, learn about climate change, rewilding and conservation and develop key life skills.

“It’s really important to me that the kids know this is their local area, it’s their heritage,” said Kate.

“The starting point is way lower than you would ever think it would be; you have to assume the kids coming here have never been anywhere like this before.”

The reserve is breathtaking, a glen between hills with a river flowing through the middle. It looks like an untouched natural beauty, but as we travelled through it, Kate pointed out croft ruins and shrubbery patterns that proved humans once dwelled here. Tree planting and signs of deer management show the restoration efforts of its current owners.

A range of different activities are offered by the team. Image: Alladale Wilderness Reserve

Thousands of teens have taken part in Alladale Wilderness Experience since it was first established in 2007. This week, 18 13 to 14-year-olds from Golspie High School were camping on the reserve and taking part in activities from bushcraft and navigation to mountain biking and wild swimming.

Every season pounded the window of our vehicle as we approached the lodge and tents pitched around it, from blazing sun to hail. I couldn’t help but feel for the kids when we first saw them, bundled up in layers with rosy cheeks. But, one of their teachers, Angus Simpson, told me he thought the weather was actually having a positive effect.

“You can see the pupils really coming together as a team,” he said.

“They learn to rely on one another, and especially with the challenging weather this week, they are taking care of each other.”

On the day I visited, the kids were split into three groups; one set out on bikes along the glen, another headed off into the rain to navigate their way up to a dam and the third were doing various bushcraft activities.

Schools from across the Highlands have visited Alladale. Image: Alladale Wilderness Reserve

I stayed with the third group and watched as they were trusted with sharp knives to whittle tent pegs from chunks of wood. Once the owl pellets were brought out and they were asked to sift through them for the regurgitated bones of the birds’ prey, I was certain they would be at their limit. But, even those who initially acted revolted got stuck right in, and there was an air of competition around who could find the most complete skeleton. One even asked ‘can we do this all day?’.

It’s true some kids I met looked happier to be there than others. The other teacher on the trip, Melissa MacDonald, said some of them were struggling without their mobile phones.

“We told them there was no point bringing them with no signal, but they still did,” she said.

“They just couldn’t fathom that a place like that existed.”

I asked Iain Powell – programme leader at outdoor education charity Aban who runs the experience at Alladale – how the team deals with those kids more reluctant to take part.

“It’s a case of encouragement,” he said.

“We want them to take part in everything to get the full experience. It’s about using the rest of the group too, they can often get through with a little help from their friends.”

Teachers said they noticed a change in the children after their visit to Alladale. Image: Alladale Wilderness Reserve

He was right, as I noticed there weren’t cliques among the teenagers like you might have seen in the playground. They were out of their comfort zones, but that feeling was a shared one. Something the teachers, organisers and instructors agreed on was that they notice a change in all the kids who spend a week at Alladale.

Iain said: “It’s a bit of a rollercoaster. They often arrive a bit quiet and the first day or two can be a struggle for them, but then you start to see a change in their willingness to get involved and help out. They come out of their shells.”

Angus added: “A lot of the pupils at our school live so close to nature but not all of them regularly get out in it. This shows them that what is on their doorstep is pretty incredible.”