meet the young people
“They like being here, they like what we do, we are not work, we are like a family, they open up when you are out on a boat, and they talk about issues.” Katrina
Canal Connections offers a different way of learning, an environment where anyone can get involved and teach skills, without the participants knowing they are in a learning environment. This makes for a calming and trusting environment, but also makes it a place that people want to stay and be a part of. Running projects like Forging Futures, Reflections, Float and Float your Boat, always end up picking up more young people who want to stay with us and want our support towards their next steps in life. We are always happy to support anyone along their path.
“It’s being on the water that makes the difference. But it’s not about the boat, it’s about people.” Alan
Whether you are working with young or older people, being on the water frees them up. A boat is a different space to what they are used to. Some didn’t even know waterways are here or haven’t been on boat before. It’s not a threatening environment, but everybody feels a bit nervous and what people do when they feel a bit nervous is, usually, start talking.
You see people come onto a boat, resistant about all sorts of things, but then they might want to talk about that bird over there, or ask What’s that? and you say A fish ladder, and they say ‘fish can’t climb ladders’, and you build on it, gradually, gradually, and soon you get down to what people are about and what they need. You are all in the same boat together so to speak, and the boat becomes a micro-community very quickly.
But it is not about what people say, it’s the difference you see it make to their behaviour. Being involved in activity or places you’ve never even thought of before gives a feeling of self, you mean something and have something to say. It’s doing different things from what you’re used to that really matters because it makes people think differently about themselves.
Do it once, and it’s a nice experience, but if you do lots and lots of little different things using the same technique they commit to doing different things, to actively becoming involved. The boat is just the hook but if you use the boat on a regular basis some of them will take on a different persona and next time they go on boat they will go back to that persona. Repeat it over and over again then gradually that is the persona they show in other places as well.
