As usual, it’s been a busy summer at Roots. Throughout the school holidays, we held a variety of activities for care experienced young people to have fun, make friends, try new things and make the most of their summer. Our activities included:

Residential trip to Camarthen

We took 12 young people on a three-day stay to Carmarthen. The trip was funded by the University of Wales Trinity St David, who kindly provided accommodation and catering in the university’s student halls of residence, and a wealth of exciting activities. During the trip, our young people enjoyed rock climbing and abseiling, team-building bushcraft, fire making, a trip to Oakwood park, sports activities such as football, netball, basketball and badminton, karaoke, craft and pool. Additional catering was also provided through the Swansea Council community food fund.

Our young people had a fantastic experience, and we would like to extend our gratitude to University of Wales Trinity St David and Swansea Council for their generous support.

Roots Fest

Forget Glastonbury – we held our very own festival, Roots Fest, to celebrate 13 fantastic years of The Roots Foundation Wales. The event was well-attended by our young people and their carers and included young people joining together to design a brand-new mural with the help of Fresh Creative Co, circus skills with Circus Eruption, face-painting, slime–making, music, a barbeque and plenty more!

We would like to thank Blaen-y-maes drop-in centre and University of Wales Trinity St David for their incredible support, as well as Swansea Council community food fund for providing food for the event.

Muddy Assault Course Adventure at Clyne Farm Centre, Challenge Valley

Thanks to Swansea Council’s COAST activity grant fund, a group of our young people got stuck into the Muddy Assault Course at Clyne Farm Centre’s Challenge Valley. They scrambled over obstacles, crawled through mud, and laughed nonstop. It was wonderful to see everyone encouraging each other as they tackled tough challenges together. As the day went on, confidence soared and friendly smiles grew even bigger. By the end of it, they weren’t just very muddy – they were a stronger, happier team. Moments like these remind us that getting a bit messy can bring people closer and help everyone discover just how much they can achieve.