18 May 2022
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Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway
The National Trust for Scotland is focused on supporting the resilience and wellbeing of young people across the country this International Museum Day (18 May), as it announces a new Resilience Festival taking place at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.
For the first time, National Trust for Scotland (NTS) will deliver a Resilience Festival for children of all ages and their families. Inspired by the children’s book Mr Goose, the festival will take place at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Ayrshire on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 June.
Free of charge to attend, over the course of the weekend a number of different workshops will take place, focusing on the mental, social, emotional and physical wellbeing of children through a range of experiences like music, movement, creative arts and stories, all of which will be linked to the story of Mr Goose.
Created by Grant Kennedy (pictured) during lockdown, Mr Goose teaches children the importance of understanding risks and developing personal resilience and is set around the cottage that Robert Burns was born in, which is now cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.
The Trust is placing a wider focus on improving the health and wellbeing of young people throughout Scotland through access to heritage, including activities such as the Resilience Festival. As part of the charity’s new ten-year strategy, Nature, Beauty and Heritage for Everyone, the Trust aims to enable a greater number and diversity of people and communities to access its properties and natural sites to support positive mental wellbeing.
Philip Long OBE, Chief Executive of the National Trust for Scotland, said: “When we began working on our latest ten-year strategy the greater work we could do to support the resilience and wellbeing of people across Scotland, and particularly the younger generation, quickly became apparent. While this has been important for the Trust since its beginnings, over the past two years the positive impact we can have on the lives of our visitors and members has become even clearer and, as such, has encouraged us to think about new ways we can support our country through access to heritage.
“Delivering events such as the Resilience Festival allows us to connect more deeply with the younger generation and gain a better understanding of not only how we can support them to improve their resilience and mental wellbeing, but also how we can engage them in the future of Scotland’s heritage. It’s important we act now to help young people understand the benefits of Scotland’s heritage and how they can play a role in preserving our rich history and stories for future generations to come, for both Trust sites and wider historic properties and natural locations throughout the country.”
Also taking place around International Museum Day is a walking tour, A Story of Stone & Ice, within the Pollok Estate. Attendees will learn of the history within the park dating back to the 1740s, including the location of Polloktoun, alongside other key features of the estate that generations of the Maxwell family resided in.
The Resilience Festival at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway will run from Saturday 4 to Sunday 5 June 2022, with local schools attending workshops the following week. Free tickets can be booked online here.
(report and images courtesy National Trust for Scotland)
