An enterprising woman living in Whitley Bay has launched a new community interest company aimed at connecting young people and adults with the outdoors, thanks to help from the North Tyneside Business Factory.
Kendra McWilliam (35) has lived in North Tyneside for 12 years after settling in the UK from Berlin, Germany. Following the birth of her children, she knew that she wanted to encourage them to have the appreciation for the environment and outdoor lifestyle embedded into her own family life from an early age.
Kendra McWilliam comments, “So much of children’s education and development in Berlin focused on spending time outdoors, allowing children the space, trust and self-awareness to take appropriate risks. This meant we could be trusted with a great deal of independence by the time we were teenagers because we’d learnt it at a much younger age. Another big factor was the well-designed playgrounds on every street corner, which again allowed for a level of independence growing up, sorting out your own little quarrels or hesitations before an adult would helicopter in and take those problem-solving skills away from you.”
Kendra initially launched Whitley Wildlings – a small group meeting four mornings a week in the Station Master’s Garden, Whitley Bay. However, as demand for the classes steadily grew, she knew she needed a larger base to expand her business. In August 2021, Kendra started The Wildside North East, moving to the Shiremoor Children’s Centre as a community interest company. The business kept the same ethos to help children and adults learn and connect with nature, but in a more permanent and larger setting. The Wildside is for all ages and walks of life with a series of timetabled and drop-in sessions throughout the week.
Kendra continues, “I set up The Wildside last Summer with the goal of helping people of all ages learn that by listening to our surroundings and connecting with nature we will ultimately do the same for ourselves and for each other. If we could all just pause for a moment and look at our surroundings from a toddler’s eye level, we’d see millions of beautiful, magical, big and quiet wonders.”
Kendra is working with several additional charities to help create and deliver further sessions. These classes will be available to both children and adults in the local area, whilst encouraging them to connect and appreciate nature together as a community.
Kendra comments, “We are heavily focused on supporting families and children, but we also run a funded programme through the National Lottery Community Fund around women’s mental health. We provide a space for women to be both comfortable and vulnerable in an outdoor environment. The small group sessions really promote mindfulness and a sense of safety amongst fellow women as our sessions are led by people fully trained to be sensitive to signs of trauma.
“Our sessions run on the meadow of Shiremoor Children’s Centre and we really encourage parents and families to just move within the lovely space. For many of the women who attend, the sessions have proven to be a lifeline. One attendee had been suffering with medical issues that had restricted her ability to leave her house and therefore became increasingly isolated. Taking a risk and coming along to the Wildside Women’s group has led to her becoming an integral part of a community, building confidence and even looking into the possibility of working again.”
The Wildside also offers birthday parties and private activity bookings for any groups, large or small who wish to take advantage of the session space to devise a different kind of outdoor activity.
Kendra worked with business advisors from the North Tyneside Business Factory, supported by the European Development Fund, to assist in her business journey. Delivered by TEDCO Business Support in the Borough, the Business Factory and its team of experienced advisors bring one-to-one support in the form of business planning and financial assistance to guide start-ups to a successful launch.
Kendra comments, “The Business Factory provide a specialist business advisor, Toni Clark who is focused entirely on social enterprises. Her support and knowledge were invaluable to me in setting up The Wildside as I’ve been able to get advice on just about every aspect of launching a business of this kind. I always feel like I can call her at any time to ask questions – she has been a real source of strength throughout this process.”
The Wildside is now running sessions at Shiremoor Children’s Centre with the full range of child, adult and family-focused activities available to view online via their social channels.
Toni Clark, Social Enterprise Support comments, “Kendra is a real inspiration. She had such vision for her business but most importantly she knew she wanted it to be a platform for community focused activities. I’m delighted with the way people have responded to the Wildside as a whole range of individuals are benefiting from Kendra’s sessions. She has been a delight to work with and I look forward to continuing our working relationship in the future.”
You can find out more about Kendra’s work at thewildsidenortheast.com.
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