Indie
Indie is the director and manager of Young Dartington. She has worked on every single Young Dartington ever! She started as a climbing instructor at YD 17 years ago and took over running it 6 years ago. Now she couldn't imagine not doing it. You're bound to meet Indie, she's everywhere doing everything all the time.
Indie also runs her own outdoor company, Indie Outdoors, where she takes adults and school groups climbing, caving, mountain walking and snow shoeing in the UK and Europe.
Indie has a BSc in geology/geography, she did a PGCE and worked as a geography teacher, she gained a Masters in Education which was about alternative education, and she is an International Mountain Leader. She was the president of the British Association of International Mountain Leaders and helped advance the qualification to its current status in the UK and Europe.
Theo
A bit like Oli Theo has been attending or working at YD from an early age and in recent years has become (in)famous for his Pirate Adventure activity, though he has also worked on Quest Games, Roleplay, Batik and Climbing. You'll meet him if you do Pirate Adventure or camp.
He is mad keen on seeing YD continue to flourish and wishes he could do it all year. He has a degree in Human Biology from Aston University in Birmingham, works with Indie at Indie Outdoors as an instructor and is building on his web and graphic design skills- in fact he built this website!.
Carli
Carli has been an integral part of the YD team for many years now, especially at lunch time and in the evenings when she cooks, cajoles, symathises, organises, mends and looks after everything and everyone. You can find her round the campsite or in the kitchen or helping out with one of the activities. She is the best person to go swimming with in the evengings 'cos she loves it!
The rest of the year Carli is a teaching assistant and wants to get into social work.
Hannah
Hannah has been attending YD since before she was born or something apparently and is now taking up the well earned mantle of YD Staff. She can be found all over the place most of the time but also goes by the name of quest games instructor.
Oli
Oli has also been to ... wait for it... every single YD ever! He sneaked in when only 7 and simply refused to stop going when he got too old, quickly switching from adventurous participant to keen instructor. He spends most of his time at YD madly dashing about making sure everyone gets fed and that everything is going according to plan. You'll meet Oli if you camp or have packed lunch or like using adults as a punching bag.
Oli completed a degree in Media at the University of the West of England in Bristol in 2008 and specialised in film where he used his people gathering and persuading skills to gather a cast and crew of epic talent and size. He would love to make a living out of movies but could never give up his two weeks a year at YD.
Vanessa
Vanessa has worked at YD for 12 years now. She has put in loads of effort helping children create the most wonderful designs in batik and tie dye. She is one of the most skilled and experienced textile artists around. She also runs workshops in tie dye and batik for adults.
Ali
We all love working with Ali and the kids all love getting their hands mucky with clay as they create something useful and beautiful like a pencil holder, or more usually, something bizarre and fantastic straight from the back cupboards of their imagination. Ali has been with us for as long as we can remember and her passion for pottery and teaching has never been stronger. One day she says she'd like to combine pottery with her other passion- karate. Well, she didn't actually say that, I just thought it would be interesting if she did...
Adam
Adam unreservedly says his days at YD are some of the best of his year, every year. His passion, tolerance and enthusiasm are unmistakeable and his stories, songs and wisdom bring something special to the camp fire at the close of each day. He runs Bush Craft and Quest Games in his usual inlcusive way. Adam is also an amazing capoeira practitioner and teacher.
Andy
Andy joined the crew last year and already loves it. He is a central part of the camping team and is also 'Mr Fix-it' and 'Mr Knows-Where-Where-Everything-Is' and 'Mr Very-Useful-to-Have-Around-Indeed'. Apart from these official titles he will be getting much more involved with adventure this year and bringing loads of new ideas with him.
Cloudy and Winter are now dab hands at helping out at YD wherever necessary. Whenever someoe needs something soft and fluffy to stroke or carry around for ages Cloudy is always available and whenever someone wants to play a game chasing and being chased around the tents Winter is always obliging.
© January 2010 Youngdartington
AALA licence provided by Indie Outdoors. Rock climbing, Abseiling, Hill Walking and Mountaineering, Off Road Cycling, Caving, Gorge Scrambling, Improvised Rafting, Sea Level Traversing Confirm on: Tel 029 2075 5715