Discover Nature Camp

🌳 Discover Nature Camp - Find your place... and maybe camp there for a little while.

⛺ Location: Borders Forest Trust - Corehead Wild Heart Site

💬 About the Camp:

People who feel connected to nature are far more likely to protect it.

This is a free, two-day immersive experience for 18–28-year-olds who’ve completed the Discover Nature Award.

Whether you're already passionate about climate and nature or just beginning to explore your role in it, this camp is for you. No prior camping experience is necessary, it’s a great opportunity to build those life skills.

Rooted in the work of Borders Forest Trust, this experience shows participants that transformation is possible for landscapes, and for ourselves.

As part of the Discover Nature Award community, you already carry the DNA of climate action. This camp deepens that connection, giving you the space, skills, and confidence to see your role in shaping a better future.

Together, we’re growing a generation of young adults in Scotland who don’t just care about nature but are ready to stand up for it and take action through volunteering.

This is the ultimate way to connect with Borders Forest Trust’s Wild Heart sites: by camping on the land, learning with others, and understanding your place in its future.

🌿 Deepening Connection & Building Confidence:

You’ll discover how to take action for the planet, and belong in nature all while camping in one of Borders Forest Trust’s incredible nature restoration sites.

You’ll learn about your access rights under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and how those rights make deep, meaningful connection with wild places possible. You’ll also explore how Borders Forest Trust puts this into practice while protecting fragile ecosystems and how climate change is creating new pressures like wildfire risk, drought, and habitat degradation.

🧭 What to Expect:

A two-day outdoor learning experience combining environmental volunteering, reflection, and community connection. You’ll:

• Camp in a beautiful wildflower meadow, with a clear burn running beside it
• Use our Borders Forest Trust log cabin as your base for meals, gear, and group time
• Take part in hands-on environmental volunteering tasks that support real nature restoration
• Learn to pitch a tent and cook using stoves safely and confidently
• Discover your camping rights and how to follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code
• Explore how to make water safe, manage ticks and midges, and go to the toilet responsibly, including using our compost loo
• Understand the environmental risks posed by wildfire, drought, and climate stress
• Reflect on your growing connection to nature in supportive group sessions
• And grow the community, taking part with up to 18 other Discover Nature Award graduates

Whether it’s your first time camping or a chance to put existing skills to use in a stunning setting, this is a perfect way to build confidence and connect more deeply with the land.

🎒 What’s Included:

• Free to attend
• A Discover NAture Camp graduate emroided patch and digital certificate.
• Evening meal provided
• Specialist outdoor kit available to borrow: tent, stove, sleeping bag, mat, headtorch
• Full kit list and what-to-bring info sent after sign-up
• Led by friendly, experienced staff
• Basecamp facilities include our Borders Forest Trust log wood cabin and composting toilet
• Designed to be inclusive and welcoming, for first-time campers or more experienced campers alike
• Held at our Borders Forest Trust nature restoration sites

🌱 What Happens Next?

After the camp, you’ll be invited to:

• Join our regular Discover Nature Award community environmental volunteering days
• Apply to volunteer to help run future Discover Nature Award events
• Apply to join the Discover Nature Award Steering Group to shape the future of the programme
• Join our amazing Borders Forest trust volunteer days and stay involved in nature restoration and rewilding across Southern Scotland
• Keep growing your connection, confidence, and impact

This isn’t just a camp, it’s a community. Let’s grow it together.

✨ Secure Your Place

Places are limited. Sign up now and we’ll be in touch with everything you need to prepare for camp. You’ll also be added to a group chat to help plan lifts, share gear, and meet your fellow campers ahead of time.

📬 Want to Know More?

If you're a partner, supporter, or just curious about the Discover Nature Award or the work of Borders Forest Trust, we’d love to hear from you.

👉 Contact: sam.knight@bordersforesttrust.org

🌐 Visit: bordersforesttrust.org

🎥 Check out the video below to see the nature restoration work we’re doing across Southern Scotland.