Back in 2003, The Outdoor Partnership commissioned a study which showed that only 4% of full-time outdoor activity centre instructors working in north Wales had secondary schooling in Wales and spoke fluent Welsh.
English was heard as the everyday language of outdoor activities and this alienated a large proportion of the north Wales population, who traditionally saw outdoor activities as something only tourists participate in.
We were determined to change this.
A recent study by Calum Muskett:
THE CURRENT STATE OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITY PROVISION IN WALES
This study found that by 2019, the number of full-time outdoor activity centre instructors that spoke fluent Welsh has increased to 25%.
Our Club Development programme has been a huge step in addressing this.
Running since 2005, by developing local residents’ skills and qualifications it has opened the outdoor sector to people who wouldn’t have had the opportunity before. By training thousands of club volunteers who support hundreds of community-based outdoor activity clubs across Wales, we have gone some way to changing this where local clubs and groups provide activities in the local environment and through the medium of Welsh.
Bant â Ni (‘Let’s go!’) is a project created to build and support a network of outdoor instructors and enthusiasts who are either first‑language Welsh speakers or learning Welsh. The project was developed in response to a need identified by our Development Officers in the Swansea Bay and Mid Wales regions: many stakeholders were struggling to find providers who could deliver outdoor activities through the medium of Welsh. This included organisations such as Mentrau Iaith and Welsh‑medium schools.
Welsh‑speaking instructors do exist, but there is currently no central database where clients can search for suitable providers. We also recognised that outdoor instructors who want to improve their working Welsh in an outdoor‑specific environment have limited access to structured support. Bant â Ni aims to change that by creating a connected, visible and supported Welsh‑speaking outdoor community.
The idea behind Bant â Ni is to create a network and organise informal activity sessions where participants can develop their Welsh speaking skills in an immersive setting , i.e. through running or participating in an outdoor activity. There are also the social and networking opportunities which naturally come out of such sessions and in turn enhance the learning opportunities and employment potential for those involved.
We have held several Bant â Ni engagement sessions already, in paddleboarding, climbing, hiking, and caving. These provided an opportunity for individuals to practise their language skills and their activity skills! And there is always some nice food involved!
We work closely with local providers to ensure volunteers across Wales can access high‑quality outdoor training in their first language. Following requests from volunteers in Mid and West Wales, we recently collaborated to deliver the British Canoeing Core Coach course through the medium of Welsh. This gave paddlesport volunteers the confidence to run sessions naturally in Welsh, while building the specific technical terminology they felt they were missing.
We have previously delivered Mountain Leader Training and Outdoor First Aid courses in Welsh, supporting leaders who want to develop their skills and qualifications while learning and leading in the language that feels most authentic to them.
Clwb Mynydda Cymru is a Welsh language club established over 40 years ago, with the aim of promoting and enabling mountaineering and mountain walking through the medium of Welsh. The club has affiliated with us at The Outdoor Partnership for many years. In recent years there have been concerns about the future of the club. As happens with many clubs, they recognised the need to attract new members and to protect the longevity of the club.
The committee came together, and alongside suggestions from the members, introduced some changes in the provision of the club; a wider variety of walks (distance/severity), graded walk descriptions, well publicised taster sessions for general public to come along on walks, and developing a new club App.
The club was successful in gaining lots of new members who breathed new life into the club. This included a number of younger members and members wanting to learn more and develop skills in order to volunteer and lead club walks.
The Outdoor Partnership worked with the club with this task. Identifying several members that were suitably experienced and keen to embark on the Mountain Leader Training course, we went about working with the club to organise a course especially for these members. Mountain Leader training courses run in Welsh are few and far between, so we worked with a local provider and instructors to arrange a bespoke course for the group. This allowed for everyone to be able to undertake a Mountain Training course in their native language and enjoy the confidence that brought to the fore.
The aim is that by upskilling these members, the whole club membership gains better knowledge, and the newly trained leaders will go on to become regular club walk leaders. This will hopefully secure the longevity of the club for many years to come, ensuring another generation of local, Welsh-speaking mountaineers are able to enjoy the mountains safely.
Many thanks to Snowdonia Mountain Skills, Merfyn (Smyrf) Jones – Hike and Bike Snowdonia and Dewi Emlyn for their help getting this course going.
We’re committed to supporting our staff to learn and use Welsh with confidence in their day‑to‑day roles. Through regular internal learning sessions and informal practice opportunities, we help team members build practical workplace vocabulary and feel more comfortable using Welsh naturally with colleagues, volunteers, and partners.
Staff are also encouraged to take part in Welsh lessons and residential immersion courses at Nant Gwrtheyrn and other providers, giving them the chance to develop their language skills in a supportive environment and progress at a pace that suits them. This ongoing commitment strengthens our ability to work bilingually and ensures Welsh remains a living, everyday part of our organisation.
ERYRI NI is a Welsh learner programme teaching the Welsh language, the importance of place names, as well as the history and mythology of North Wales.
To learn more about this programme, click here to visit the North Wales page.
