Riverside Views & Unlocking Potential

How our tools support kids and grown-ups too!

Last week was crazy hot, and it was amazing to be on the waterside both in Leeds and Gloucester training a new cohort of Canal & River Trust educators and volunteers, to deliver our three Week School Waterside Programme.

The volunteer team give up so much of their FREE time to help others, and the tools we teach them not only teach them tools for kids but for them too.

The Hidden Impact of Our Language

I was talking to one of the volunteers who regularly takes kids out canoeing on the water. She told me how our session opened her eyes about the words and language she uses with them. It’s such a brilliant point, because small changes have a massive impact.

Think about it this way: Imagine you are taking some kids out canoeing and you say, “Don’t worry, you don’t need to be afraid, it’s going to be fine,” what happens?

By putting those words out there, you’ve actually planted the seed of worry. If they weren’t worried before, they will be now! That’s because our brain struggles to process the negative instruction—it just hears worry and afraid. By the time the words leave your mouth, they’re already wired into their heads.

It was great to see the immediate impact from the sessions.

Flipping the Switch: The Power of “Glimmers” ✨

Another takeaway for the group was the power of glimmers*

A glimmer is a tiny moment of joy ✨

For some people finding the positive can be incredibly hard—especially those who have experienced a lot of trauma or negative life events. Our brains are naturally hardwired to look for danger to keep us alive.

But the truth is, for most us thankfully we aren’t always in danger. So learning active ways to switch off those internal alarm bells that put us into unhelpful emotions e.g anxious, puts a whole new perspective on life and our experience of it.

How to catch a glimmer:

• Step into nature: If you’re struggling to find the good, get out for a walk. It’s the perfect place to start.

• Pause and appreciate: For me, I love finding a beautiful tree. Just looking at it for a moment brings a genuinely warm feeling inside.

• The Snowball Effect: Once you actively start looking for glimmers, your brain gets better at it, and you’ll start seeing them everywhere.

Get Involved & Next Steps

Want to take this further? Here is how you can jump in right now:

• Grab a Glimmer Kit: We have custom Glimmer Kits ready to go - you can order online now, for a limited time only they will include one of our amazing new glimmer jar keyrings.

• Join Our Official Glimmer Seeker Training: If you want the full toolkit, register your interest and I’ll send over some more information. They are packed with amazing tools to help get your mind into a truly great place and a toolkit to help the kids you support too.