The John Muir Award is a nationally recognised wider achievement award that supports personal development. The award is usually offered at Explorer or Conserver Level in Islay High School, depending on the age, experience and interests of the class each year.
Course Content
Four Challenges are at the heart of each John Muir Award. Designed to encourage awareness, understanding and action, participants identify their own wild places and outdoor activities to meet these challenges:
Discover a wild place – on your doorstep or further afield
Explore it – find out more about it
Conserve it – take personal responsibility to care for your chosen wild place
Share experiences and celebrate achievements
Students have the opportunity to design their own course, usually incorporating topics such as local history and geography, discovering new parts of the island, global environmental issues, natural art, photography, leadership, teamwork, personal development and practical conservation activities.