As Global Intergenerational Week starts today I thought I would share my experience of a recent event jointly organised by ELC Young Carers Service and Carers of East Lothian (COEL)

As the Coordinator Young Carers, I wanted to build closer links between our service and COEL in order to have smoother transitions for Young Carers when they turned 18 or left school. I also appreciated the value of Intergenerational Activities having worked closely with the organisers for “Dinners at DGS”for many years. I therefore suggested to colleagues at COEL that we organise a joint event and after some discussion we settled on an Alpaca Walk during Easter 2023. This has now tuned in to an Annual Event with our second one taking place last week.

Once again almost 60 Adult Carer and Young Carer (aged 3-92) were paired up to walk an Alpaca either on a Long Trek through the scenic woodland and coastal paths or on a Mini Trek around the local area. This was followed by a picnic where those taking part were joined by other family members.

The smiles, laughter and sunshine made it a truly memorable day for all concerned. A small number of adult carers had attended the previous year, but the majority of adults and all the young carers were meeting for the first time. Despite this everyone was soon chatting, initially having the Alpaca as a focus of conversation before moving on to other topics and finding out lots about each other. It was heartwarming to see so many of the pairs staying together after their trek to enjoy their picnic lunch together and continue their conversations.

The opportunities for improved wellbeing were numerous;

• Being Active – the trek provided an opportunity to exercise  (increasing “happy” brain chemical endorphin)

• Green Spaces- we were in a beautiful part of the world. Being in Nature is known to have a calming effect.

• Sunlight – even if the sun hadn’t shone, Vitamin D levels were improving.

• Contact with Animals - petting the Alpacas will have increased levels of the “happy” chemicals in our brain Seratonin and Dopamine

• Connecting with others - being together will also have increased Seratonin, Dopamine and Oxytocin levels

• Doing something new – for some this may have been a bit nerve-wrecking initially, but overcoming fear and feeling a sense of achievement will have done wonders for our self esteem and confidence and increased Dopamine levels. 

• Doing something for others - many of our Adult Carers were helping the Young Carers control the Alpaca, but in some cases it was the other way round. Helping and Kindness towards others creates a sense of reward, a feeling of purpose and self-worth.

• Laughter and excitement - increasing our endorphins and dopamine levels.

Feedback from all involved was extremely positive. Dorothy, an unpaid adult carer who attended the event said:” It was a lovely way to de-stress with delightful creatures in the fresh air and beautiful scenery, and a chance to meet up with new older and younger friends.”

Sasha, a young carer said: “It was great. My adult friend was lovely. We chatted the whole way.  Can’t wait to do it again next year!” 

The success of these events has lead to us securing funding for a further events at other times of year.