Bonnie Tales of CEI from Bonnie Scotland

For the next CEI stories installment, it's time to hear from CEI Scotland, those CEI family members lucky enough to live where the likes of Outlander, Outlaw King, Mary Queen of Scots and many more films and TV shows were filmed. First up we have one of our Senior Alumni Network, Lucy Mainwaring.

Lucy Mainwaring

CEI Scotland - Member of the Senior Alumni Network

Conferences Attended:

Hungary (2011) - Student

Maastricht, The Netherlands (2012) - Student

Loch Lomond, Scotland (2013) - Alumni

Hello, My name is Lucy and I first joined CEI in 2011 when I was in the final year of high school, I was asked by a classmate who had previously been involved in CEI if I would like a trip to Hungary for a Caretakers environmental conference. I wasn't really aware of what that meant but I jumped at the chance to travel and represent Scotland internationally and it still remains one of the best decisions i have ever made. 

I have attended 3 conferences, 2 of which as a student delegation and the 3rd as an alumni in my home country of Scotland which was awesome! My fondest memories of the conferences were the amount of different nationalities that I met and now I can say I have friends all over the world, hearing different environmental projects and presentations from around the globe was very interesting and hearing from actual people and not reading the internet or watching YouTube. 

I have added 2 photos, one of which is taken in Loch Lomond and me showing my patriotism of Scotland with the flag, the second picture is also from Loch Lomond as former participants recreated the flash mob that we did in the Netherlands in 2012. I hope to be involved in more conferences in the future virtually or otherwise! 

Another important member and the person in charge of CEI Scotland is Anne Marie, or Annie, Begg. Anne Marie is also our Alumni Coordinator so a vital member of our team year on year! Anne Marie has attended the majority of the conferences so we won't list them all her but this is her story:

I’m Annie Begg from Scotland. I am Secretary of the International Board and Alumni Coordinator.  My role is to support all Alumni, to help them work  with all the delegates at the annual conference, to make sure everyone gets the most they can out of the Conference experience, and to help everyone become better Caretakers if their environment , on behalf of the Board.

I attended my first conference as a new teacher with two students in Murmansk Russia in 1995. I enjoyed it so much that I continued to bring students to every conference until I gave up teaching in 2013 to run a theatre company specialising in Environmental Theatre in Education. I still come to conferences and have now attended 24 conferences. 

Over the years we completed projects on many different topics, usually related to the Conference theme and raised all the money to support the students through fundraising activities.

The Caretakers experience is unique in that it allows young people from lots of different countries to meet together to share their projects, discuss environmental initiatives and spend time together . It allows host countries to show the world,  how they are working to create a better planet and in doing so encourages other regions experiencing similar challenges to share their ideas. It is also an opportunity for young people and educators to form friendships across nations based on understanding and compassion for the earth. A truly unique experience that we now want to share with as many people worldwide as possible.  That’s why I keep on coming back!

Is there anyone here who attended the 2013 Loch Lomond conference like Lucy and has fond memories? Or the 2009 Aberdeen conference with senior alumni, Laura, Jana and Julien?

Let us know in the comments!