Aban aims to change lives through the power of outdoor adventure. Our ethos is local, affordable and available to all. We run outdoor youth clubs in Inverness, including a Mountaineering Club, Girls Bike Club, an Open Water Swim Academy and a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award open group. The clubs seek to make outdoor adventures a normal part of daily life, encouraging young people to be better connected to others, themselves and their local environment. We provide these at very low cost, £1 per session, so that everyone can get involved. The social enterprise arm of Àban provides vital funding to enable this.

The Kessock Ferry Swim and Alladale Wilderness Experience are two of our key social enterprise activities which enable the charitable youth clubs to run throughout the year. 

The Kessock Ferry Swim is our main annual fundraising event, run in partnership with the local community in Merkinch. The event follows the classic historic route - approximately 1200m out-and-back across the tidal narrows between South Kessock and North Kessock and attracts around 300 swimmers each year. The swim academy enables local teenagers to learn open water swimming in preparation for the event.

Alladale Wilderness Experience is a programme for 120 teenagers across the Highlands run in partnership with The European Nature Trust. Over five days, the young people will hike, navigate and craft their way to a deeper ecological understanding of the world. During the tailored experience participants improve their understanding about nature, ecology and conservation as well as learning key life skills.

The holiday camps are great for Àban and the local community as they provide local children with an opportunity to spend the holidays outdoors. The whole day is spent outside, usually cooking a delicious outdoor snack on the fire, woodland crafts, games, and exploring the woods. Again, funds generated by these go to support young people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford to access the youth clubs.

There are many ways for people to get involved! If you are local and have young people in your life, check out our outdoor youth clubs and holiday camps. We always appreciate donations from those who can afford it, that can be done here. We welcome people from all over to our events, and you can choose a sponsored place to fundraise for us too. There are a final few places left for this year's Kessock Ferry Swim on the 31st August, available here. We also run a gear library and a gear hub where we lend out equipment as well as sell second hand kit on e-bay. You can use the kit library, and again we welcome donations to support this. Finally, we really appreciate donations of outdoor kit for our outdoor charity shop, with all proceeds going to support more young people to get outdoors.

We see the future of outdoor education as being local, strongly rooted in community and connecting people to natural places they can go on to access regularly themselves. Aban's role is to provide a progressive structure for young people to develop healthy habits, positive relationships and create opportunities to access the outdoors that may not otherwise be available.

Our work is based on the four principles of Adventurous Learning (Beames & Brown); mastery, uncertainty, agency and authenticity. The outdoor leaders aim to offer thoughtfully designed outdoor challenges, where participants can develop and use new skills, enabling them to make their own decisions and take ownership of their actions. This empowering cycle reinforces a sense of self-efficacy, ultimately giving young people the confidence to become proactive shapers of their lives.

As Àban looks ahead, the organisation remains committed to its mission of making outdoor adventures an integral part of life for young people across Scotland. By creating a sense of adventure and respect for nature, Àban is not only shaping the next generation of explorers but also nurturing a community that values and protects its natural heritage. Support Àban, sign up for events, and find out more here.

Join us every Saturday at 10am at the Fittie end of Aberdeen beach for invigorating dips in the sea. The refreshing waters will not only revitalize your body but also uplift your spirits, offering a perfect blend of mental clarity and physical well-being.

For updates on volunteering at beach cleans, joining adventure days, and other upcoming events please see our social media pages.