Salut! I'm Max Girardeau, a mountain goat reborn as an urban-dwelling human. I have found my life purpose reconnecting aspects of our shared existence that have become alienated from one another; humans with nature, youth with adults, self with the other, education with spirituality. I bring this enquiry to the 14-30 year olds and education professionals I work with through my work with The Visionaries.
 
At The Visionaries we create spaces for youth and adults to learn side-by-side about how to live well and contribute to a healthy future for people and planet. We deliver wild retreats for youth to help their transition in a joyous and purposeful adult life. We create communities for youth and adults where mentorship and leadership can emerge. We also deliver facilitation training for adults working with youth in what we call our 'visionary skills', to share best practice, and develop agency and leadership across the education sector.
 
I hope that we are living through what Joanna Macy calls 'the Great Turning', shifting to healthier more harmonious ways of living, and that my work contributes to this here in the UK.
 
I work with young people and adults across the UK, but have a focus on London and the South East as that's where I'm based. However I love taking city-based groups and immersing them in beautiful wild places across the UK.
 
I spent many years developing outdoor learning programmes for mainstream schools and realised there was so much more we could do with youth as they come of age to a.) deepen our sense of connection to one another and to the more-than-human, and b.) develop our intrinsic motivation and agency to act on our beliefs.
 
I really don’t think we can rely on a privileged few, a few ‘heroes’, to solve the world's challenges. If we each were to connect to a life-affirming vision, one that might be lying dormant inside of us, and act humbly in service of our communities and future generations, then the rest might just figure itself out.

A healthy future can only be built on collaboration, so please reach out and let's chat. I want to learn what you do and discover the magic we might conjure together! 

Max Girardeau is Director & Co-Founder of The Visionaries Education CIC. You can contact him at max@thevisionaries.org.uk or follow his work on LinkedIn at @maxgirardeau.