That the Parliament commends the Urban Nature Retreat, which is located near Bathgate; notes that the not-for-profit community interest company aims to improve the lives of children from Lothian and across Scotland who are vulnerable or have additional support needs; acknowledges that its services include animal therapy and child-centred alternatives to mainstream classroom programmes; understands that the Retreat was set up and is run by Sean Carr and Marika Ritchie and has achieved significant success, with many children benefitting from its services; notes that Sean and Marika plan to open a small café in 2020 for the families of the young people and an outdoor nursery; wishes everyone at the Retreat every success with these expansion plans, and hopes that many more children will be able to benefit from the high-quality accredited services offered by Sean and Marika and the Retreat.
Supported by:
Jeremy Balfour, Michelle Ballantyne, Bill Bowman, Finlay Carson, Peter Chapman, Maurice Corry, Jamie Greene, Alison Harris, Bill Kidd, Gordon Lindhurst, Stuart McMillan, Margaret Mitchell, Edward Mountain, Gil Paterson, Stewart Stevenson, Alexander Stewart, Annie Wells