- Centre opened on Saturday following a £926,000 rebuild.
- It will be used by local youngsters and will provide accommodation for visiting Island Games competitors.
- See pictures inside the new centre and read what the JEP thinks about it.
AN activity centre in St Mary which has been used by thousands of young Islanders over the years has been officially reopened following a major refurbishment.
The wooden cabins and classroom block at Crabbé have been replaced with a single-storey chalet-style building, which was opened on Saturday by the Lieutenant-Governor, General Sir John McColl.
The building can provide accommodation for up to 36 young people and six staff for overnight stays. It also has a social area, a kitchen and a new classroom.
The timber-clad facility, which cost £926,000 to build, was commissioned by Jersey Property Holdings and will be used by schools, Scout groups and youth groups from around the Island.
It will also provide accommodation for visiting competitors during the Island Games and other sporting events.
Speaking at the opening, the Lieutenant-Governor said many Islanders had memories of their time at Crabbé since the centre was originally opened in 1981.
He said that it had clearly been very well used over the years, and youth groups always said their best memories were of staying together in the natural environment.
‘This building will ensure generations of Islanders have these memories in the future,’ he said.
Tom Keir Hardie, who attended this weekend’s opening, had the original idea for the activity centre when he was the Island’s principal youth officer during the 1970s.
He said: ‘There were three choices. Either we bought a sailing ship, provided bursaries to send young people away from the Island for sports or the arts, or we built an activity centre. We decided on this because it was going to serve the greater number of Jersey’s young people.’
Mr Keir Hardie (84) said the original building was designed to provide a ‘robust’ experience of the outdoors, with water provided by a generator-powered pump, showers heated by gas, and Tilley paraffin lamps around the site.
He said: ‘It was very much of its time, and the new building is very much of its time, with improvements made for health and safety.
But it retains the spirit of Crabbé, which is coming together to build human relationships and to provide young people with an environment which is very different from home.’
Mark Capern, the Island’s serving principal youth officer, said: ‘Outdoor education is very important in building confidence and self-esteem and gives an extra dimension to learning that complements what young people experience in school.
‘This excellent building means we have the right facilities to carry on offering valuable experiences to our young people and give them a chance to be outside in Jersey’s natural environment.’
Read an interview with Mr Capern here
AT the heart of widespread public concern about the Jersey International Finance Centre is the nagging question of whether the new offices are really needed. It is a reaction all too common in response to public projects in Jersey.
The same cannot be said, however, for the new activity centre at Crabbé.
Generations of children have enjoyed a memorable taste of the outdoors at the facility in St Mary, but the old huts were past their best.
The new chalet-style building cost £926,000 and is a much-needed investment in the Island’s young people. Education is about so much more than exam grades, something that Principal Youth Officer Mark Capern and his team fully understand. Many new generations will visit Crabbé to learn about themselves and Jersey’s beautiful natural environment.
Since its opening in 1981, the activity centre has been a success story and the new building will help ensure it remains so for many years to come.
