Workshop 3: Inner Environment 1: The Me Tree

Opening Image: Awe & Wonder | 2 mins 

(See Slide deck)

Ask them what they think this is. Keep chat brief, but allow them to connect to the image.

Check-in | 2 mins

Briefly offer your chosen check-in to the Ambassadors or use the following check in. There needs to be a way you can measure their scoring before and after the session. 

Standard Check-In

Ask the Ambassadors to stand up and imagine that one side of the room is 0 and the opposite side is 10.

• 0 = I'm not feeling great today. I'd rather be under a duvet.

• 5 = I'm feeling okay, somewhere in the middle.

• 10 = I'm full of energy and feeling amazing.

Invite everyone to move to the place that best represents how they are feeling right now. They can stand anywhere between 0 and 10.

Once everyone has chosen their position, invite the Ambassadors to look around the room and notice where everyone is standing.

Say: "Everyone arrives differently, and that's okay. There are no right or wrong answers. Whatever number you're showing today is welcome."

If you have enough time, invite one or two Ambassadors to share why they chose their number.

BE Here Now Exercise | 4 mins

NOTE: These simple practices form part of the young people's self-care and wellbeing toolkit. They are designed to help them notice the present moment, regulate their emotions and prepare for learning.

Where possible, introduce a variety of practices throughout the programme. At the end of their Ambassador journey, the young people will receive a small collection of these exercises to take away with them, so encourage them to notice which practices work particularly well for them that they can use independently.

Find the BE HERE NOW Toolkit here.


Say: “Each week, we will be doing something called a BE Here Now exercise.”

Ask: “Has anyone heard of mindfulness or meditation? What do you think they mean?”

Take a few responses.

Explain: “Mindfulness and meditation are ways of slowing down and bringing our attention to what is happening right now, including our breathing, bodies, thoughts, feelings, and what is happening around us.”

Ask: “Why do you think people use these techniques?”

Explain:“They can help us manage stress and anxiety, calm our minds and bodies, and bring our attention back to the present moment rather than worrying about the past or future. At Bertha Earth we see this as a way of caring for your mind and also your body.”

Say: “Our BE Here Now exercises work in a similar way. They are simple exercises that help us step away from all the busyness happening in our lives or during our day, calm our minds and bodies, and bring our attention back to what is happening right now.”

“Each week, we’ll try a simple exercise to help us pause, feel calmer and become more present.”

Say: “Today, we are going to try something called Five Finger Breathing.”

Guide the Ambassadors through the Five Finger Breathing exercise from the toolkit to help them arrive, settle and focus.

Designated Photographer | 2 mins

Briefly offer your chosen check-in to the Ambassadors or use the following check in. There needs to be a way you can measure 

Decide who will be responsible for capturing photographs during today's session for the end-of-programme montage. Where appropriate, try to capture the young people doing, creating, collaborating, and connecting, rather than only posed photographs.

Note: This session is about giving the Ambassadors quiet reflective time to explore different parts of themselves, before connecting and sharing with others.

Recap & Overview | 2 mins

Briefly reconnect the Ambassadors to their journey so far. Ask: "Who can remember what we explored together last week?"

Take a few quick responses.

Say: “Last week, we had a taste of what’s to come on the Ambassador Programme and began getting to know each other as a group. This week, we’re going to look at knowing ourselves;  why knowing ourselves matters and how it allows us to bring our different qualities and strengths to a group.”

Part 1: Introduce the Me Tree | 2 mins

Gather the Ambassadors and introduce the activity.

Share: “When we bring our attention back to what is happening right now, it can help calm our minds and help us feel more present. That's why we'll sometimes begin our sessions with a BE Here Now exercise. It's one way we can practise self-care.”

“Another part of self-care is getting to know ourselves; what makes us happy, what matters to us, what we're good at, and what helps us when things are difficult.”

“We've spent the last couple of workshops getting to know each other. Today, we're going to get to know someone who will be with you for this entire Ambassador journey - you.”

“Our thoughts, feelings, needs, and how we respond to things are all part of our inner environment, what's happening inside us.”

“When we understand and care for our inner environment, it can also help us care for our outer environment: the people around us, animals, plants, and the planet.”

Display Slide: The Me Tree.

Part 2: Grow Your Me Tree | 20 mins

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please encourage them to quickly sketch a tree that focuses on 6 branches. This is not about spending ages creating the perfect tree. Let them know that they can use words, pictures, symbols, doodles or whatever works for them. There is no right or wrong way to create their tree. Their Me Tree is theirs. They do not have to include anything they don't want to and later they will choose what, if anything, they would like to share. We want the young people to do this for themselves and not us. 

Put on gentle background music.

Reveal the questions one at a time, rather than putting them all up at once. This is important because it slows the activity down and stops it becoming a worksheet. Give them roughly 2-3 minutes per branch.

Each question becomes a branch of their Me Tree. The prompt questions are there to help if they get stuck; you do not need to work through every prompt.

🌿 Branch 1: What brings me joy or makes me happy? 

What do I love doing? What makes me happy or brings me joy? If I could spend all day doing this what would it be? 

🌿 Branch 2: What matters to me?
What or who do I really care about right now? What people, places, objects, experiences?

🌿 Branch 3: What am I good at?

What are some of my strengths, talents or things that come naturally to me? What do others say that I am good at?

🌿 Branch 4: How do I react when I am happy?

What am I like when I'm happy, excited, or feeling good?

🌿 Branch 5: How do I react when things aren't going so well?

What am I like when I'm grumpy, stressed, frustrated, worried, or having a difficult day?

🌿 Branch 6: When I don’t feel great, what helps me feel better?

Does talking to a friend or family member help? Doing something you enjoy? Playing a sport or game? Going somewhere you like? Spending time on your own? What cheers you up or helps you feel better?

Part 3: Our Trees Meet | 6 mins

Once the individual reflection is complete, invite Ambassadors to pair up with someone.

Say: “Every tree in this room will look different because every person in this room is different.”

Explain:  “Sometimes when someone chooses to share something they've noticed or learned, it helps someone else realise they're not the only one who thinks or feels that way. It can give other people permission to reflect, speak or share too. But remember, you always get to choose what you want to share.”

Invite them to choose two things from their tree that they are happy to share with their partner.

Then ask them to discuss one thing they  have in common and one thing that's different.

This also quietly prepares them for the next stage of the curriculum; difference doesn't disconnect us. We can be different and still find connection.

Embed the Learning | 5 mins
Bring everyone back into the circle. 

Facilitator Note: Due to the nature of this session there will not be a 3-2-1 reflect. We want you to have space to pull this together properly.) 

Remind the young people that it is ok if they don’t want to share things that feel personal. 

Ask:

• “How did you find that activity?”

• “What was it like taking some time to think about yourself?” 

• “Did anything on your own tree surprise you?”

Let it simply be a conversation.

Take just a few responses. 

Say: "Thank you for taking the time to reflect.” (Reinforce why it is important.)

CELEBRATE them and let them celebrate themselves. 

ASK: If you had to celebrate yourself for one thing what would it be? 

Encourage listening without judgement and celebrate each contribution.

Then close the activity by saying: “Every tree in this room is different. Each has its own strengths, needs, experiences, and ways of growing. Over this year, you'll keep discovering things about yourself, and some of what you've written today might change. That's part of growing too.”