Thousands of young people from Bournemouth to Southampton and across the New Forest have been taking action against climate change in a £1.4 million Youth for Climate and Nature (YouCAN) scheme.
Led by the New Forest National Park Authority, young people have been empowered to understand and lead climate action within their communities, having their voices heard on the biggest stages and grasping opportunities to develop green skills and careers.
The YouCAN scheme has engaged more than 31,000 young people between the ages of 11 and 25 across the 300 square mile area of the New Forest, Southampton, and Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole since it launched in October 2023.
In this, the third in a three-part blog series, we hear from leaders at YouCAN partners – the Freshwater Habitats Trust and The Parks Foundation – about the impact the scheme is having for young people, their organisations, the New Forest National Park and surrounding areas.
Freshwater Habitats Trust
Freshwater Habitats Trust is a conservation charity working to protect, manage, and enhance freshwater habitats and the species they support, focussing on streams, wetlands, rivers, ditches, and lakes.
Freshwater Habitats Trust works in the New Forest supported through the YouCAN scheme to engage and educate locals, visitors and landowners about the National Park’s special qualities through outreach, early career, and conservation days.
Freshwater Habitats Trust New Forest Engagement Officer Georgia Staszynska said:
‘The YouCAN scheme really makes me feel hopeful for the future of the New Forest, and I think that’s one of its biggest effects.
‘It fosters hope for the future of the National Park and I feel really proud to be a part of the project inspiring young people who are early in their green careers or starting to explore the environment around them.
‘YouCAN empowers young people to be able to act for nature and to feel they can make a difference – that there can be real, tangible things they can do to protect the New Forest and the wider environment.’
Georgia added:
‘I think YouCAN is so important because we’re able to pass knowledge on from various organisations and experts around the New Forest and hand it down to young people who are eager learn.
‘Hopefully passing this information on will enable them to not only care for the New Forest but work for it and preserve it for years to come, and then pass that information down again.
‘We’re inspiring the next generation but also giving them a chance to have a real impact and feel they’re doing something good.’
Georgia concluded:
‘Young people attending a YouCAN supported day in the New Forest get to witness firsthand how incredible the National Park, its freshwater biodiversity, and landscapes are.
‘That hopefully helps foster care for the Forest and empowers young people to protect the National Park and learn about some of the impacts it’s facing.’
The Parks Foundation
The Parks Foundation is an urban nature charity that works with communities across Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole to enhance the area’s green spaces and through this improve people’s health and wellbeing by reconnecting them with the environment and bringing diverse communities together.
Supported by the YouCAN scheme, The Parks Foundation has delivered targeted engagement to 16- to 25-year-olds through a Young Adult Ranger programme with sessions focussed on green skills and career development, as well as linked Celebration Days to recognise young people’s achievements.
Parks Foundation Ranger Programme Lead Will Bowskill said:
‘It’s really inspiring to see young people engaged and learning, and getting motivated and passionate about species in the way I am. It’s great to see their eyes light up. I enjoy it and have as much fun as any of them.
‘YouCAN is a brilliant partnership because we can call on experienced individuals and organisations to offer brilliant, well organised days backed by expertise – this partnership work is key to the scheme’s success.
‘There’s not a lot guiding young people towards nature conservation, particularly in urban settings, so I think it’s a really good possibility in a world where there aren’t as many opportunities.’
Will continued:
‘It means a lot to me to see individuals progress. When we launched the Young Adult Ranger programme the plan was to engage as many people as possible, and what we’ve learned through this is just how important individual interactions are to what young people get out of an experience.
‘We’ve had some really nice success stories with people who have gone on to do other things, and that’s what has stood out to me and made me so passionate.
‘It’s really important to keep young people engaged because they’re the future and will be at the cutting edge.’
Will added:
‘Our Young Adult Ranger course is for people to come on board to learn new skills – from surveying to landscaping or community engagement – and they develop themselves through that.
‘It could be something to bolster someone’s CV if they want to go into environmental work, or it might be that they don’t know which direction they want to go in and want a taster.
‘Potentially they just have a passion for nature and they want to pursue it, they really can get from it what they put in. That’s one of the core aims of YouCAN – to get young people interested in nature and to give them opportunities they may not have otherwise.’
- The Youth for Climate and Nature (YouCAN) scheme has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players through a £1.2 million Climate Action Fund grant from the National Lottery Community Fund – the largest community funder in the UK – and a further £264,000 in match funding from partners.
- Find out more about the YouCAN scheme and the partners involved by clicking here: https://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/communities/young-people/youth-for-climate-and-nature-youcan/