The Youth for Climate and Nature (YouCAN) scheme marks a successful first year: part one
PUBLISHED ON: 11 NOVEMBER 2024The £1.4 million YouCAN scheme was launched in October 2023 to empower young people between 11 and 25 to understand and lead climate action within their communities.
YouCAN also supports green skills and jobs, and an outdoor learning programme for young people from all backgrounds to explore urban, rural, coastal and freshwater areas.
The projects within the scheme span 300 square miles across the New Forest, Southampton and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and are led by the New Forest National Park Authority in partnership with the Countryside Education Trust in Beaulieu; Freshwater Habitats Trust; The Parks Foundation in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; Southampton National Park City project; Theatre for Life, and care and support charity Alabaré.
In this two-part blog series, we explore some of the successes from the first year of YouCAN. This is part one, click here for part two.
New Forest National Park Authority:
The New Forest National Park Authority’s (NFNPA) education and youth team have led 13 junior ranger sessions for 11 to 18-year-olds interested in conservation, sustainability and the natural world. Some sessions have been delivered with partners and focused on aspects of Forest life, such as commoning and the importance of the New Forest code.
The NPA also recruited for and launched the New Forest Youth Board; A group of 18 to 30-year-olds who voluntarily work alongside organisations and groups within the New Forest and surrounding areas to ensure youth voice is represented wherever possible. The Board met for the first time during a residency weekend in September 2024 at the Countryside Education Trust (CET). The weekend included team building and values-based exercises led by the NPA in the Fort Climate Centre, a site tour and animal feeding session by CET on its working farm, a ‘Climate Fresk’ interactive session led by Decarbon Easer to learn about climate change, as well as networking opportunities with other YouCAN partners.
Youth volunteering opportunities were specifically created for 18 to 30-year-olds who may otherwise struggle to access traditional opportunities due to the times and locations that these are generally held in. Sessions were held at weekends and themed on wildlife conservation, countryside access, engagement, citizen science and the arts, with activities such as clearing paths, removing invasive species, conducting surveys, and creating art projects, among others.
A feature garden ‘A Forest of Calm’ was created for the BBC Gardener’s World Spring Fair at Beaulieu, in May 2024. The garden was co-designed by Leigh Johnstone, aka ‘The Beardy Gardener’ and Lily Clarke, in partnership with Broadleaf Home Ed Co-op, Solent MIND (Hythe) and Hythe Men’s Shed. The garden sought to capture the beauty of the National Park and was part-funded by the NPA through YouCAN, with New Forest District Council and arts programme Culture in Common.
New Forest National Park Authority Youth Development Officer, Claire Pearce said: ‘We are really pleased to have been able to welcome members of the New Forest Youth Board together for the first time during their residency weekend.
‘It was a great event with an amazing group of enthusiastic, knowledgeable young adults. There have been lots of great discussions about the future direction of the Board and we look forward to supporting them in their work and seeing what they achieve.’
Southampton National Park City:
Southampton National Park City (SNPC) delivered three sustainable trips to the New Forest National Park with 38 families and young people. These comprised of Southampton community members and groups who may otherwise face various access barriers for example, refugees supported by Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group and Hope into Action. For these, they worked with NFNPA rangers and New Forest inclusive cycling charity PEDALL who offered participants insightful, active and educational introductions to the varied biodiversity, landscapes, histories and opportunities within the New Forest National Park.
SNPC also Launched ‘Guardians of the Greenways’, a scheme showcasing Southampton community members stewarding their local green spaces. For example, Maria who has looked after the Shoreburs Greenway area for over 20 years. Here, they hosted a group walk to share her stories and efforts, which was very well attended and has been commemorated through poetry and film.
Other highlights included commissioning an ecological report regarding opportunities for habitat enhancement around the Itchen Estuary, supporting three young volunteers and interns, and launching ‘Young Placemakers’, a new mentoring and upskilling programme for 18 to 25-year-olds passionate about creating change in their communities.
Southampton National Park City Co-ordinator Rae Turpin said: ‘Over the last year, we have had the opportunity to begin our delivery of community engagement projects to support both habitat enhancement across the city and simultaneously intertwining human connections with all the nature we share our city with.
‘We have also solidified our own organisational strategy, strengthening our capacity to reach more people and corners of Southampton city for the coming years.’
Theatre for Life:
Theatre for Life is a community-led theatre company creating life-changing theatre projects which make a difference to communities, by using youth voices to raise awareness on issues that are important to its actors and future generations.
Between February and September 2024, Theatre for Life delivered 12 interactive and site-specific sessions with climate scientists, marine biologists, rangers, creative practitioners and partners including Freshwater Habitats Trust, Countryside Education Trust, arts charity SPUD and PEDALL.
During one of the sessions, 16-year-old Alice Borthwick said: ‘Being able to talk about the ocean and learn about it whilst being right next to it made it great to feel close and connected to nature.’
17-year-old Tilly Ellison said: ‘It encouraged me to do my best and to be more mindful of how I treat the New Forest, and it inspired me to take action where possible to support species that may be suffering, but also my community.’
Theatre for Life Artistic Director Michelle Smith said: ‘Engaging directly with different environments like forests, coastal paths, and in urban settings has provided a valuable opportunity to gain firsthand insights into the impact of the climate crisis on our local communities.
‘Our young people have been actively involved in site-specific projects like beach clean-ups to promote awareness and protect their local communities for future generations. Through these experiences, the urgency for sustainable practices and climate resilience has become unmistakably clear.
‘During the next phase of the creative development, we will be amplifying the voices of young people in our devised theatre performance ‘Generation Anthropocene’, connecting with audiences across Hampshire and Dorset in a theatre tour.’
YouCAN was made possible thanks to National Lottery Players, through which £1.2 million was secured from a 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. This month (November 2024) the National Lottery celebrates 30 years of supporting good causes such as YouCAN.
YouCAN is also supported by our evaluation partner, Action Hampshire, which will be undertaking a mixed-methods evaluation of the project to understand if and how it has achieved its intended outcomes and to assess the effectiveness of the partnership working developed to deliver this project.
You can find out more about the Youth for Climate and Nature (YouCAN) scheme here.
