A year of life-changing experiences for our young people

A cornerstone of our activities with young people is our Youth Environment Forum, which helps to tackle inequalities that make it hard for young people to access and enjoy the countryside.

Over the last year, the young people involved with the Forum have had incredible experiences. From last spring’s exploration of the rich flora and fauna at Oxenber Woods’ SSSI, to learning about rewilding and diversification in farming.

Helping to build strong and supportive communities

Anthea Hanson, YDMT’s Youth Officer, reflected on a busy and eventful year for the Forum: ‘’ It has been quite a year for our Forum members, who have had many great activities and experiences. However, the true standouts of the year have been the young people themselves and the strong, supportive community they have built with our help.’’

A key highlight of this year was being able to provide support to two of our longest-standing and most dedicated forum members, Rachel and Willow, to pursue their dreams.

Anthea said: “When I asked Rachel, about her ideal job, she said she’d love to sit in a beautiful place and do something like count birds. In March, we took the first step toward making that dream a reality by arranging a birding course in an accessible location for her.”

Meanwhile, Willow has a strong desire to live and work in the Yorkshire Dales. To help achieve this, we supported her successful funding application to produce a documentary about the Youth Forum’s journey over the next year, which will showcase how young people can actively shape the future of the Dales. Stay tuned and follow us on social media as we track her progress in The Future of the Dales by Generation Z!

 

More about our work with young people

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