We have been celebrating the end of a three-year successful youth project with the Mayor of Peterborough
Froglife’s Green Pathways is a three year BBC Children in Need funded project working with disadvantaged and vulnerable teenagers in Peterborough. We support young people with extra difficulties in their lives to improve green spaces for wildlife and people, and learn about and enjoy the environment. The project came to an end at the end of December and Ken Stimpson Community School kindly hosted a celebration event at the end of term.
Over the past 3 years we have worked with over 1800 young people, and during the 600 plus sessions, young people have improved 20 different green spaces and spent over 1250 hours outdoors. Young people created wildlife murals all across the city to improve neglected places, cleared litter to make green spaces nicer for the community and safer for wildlife, dug ponds, created wildlife areas and maintained community gardens.
The project uses nature as an outdoor therapy to help young people with a variety of issues and is particularly effective in those with behaviour problems and mental health issues.
Young people that have taken part in the project have said:
“It makes me feel happy when I go in the woods” (Student from Heltwate Special School)
“I am proud that I’m helping the community and that I am doing something good” (Student from Peterborough Regional College)
Those who attended the celebration event, found out more about the project through videos, photos and young people themselves and learnt about the new project that will follow on in the New Year. The Mayor of Peterborough presented certificates to recognise the achievements of particular young people and adult volunteers.
We were recently awarded over £111,000 from BBC Children in Need to continue our pioneering work with young people through the Green Pathways project. The new project will start in January with a part-time trainee to support our Conservation Youth Worker, a wider age range; participants can now be between 5-18 years old, and a wider geographical range; referrals will now come from Northampton and Fenland district as well as Peterborough.
Our Green Pathways’ Conservation Youth Worker Rebecca Neal said:
“I am so proud of what the young people have achieved on this project and it’s fantastic that the impact of our work is recognised and we can continue offering these life-changing opportunities in the future”
To find out more about the project please click here or contact the project officer Rebecca Neal on rebecca.neal@froglife.org or 01733 602102