Why was the group created?

The Young Volunteers North (YVN) group was inspired by wider discussions within The Wildlife Trusts which highlighted the lack of options for teenagers interested in the environment at a time in their lives when they're already less likely to be involved. (Green teens: Understanding and promoting adolescents’ sustainable engagement - ScienceDirect).

The Wildlife Trusts already had groups for primary school age pupils (Wildlife Watch groups) but found it hard to support young people who aged out of them, with only one Cumbria Wildlife Trust group – Young Rangers – running, and based only in South Cumbria.

Additionally, Cumbria Wildlife Trust was receiving frequent requests for volunteering opportunities, particularly from students in years 9 - 11 who were taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh award.

The YVN group was designed as a pilot project which would investigate whether there was any interest in such a group and, if so, what format might work. 

When did the YVN group run?

The group was set up to meet for four hours per month. This was specifically chosen to ensure the session met the Duke of Edinburgh volunteering criteria of 1 hour per week, something that is quite difficult to achieve in a conservation setting due to the often remote nature of our work.

Getting confirmation that this would be acceptable was tricky but we worked on the basis that doing something imperfectly was better than aiming for 'perfect but never getting it done'.

Where were the YVN group meetings held?

Another challenge was that the group was to meet at Gosling Sike, which had great parking, toilet facilities and meeting rooms, but only a small capacity to provide work for a regular group. We needed to find a way to get to sites further afield to keep our young people busy and to expand their knowledge and horizons. 

What were the positive outcomes?

Over the past 18 months, the YVN group has become a regular fixture on the Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s calendar. Around 30 young people have attended the group; some have moved on, others are still attending, and their actions have seen them taking part in a range of activities with meadow hay raking in the Eden Valley, tree planting, scrub clearance, managing invasive species, moth identification and public engagement to name but a few. 

The partnership between Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the North Pennines National Landscape has worked brilliantly, with the Trust taking the lead on advertising and managing bookings, and NPNL using their networks to find places for the group to take action. 

The group has been consistently praised for their efforts, with over 150 tree guards removed in one session as well as thousands of Himalayan Balsam stems. 

The young volunteers have worked on nature reserves, land owned by local farmers and utilities providers, and at public events. They have met with some of North Cumbria’s most knowledgeable experts on wildlife and biodiversity and are starting to build up their identification skills.  And they have eaten many packs of Jaffa Cakes!

What are the key takeaways?

• Setting up Young Volunteers North showed that there was a definite appetite for this type of group.
• There are now regular attendees, which is fantastic for building the welcoming and supportive group that young people need.
• It's proving to be a real draw for our local experts who really value the opportunity to pass on their enthusiasm and skills to the next generation. 

The next steps are to publicise the group more widely, so that young people from different areas and from different backgrounds are aware of the group and feel confident in joining. 

The leaders are looking at some of the barriers (transport can be a significant barrier) and at ways of reducing those.

In addition, the same format has been used to set up a group on the West Coast of Cumbria; an area that has fantastic wildlife but limited input from Cumbria Wildlife Trust at this time. That group is incredibly new and still needs staff support but we're hopeful it will grow and replicate the success of the YVN group.

How does the YVN group help make a Wilder Cumbria?

The Young Volunteers North group sits nicely within the current focus that Cumbria Wildlife Trust has for working with young people. 

Having recently appointed a Youth Action officer, who will be working with 11-30 year olds, and finalising details of the Naturally Connected Young People project, Young Volunteers North is just a tiny part of the bigger picture. 

But for the young people who regularly attend each session, it's building both their skills and social life, and giving them the opportunity to make the world a little bit better for nature.