News

A £4.5 million project is helping England’s most socially disadvantaged young people forge closer connections with nature.

Generation Green 2 aims to help disadvantaged young people forge lifelong connections to nature by taking them on multi-day residentials, farm visits, day trips and nights under the stars, all based in National Parks, National Landscapes and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Project delivery began in spring this year and has so far enabled almost 6,000 young people to take part in experiences across England.

Here in the Shropshire Hills, we are running a small project to engage around 50 young people.

Project Officer, Joe Penfold explains, “The Shropshire Hills National Landscape Team has well established pathways for connecting young people with nature, for example, by linking with local schools and offering the John Muir Award or via our vibrant Young Rangers programme for those aged 12-16. However, Generation Green has enabled us to ‘go the extra mile’ and to target those young people who we have identified as being excluded from, or who experience barriers to accessing the great outdoors.”

He continues “Working closely with South Shropshire Youth Forum, we have identified gaps in provision and those young people who we could engage with more readily. We have targeted young people living in areas of social deprivation, those from ethnic minority communities, and pupils with additional learning needs (SEND). However, we are also encouraging some of our Young Rangers cohort to get involved as they will undoubtedly have a positive influence on the other participants, for example, by mentoring and promoting continued involvement in the outdoors (through Young Rangers) after Generation Green ends.”

Activities are being held at on-the-doorstep, accessible sites such as the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms, as well as those in wilder locations in our woodlands and uplands. They include wild camps with camp fire cooking, night-time walking and rigging up an overnight camp using hammocks and tarpaulins, farm visits, nature restoration task days and wildlife surveys. A residential is also in the planning stage for late Winter/early Spring 2025 at YHA Wilderhope Manor, a Grade I listed Elizabethan manor in the heart of the Shropshire Hills and arguably one of YHA’s most visually striking properties.

The project aims to engage young people in achievable, meaningful and fun ways to connect with nature with the experiences helping to cultivate a sense of care for the countryside and enjoying the wellbeing benefits of spending time in the outdoors.

Generation Green 2 is being delivered by the Access Unlimited (AU) Partnership, a unique coalition of not-for-profit youth organizations, school residential outdoor providers, and organisations managing protected landscapes.  The AU coalition includes the YHA (England & Wales), The Outward Bound Trust, Field Studies Council, Girlguiding, Scouts, National Parks England, and the National Landscapes Association. Nine National Park Authorities and eight National Landscapes are involved in course delivery.

Funding for Generation Green 2 has been provided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as part of its ongoing support of access to nature.

For more information please click on the link below to go to the Generation Green page on the YHA website.

Generation Green 2