Shropshire wildlife charity to help a new generation of green leaders with £1.49 million funding boost
Shropshire Wildlife Trust is celebrating a £1.49m boost to help 400 young people become the next generation of green leaders.
Social mobility charity UpRising and the Shropshire Wildlife Trust (SWT) have been awarded £1.49 million from The National Lottery Community Fund to co-deliver a new environmental leadership programme.
Research by the Shropshire wildlife charity found that 65 per cent of young people aged 18 to 24 were 'extremely concerned' about climate change, 78 per cent would like to do more to tackle it and yet only 18 per cent currently campaign about it.
The organisation said that UpRising's expertise in engaging underrepresented youth will be combined with Shropshire Wildlife Trust's experience in outdoor learning and nature connection to create the Environmental Leadership Programme 2.0.
The innovative initiative is designed to support four cohorts of 100 young people aged 18 to 25 from underrepresented and underserved communities across the West Midlands.
It aims to strengthen young people's connection to nature, deepen their understanding of what drives environmental behaviour change, and enable them to develop and implement nature-focused campaigns in their local communities.
The programme will be free and have a blended learning approach to accommodate participants' busy schedules.
Amira Ismail, Birmingham-based trustee of UpRising and programme alumna said: “We’re thrilled to have led this bid and to be shaping this programme with our partners at Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
"With the lack of diversity in the environmental profession – both in terms of class and ethnicity - it’s never been more important for the young people UpRising supports to have meaningful opportunities to develop their leadership skills.
"With the ELP’s focus on nature connection, our young leaders will be at the forefront of driving change in the future.
"Thanks to National Lottery players, we will be able to work with SWT to support young people across the West Midlands, co-creating a programme that will make a big difference to young people’s lives, their communities, and their planet.”
Helen Trotman, head of people of wildlife at SWT said: “We are delighted to be working with UpRising to embed natured connectedness in the Environmental Leadership Programme.
"We know that nature benefits people’s mental and physical health and a better connection with nature empowers people to do more for our environment.”
The National Lottery Community Fund aims to distribute at least £4 billion by 2030, supporting activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
Nick Gardner, Head of Climate Action at The National Lottery Community Fund said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re delighted to be able to support the delivery of the Environmental Leadership Programme 2.0 and welcome UpRising and Shropshire Wildlife Trust to our Climate Action Fund network.
“Our new strategy set our focus on four key missions: to support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.
“This funding illustrates perfectly how a project can work across all of these missions at once; it will help engage more young people with local climate action, helping them to make a difference in communities across the West Midlands."
More information on the programme is available online at elp2.uk
