Good Practice: Participation in Action - Rural eco volunteer scheme rides the social action wave
Laura McCardle
Monday, September 29, 2014
Donning their wellies and getting covered in mud, dozens of young people have waded through ponds and pulled weeds as part of efforts to improve their communities.
The projects are part of an initiative run by the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) in conjunction with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Canal and River Trust and the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs to provide a range of rural and environmentally-focused social action opportunities.
Set up in April, the Action Squad programme hopes to create an additional 1,500 social action opportunities for young people by March 2015, and reflects NCYVS's support for the national Step Up To Serve campaign, which aims to get half of all young people taking part in social action programmes by 2020.
Funded by the Cabinet Office's Youth Social Action Journey Fund, which supports existing youth groups to increase the number of social action places on offer nationwide, Action Squad sees the three partner organisations deliver rural, wildlife or waterway-themed projects to "squads" of young people.
Under the initiative, these squads, made up of between four and eight young people each, identify an issue they would like to tackle; agree a solution and create a project that will help solve the problem; and work together to create positive change in their communities.
The programme is largely managed by NCVYS's youth management board, a steering group of 16- to 25-year-olds, who play a key role in shaping the opportunities available to young people.
"They pretty much set the direction of the projects," says Joshua Francis-Ralphs, a young facilitator at NCVYS. "They are the ones who decide how the projects are going to run, how we market it and what kind of accreditation young people will get for being part of the project."
Meanwhile, Francis-Ralphs and 10 other young facilitators run the programme at the grassroots level, recruiting the squads to one of the three partner organisations, working with them on their projects and evaluating their progress.
He says the experience has so far been a positive one, with all parties learning from each other.
"It has been very busy and we've had some different ideas (for social action projects) come through," says Francis-Ralphs. "We have had the chance to work with some great people so far, especially in terms of the partnerships, and we have learned new things about delivering projects from working in this way."
To support the initiative, NCVYS has launched the Action Squad Academy website - its attempt at creating an online legacy for social action.
Designed to be the first comprehensive online database of social action projects across the country, the website will pull together a range of resources and examples of best practice, as well as details of volunteering opportunities.
Anyone with an interest in social action and experience of delivering projects from the wider youth sector, not just the three Action Squad programme partner organisations, is able to upload content to the site, launched at the end of August.
At present, the website features social action opportunities with the Police Cadet Programme, Beat Bullying and Scope, as well as Catch22's top social action tips and National Citizen Service curriculum materials.
Francis-Ralphs says the website is designed for anyone who wants to develop an understanding of youth social action, particularly young people, youth workers and community organisers.
"We think it will be quite useful because there hasn't really been anything like it before," he says. "Having the resources, the opportunities and general contact details for the organisations all in one place is something that is needed in the sector. Putting everything in one place allows the young person to decide which route to take into social action from the information available."
Francis-Ralphs says NCYVS hopes the website will become a lasting legacy for social action after funding for such programmes runs out. "The funding for our programme only lasts until March 2015," he says. "The website is something that will be long-lasting, so even if we're not still doing the Action Squad programme, the resources are still going to be there and people can get involved."
