Groundwork hosted a parliamentary reception to reflect on achievements from the past 40 years and acknowledge the current challenges facing the sector.
The reception was held in the House of Lords, and was attended by MPs, Groundwork staff, youth work professionals, and young people with experience of Groundwork’s initiatives.
Environment minister Trudy Harrison opened the event with a speech emphasising the importance of ensuring everyone has the ability to enjoy nature and the environment, particularly those from disadvantaged or urban communities where access to communal green spaces may be more difficult.
Graham Duxbury, chief executive of Groundwork, also delivered a speech, discussing how the charity has helped young people to launch careers in the environmental sector, even during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Duxbury also cited the challenges faced by the sector today, including the climate crisis, and the cost-of-living crisis.
Duxbury told CYP Now: “Young people are most impacted by the quality, accessibility and safety of local environments and will be most impacted in the future by the harmful effects of climate change.
“Helping them play a practical role in designing solutions and taking action is the best way of avoiding anxiety and can also help young people develop the confidence, skills and networks they need to find work and achieve their potential.”
“Groundwork has a proud history of helping young people get their first experience of work in the environment sector, and, as we look back over 40 years of delivery, I’m confident that the next generation of ‘Groundworkers’ will go on to achieve even greater impact.”
Among Groundwork’s recent initiatives to encourage youth engagement is its New to Nature project, which will provide young people aged 18-25 with paid, full-time temporary work placements in nature and landscape organisations throughout the UK.
The initiative will be funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and will run until May 2024.
At least 70 young people will be able to benefit from the scheme, and Groundwork have said there will be a focus on attracting “diverse talent from communities currently underrepresented in environmental roles”.
This includes young people from ethnic minority backgrounds, disabled young people and those who are economically disadvantaged.
Groundwork’s celebration of its 40-year history included the publication of Forty Years of Changing Places and Lives, a booklet which outlines the successes of the charity’s history.
The booklet highlights different people’s journeys with Groundwork, including young people who began their careers through the charity’s schemes.
Jade, a 21-year-old who joined Groundwork’s Youth of Today board and gained six months of paid work experience through Groundwork’s Kickstart programme, said: “I would honestly say that I’ve found my passion and I feel like I’m making a difference.
“I’ve had a few clients who were struggling with getting out of the house when they started on my programme, but by the time they signed off were able to go out and meet up with new friends that they’d made during group projects with us and look for work and college courses so they could go on and better themselves.”
