Urban Green project engaging young people

Urban Green project engaging young people

Hazel Ormrod

An important aim of the Urban Green project is to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in conservation-led initiatives. In recent months, we have been working with two groups of young people from Bournemouth and Poole College (BPC) and Bournemouth University.

The BPC students have been working on creating a new vegetable patch within the grounds of St Peter’s Church in Bournemouth as part of the drive to increase biodiversity on the site and engage with the local community. The young people have worked hard and learned a great deal about wildlife gardening as well as benefitting from being outside in this precious green space in the town centre.

The second year media students from Bournemouth University are working on a project which is based on UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 ‘Life on Land’. They are in the process of filming interviews with Dorset Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers about the conservation work at the Upton Heath nature reserve and also the community engagement in the Urban Green project at St Peter’s Church. The aim of their film is to encourage more young people to get involved with nature and conservation. We’re looking forward to seeing their film which we hope to share in due course.