Urban Nature offers young people the opportunity to explore a vast range of environmental ideas, here are some of the inspirational projects initiated by some of our member clubs to date.

The young people at Samuel Montagu Youth Centre decided to transform a derelict garden area adjacent to the club. This has now become a focal point for a year-long programme of environmental activities, including keeping chickens, growing edible produce and preserving local wildlife.

The young people showcased their project to local dignitaries during an Open Day on 15th March 2012 and through this have now developed strong links with the local community who are actively supporting the young people with their work 

Generate, a special needs youth group based in Wandsworth, decided upon re-designing the garden area at their centre. Raised beds were built using recycled scaffold boards in preparation for their bamboo planting. The area will eventually become somewhere for delivering workshops and to relax. An environmental programme has now been incorporated into their term-time and holidays. Further projects include developing the remainder of garden and running cycling awareness schemes.

As part of their summer programme a group of young people at Samuel Lithgow Youth Centre in Camden started their first environmental project, a large scale mural within the youth centre. The group spent a number of weeks discussing the ideas and design and finally agreed upon an environmental awareness theme. Their aim is to send a strong message out to the young people at the youth club about how they can have a positive impact upon the environment. 

The young people have also installed recycling bins within the youth centre and are responsible for promoting their usage. They monitor them on a weekly basis and they have so far been successfully ‘consuming’ the correct waste.

‘The Environmental Project has been amazing, not only for the young people, but it has taken the centre forward as whole. It truly encompasses the kind of youth participation that we have been striving for, in that the ideas as well as the action driving the project forward has been because of the determination and graft from young people. It is great to see the young people thriving in leadership and responsibility’

Sarra Dore – Youth Development Worker, SMYC