(l-r) Amy Cooper, Programme Coordinator with Real Ideas; Richard Bingley, Leader of the Council, Kickstarter apprentices Bernie Millership, Louis Herbert, Kyle Pearce and Jessie Hingston-Cook; Jez McDermott, General Manager of NT Saltram and Kate Rowlands, Programme Lead with Real Ideas, gather at Poole Farm to celebrate the Kickstart Award.
An innovative Plymouth apprenticeship scheme has received recognition at the national Kickstart Awards.
The Plymouth Natural Grid is a partnership project between Plymouth City Council, The National Trust and Real Ideas Organisation which aims to make nature more accessible to residents. Having taken on 10 Kickstart apprentices in December 2021, the project has now welcomed five more.
The Kickstart scheme is a nationwide placement programme for people between 18-24 years of age out of formal employment, education or training at risk of long term unemployment. The apprentices work with the Plymouth Natural Grid on a six month nature based placements.
Such has been the success of the scheme that last week, Councillor Richard Bingley, Leader of Plymouth City Council, was in London to attend the Kickstart Awards and receive the Promoting Diversity and Inclusion award from Therese Coffey MP.
Councillor Bingley said: "It is such an honour for this scheme to be nationally recognised as an exemplar example how a Kickstart scheme should be run.
"The young people involved with the project have been a credit to themselves and the Council and I really hope that in the time they are with us that we instil in them a lifelong passion for nature that will benefit themselves and the city.”
Anna Russell, Regional Director of the National Trust, said: "The National Trust is delighted to be working with Plymouth City Council and Real Ideas to create and deliver the Plymouth Natural Grid project. We could not be prouder that our joint Plymouth Urban Ranger team and the young people who have completed Kickstarter placements are getting the recognition they deserve.
"Plymouth Natural Grid enables local communities and young people to make their local green spaces better for wildlife and people. Supporting jobs and building skills is exactly what the Green Recovery Challenge Fund was created for and we have seen the difference this can make to young people's lives. We hope to build on this project to support more young people to make a difference in their city."
The Kickstart apprentices get dug into practical conservation work with training in a variety of outdoor and natural skills by our new urban rangers including tree planting, coppicing, woodland thinning, public engagement, dead hedging and invasive species management.
They also support National Trust urban rangers to continue to enhance wildlife (biodiversity) in and around the city and raise awareness about what we can all do to make a difference.
Engagement with communities is a priority for the project with a busy summer of getting out and about in Plymouth to connect people to nature, including creating biodiverse green learning spaces in schools.
The Plymouth Natural Grid project is funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund programme.