The first cohort of Kickstarter apprentices, pictured above, started work in December
More young people are set to get involved in an innovative Plymouth nature project.
The Plymouth Natural Grid is a partnership project which aims to make nature more accessible to residents and having taken on 10 Kickstarter apprentices in December, is now set to welcome five more.
The Kickstarter 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 will work with the Plymouth Natural Grid on a six month nature based placements.
The new apprentices will follow on from a very successful first cohort of Plymouth Natural Grid Kickstarters. Such has been its popularity that it is the only Kickstarter programme in the UK with a 100 per cent retention rate and is being used as a case study to develop future placement programs for young people.
The project assistants will 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 will 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 will continue to be priority for the project as they move into 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 is a partnership project between Plymouth City Council, The National Trust and Real Ideas funded by the Green Recovery Challenge Fund running across 18 months to create green jobs for young people, engage local communities and improve nature across 12 protected green sites in the city.