Future Proof Parks is a Heritage Lottery Fund programme part of the £10m Kick the Dust initiative that aims to get more young people interested and involved in preserving their local park and greenspace heritage.
The National Youth Agency is a partner on this programme with Fields in Trust and led by Groundwork. The three-year programme will engage 880 young people across the UK with the aim that at least 180 young people will take on leadership roles within the programme. The National Youth Agency will be delivering training for young people and managing the Young Persons Action Group who will be steering the programme and creating a young people’s manifesto that will capture learning from the work.
The programme will also work with 60 ‘friends of’ park groups to give them the tools, encouragement, and support to get more local young people involved in their work and to see the benefits of cross-generational working. The National Youth Agency will be delivering training in Safeguarding and Participation.
Laura Keegan, Senior Youth Work Specialist at The National Youth Agency said ‘It is an exciting programme for us to be part of. The training for the Friends of Park Group volunteers is key in terms of beginning their journey on the programme but also supporting them to start their conversation with young people. A key area is providing them with support to map and plan their work with young people with the end goal being supporting young people to take on leadership roles within the park.’
The programme has already begun and we look forward to giving you updates via our network over the next three years. For more information get in touch with LauraK@nya.org.uk
Getting Involved
We are looking for organisations or groups who work with young people in the FPP areas to get in touch if they want to connect to the project.
Starting in July 2018 the programme is well underway with training being delivered to volunteers, activity happening in heritage spaces and recruitment of young people. The programme will run until July 2021
Activity is taking place in:
- West Midlands
- East of England
- West of England
- North West
- North East
So if you are an organisation who works with young people aged 11-25 who may be interested in a variety of activity including preserving local spaces, celebration events, training and much more then get in touch with Claire Jaggers Claire.Jaggers@Groundwork.org.uk
The Youth Action Group
Do you have a vision for your local park and the ambition to make it a reality? It’s time to make things happen – join the Youth Action Group to become an essential part of the Future Proof Parks programme.
Future Proof Parks is harnessing the energies and talents of young people and, through advice and training, encouraging them to support local heritage groups and ensuring their voice can heard throughout the programme.
The Youth Action Group is a team of like-minded young people aged 16-25 who will shape the development of a national media campaign; putting parks on the map whilst learning new skills, making new friends, and connecting with their local area.
Find out more about the Youth Action Group and how to get involved here.