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14 November 2007
Rotarians offer young people the chance to connect with nature
Extra funding provides extra support to the Wildlife Trust
The Rotary Club of Northampton Becket is helping local young people to connect with the natural world by supporting The Wildlife Trust for another year
Extra funding provided is being used to enable young local people coping with special needs and disadvantages to visit Lings Environmental Education Centre from. It is also continuing its support of the Wildlife Trust as a bronze corporate member.
Some of the Rotary club’s beneficiaries are students from Moulton College’s ‘Bridge to Work’ programme. The 6-week programme helps students with learning difficulties to develop skills in practical conservation and bridges the gap to paid employment.
Moulton College lecturer, Jane Fletcher said, ”Working at Lings Local Nature Reserve has allowed our students to appreciate the way in which a natural woodland is maintained. They have gained many useful skills to prepare them for the world of work such as how to work as part of a team as well as learning individual responsibility, work stamina and consistency. Our students gain a great deal of satisfaction from seeing the effect their work has on the reserve and from the positive comments from its users. We are pleased to work so closely with the Wildlife Trust and thank Becket Rotary for their support”.
Moulton College students celebrated the final day of the programme of conservation tasks on Wednesday 14 November by clearing invasive rhododendron to reveal the natural heathland habitat.
John Saynor, president of the Rotary Club, is pleased to support the Wildlife Trust with this new package of funding, stating: “The Wildlife Trust’s work with young people at Lings really complements the Club’s fundraising criteria this year. It is great to see nature being used to engage with these young people and bring tangible benefits to their lives.”
It has been proven that connecting with nature not only brings physical benefits, but can greatly improve our emotional, mental and spiritual health too. According to a Natural England report: "The natural world offers the potential for significant positive effect on individual and community psychological wellbeing”.
The Wildlife Trust’s people and wildlife team at Lings Environmental Centre currently work with around 200 young people with specialist needs per year. Lings is also at the heart of several wards with high deprivation. The Wildlife Trust offers these local children customised activities to help them to explore the natural world in a safe environment.
For more information on how your business can support your local Wildlife Trust, please see our corporate involvement pages.