The Wildlife Trusts - Viva Veolia: conservation volunteering for young people

Through the Viva Veolia project (which ran from 2008 - 2010) young volunteers, aged 16-25, across England were encouraged to develop ideas on how to protect and improve their local environment and put them into practice.

Viva Veolia was a new initiative funded by The Veolia Environmental Trust (VET) through the Landfill Communities Fund, and v, the youth volunteering charity, through a Match Fund programme which saw £500,000 being spent at eight local project sites across England over two years.

This enabled eight local Wildlife Trusts to support young volunteers as they helped improve their local environment. The project provided young people with the chance to gain new practical skills such as practical and horticultural conservation, recycling, forest schools, young ranger schemes, clean-up river days, plus networking and social skills.

The young volunteers were able to have their work celebrated through the internationally recognised John Muir Award, an environmental award scheme focused on wild places. The project encouraged awareness and responsibility for the natural environment, in a spirit of fun, adventure and exploration which complemented the overall aims of the project.

Wildlife Trusts involved in the project were:
Sheffield Wildlife Trust
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
Shropshire Wildlife Trust
Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
London Wildlife Trust
Sussex Wildlife Trust
Tees Valley Wildlife Trust

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Viva Veolia
• youth volunteers
• volunteering
• The Wildlife Trusts
• conservation volunteering
• wildlife
• nature
• Veolia Environmental Trust