It was so great to meet some of the young - and very enthusiastic! - participants of the Natural Leaders Programme in Coatbridge and meet the team of wonderful youth workers who make these things happen. This is a fairly new partnership between local authority youth work partners, RSPB, John Muir Trust, supported by the David Doig Foundation and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and it was great to see the youngsters excitedly receiving their awards and, through their ideas and initiative, influencing what projects will be run in their local community. The initiative is clearly sparking curiosity in natural heritage, local greenspace, animals, history, photography and nature for kids who are very sadly at risk of disengaging from learning and education. Instead, they are finding confidence, building a sense of agency, igniting new passions and interests and equipping them with a new set of transferable skills as they move into secondary education.
