“I am never going to forget the project and what it has done for me.”
Thomas grew up in Hull in East Yorkshire. He recalls growing up within a happy family upbringing, being a member of the local Boys Brigade and, during his teenage years, wanting to study to become an architect. Despite his good home life and goals, Tom notes that being neurodivergent made his experience of school tough. Tom remembers feeling undersupported at school, which led to him finding making friends and interacting with his peer group challenging, sharing “I guess I’ve never been as independent as the other kids my age really”.
Tom took part in the Our Bright Future funded ‘Youth in Nature’ project which was led by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the youth organisation Child Dynamix. Alongside other young people, Tom was able to participate in face to face practical sessions including tending to a community allotment, planting wild flowers, engaging the public and taking part in a beach clean. Tom found the project was able to support his development in preparation for work and the wider world, recalling his time on the project to be a stand out time that gave him the “chance to socialise with other people [his] age that [he] actually got along with”. This interaction with different people, both his peers and the project coordinators, were a huge boost to his confidence and interpersonal skills in a variety of different environments. Specifically, he recalls attending one of Our Bright Future’s conferences, noting it was “different to things [he’d] done before because it was a very professional environment. But that was definitely interesting and because of the amount of people there that definitely boosted my confidence a lot”. This improvement in confidence ultimately led to Tom becoming part of the project Steering Group alongside other young people from across the projects sub-groups.
“It boosted my confidence a lot because I met a lot of new people.”
What he went on to do after
Tom’s journey with the project was transformative, with him beginning the project as something additional to fill his time, to him leaving the project having realised the passion and motivation he had for the natural world: “when I started I hadn’t considered a future in the environment and I only really started considering that after doing the Youth in Nature course”. This passion, along with the improvements in his confidence, skills and happiness, saw Tom make the decision to apply to college to pursue the interest he had developed for nature and the environment with a course on countryside management.
Tom has continued to champion the environment in other groups and communities he’s become part of, including discussing climate change and the impact of water pollution on his city at other youth groups across Hull. He continues to take on opportunities to develop his confidence, noting “I’d love to be able to actually make some meaningful change… something that inspires others.”
“I’d decided to go to college and actually pursue this interest in nature. And I guess that leads to where I am now.”
Environment
Tom cites his time with Youth in Nature for allowing him to properly understand the environment and different issues surrounding it. The project gave him the opportunity to explore his relationship with nature and realise the significance he wanted it to have within his own life and career. Tom has developed specific interests of his own within the green sector, such as a passion for animal habitats and woodlands in particular. Having successfully completed his college course, Tom recently began studying for his Foundation Degree in Wildlife and Conservation Management. He is excited for this future and hopes to see himself working within the local environmental sector, sharing “I really want to end up working for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust or RSPB or something like that.”
Tom now feels empowered to build a future where he can share his knowledge and passions for the environment in a way that could inspire others, “either working directly with species or maybe taking school groups and stuff, educating them”.