Connecting with Nature – A South Tyneside Volunteering Opportunity
Groundwork are running a 4 month project, where you will work alongside other young people and Friends of Parks groups, to improve South Tyneside’s parks for local people and start connecting with nature. The project starts online, and will include in-person activities in South Tyneside’s parks and green spaces later in the year if it is safe.
Together with others, and supported by experienced staff, you will decide what changes you want to make for your community. You might want to help more people enjoy the benefits of time in nature at their local park, you might want to take action to address climate change using our green spaces, or you might want to bring the whole community together to reconnect with each other – it’s entirely up to you!
This is a volunteering project. You’ll need to attend a few online or in-person sessions (details below), make some visits to your local park independently or with others if safe, and contribute to planning and research between sessions. In return, you’ll gain new skills and be able to access training for the project, have access to funds to make your ideas into reality, and become part of a network of peers who can work together to achieve real benefit.
The first few sessions will be held online. If you do not have access to a device or internet connection where you can attend online sessions, we can support you with this. You should be able to come to most of these sessions (at weekends or during school holidays):
Finding out more and signing up
Sessions are taking place between February and June 2021 and are free for young people aged 10-14, at the start of the sessions, who live in South Tyneside. To find out more about the project and joining Groundwork in your local parks, click here.
Why is it important to connect with nature?
Interacting with nature can be not just enjoyable, but also beneficial to our mental health and wellbeing, aspects of our health that are particularly important to look after. Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your everyday life can benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing. For example, doing things like growing food or flowers, exercising outdoors or being around animals can have lots of positive effects. It can:
- improve your mood and mental health
- reduce feelings of stress or anger
- help you take time out and feel more relaxed
- improve your physical health
- improve your confidence and self-esteem
- help you be more active
- help you make new connections
Want to find out more about the benefits of connecting with nature? Click here to read a guide from the Mental Health Foundation, or click here for information from Mind.
