Nurturing Young Changemakers: YTP 2025 February Cohort Recap
Our Youth Training Programme for 2025 kicked off to a fantastic start with 13 diverse young people aged 18-24 successfully graduating in May after a 3-month journey! Trainees kicked off their whistle stop tour into sustainability with Energy Garden with a site visit to a community owned solar project in Loughborough estate in Brixton where they learned about community owned renewable energy and sustainable urban resilience. Trainees continued to build on this knowledge through sessions on global & national energy markets, renewable and non renewable technologies and fuel poverty and energy efficiency. They also bonded together during the solar panel making workshop where they built a solar panel from scratch, learned how to solder and built a battery box that they would later instal on an outside wall along with a solar panel.
‘I learned about the basic components of energy systems, such as solar panels, inverters, and battery storage, and how they contribute to a more sustainable and decentralised energy model.
The programme also introduced me to the social and environmental impact of different energy choices, helping me understand the importance of community-owned energy projects in tackling climate change and energy inequality.
This experience gave me a practical and holistic view of how energy is generated, distributed, and used, which has not only expanded my technical knowledge but also inspired me to consider a future career in the sustainable energy sector’.
Thanks to funding from Patagonia, trainees were able to engage in additional gardening sessions with our Horticulture Lead where they learned more about gardening techniques like seed planting, compost turning and permaculture. It was great to see the trainees getting to know each other, problem-solving and working together in a team.
‘Coming together weekly with like minded peers in my age group has helped me realise that there are many who share with me a desire to bring about positive changes to our environment and society’.
– Survey quote
Trainees were fascinated to learn more about how to survey plant and wildlife species at our gardens, with many commenting on how surprised they were to find such high levels of diversity in such small spaces.
The youths delved into the world of marketing and comms to learn more about media literacy, dissemination strategies and greenwashing. Teams expertly collaborated to produce short reels showcasing Energy Garden and our sustainability practices and programme. Many commented on how it opened their eyes to both the need to scrutinise information presented in the public sphere and methods used to analyse media, whether it be advertising, social media or newspaper articles.
This cohort worked towards an additional 3 AQA unit awards in Employability skills, United Nations SDG and Politics & Policy, delving deeper into topics and producing additional assignments to achieve a higher unit award level. Trainees also engaged in a more streamlined mentoring process that supported their self-analysis of their progress and helped them to develop their soft skills even further.
‘Groupwork was something I disliked before, but is something I've really come to appreciate now because of the YTP. The tasks taught me that groupwork is not inherently bad, as I got to engage in fun activities with enthusiastic people, which positively changed my outlook on collaborative activities on a much larger scale’.
We are proud of the growth our young Graduates have demonstrated across the programme with creativity, collaboration and resilience in abundance! One of our Graduates successfully applied for a grant with Kew Gardens and, with our support, organised and hosted wildflower planting sessions at our Willesden Junction Garden on the Mound involving around 30 people from the local community.
‘The programme also pushed me out of my comfort zone. Presenting ideas, collaborating with new people, and taking initiative on group tasks helped me become more confident in my abilities. Being trusted with responsibilities and seeing the tangible results of our work gave me a real sense of achievement. Overall, YTP empowered me to believe in my own potential and take on new challenges with greater self-assurance’.
We look forward to seeing the achievements of these amazing young changemakers in the future and welcome them into our growing Alumni and Energy Garden family!
– Leila