A good grounding but more to come

TYPICAL day with the rangers . . . pictured, Sammie Sheppard and Danielle Connor

AFTER two years of successfully encouraging Oldham youngsters to go green with volunteering, the latest project by environmental charity Groundwork has come to an end.
The v@groundwork programme kicked-off in September, 2006, in a bid to involve 16-25 year-olds in helping to improve their local environment.

Some 420 young people have since taken part in physical conservation work and art projects across Oldham and Rochdale. Of those, 200 had never volunteered before.

Volunteer Chris Taylor said: “It’s been good — it has kept me busy and out of trouble! I have made a lot of new friends and picked up some new, valuable skills.”

The pilot project was only funded for two years, but Groundwork insists there are still a number of volunteer opportunities available.

Laura Roden, v@groundwork project manager, said: “We will use the experience gained from this project in other programmes like the ‘Ranger 4 a Day’ scheme and creative arts which have been successful.”

Ranger 4 a Day allows young people to work alongside countryside rangers. It involves learning new skills by taking part in physical work such as fence building, tree felling and footpath maintenance.

Anyone who would like to get involved should call Laura on 0161-624 1444 or 07947-794 584.