Search on for Tomorrow’s ‘Natural’ Leaders across Yorkshire
Tuesday 13th June 2017
TNL Georgia with YWT Living Seas Trainee Stewart Crabtree
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is aiming to kick-start the careers of young conservation enthusiasts and help safeguard Yorkshire’s world-famous natural landscape through their innovative Tomorrow’s Natural Leaders programme.
We are now recruiting for TNL placements starting 4 September 2017. Closing date for the current round of applications is 16 July 2017.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is currently seeking twenty-four young people from across Yorkshire to take part in a 12 month placement under the Tomorrow’s Natural Leaders scheme.
Aimed at 16 to 24 year olds, Tomorrow’s Natural Leaders (TNL) is designed to inspire young people to value and take action for nature. The scheme is one of 31 projects run nationwide as part of ‘Our Bright Future’, a £33 million pound initiative funded by the Big Lottery Fund that supports young people across the UK to lead progressive change in their communities and local environment.
With the support and guidance of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust the successful TNL applicants will undertake a wide range of practical conservation activities such as reserves management, habitat restoration, biodiversity monitoring, campaigning, species surveys and livestock management; they’ll also play an active role in the Trust’s extensive public outreach and education activities. Ultimately they get the chance to apply their knowledge and experience to develop and run their own environmental project in and around an area local to them.
Participants receive a monthly bursary and training budget. The vocational experience they gain can be further supported by formal qualifications.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Project Leader Joe Wyatt said: “We are looking for passionate and motivated individuals who are driven to make a difference.
“Conservation is one of the most rewarding and enjoyable careers but it is a highly competitive line of work. Tomorrow’s Natural Leaders is a fantastic way to build knowledge and practical experience in conservation and gain sought-after transferrable skills such as leadership and management. This experience will really help each of them to stand out from the crowd when looking for a job or going on to further study post-placement.”
TNL placements will be available in Flamborough, Hull, Pickering, Doncaster and Huddersfield, starting September 2017.
The call for new TNLs comes as the first cohort recruited last year enter the final phase of their placements.
Georgia Harris, a current TNL working out of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Living Seas Centre near Flamborough, said: “So far, the TNL experience has been nothing short of amazing. My training budget has enabled me to complete my ORCA marine mammal surveying qualification and I’ve now secured an unconditional offer to continue my studies at the Scottish Association of Marine Science.
“Not only have I had the chance to use and expand my marine knowledge whilst on the placement, I have also had amazing opportunities to try new things and experience things I’d never have considered before. And I’m definitely heading in the right direction towards my dream career in marine conservation.”
The application deadline is 16 July 2017. Anyone considering applying is encouraged to attend one of the Taster Days being held over the coming weeks, beginning on 17 June at Chafer Hill Nature Reserve, near Scarborough; 21 June at Appleton Mill Farm, Pickering; and 6 July at Potteric Carr Nature Reserve, Doncaster and Stirley Community Farm, Huddersfield.