SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE AT NEXT STEP

Pictured below are a group of young people Next Step supported in an educational placement for the Duke of Edinburgh award. The young people were involved in a 14 week woodlands course which involved tuition by the Forestry Commission learning all aspects of coppicing, and which, when finished, improved the woodland area for the community use.

The young people involved worked on a number of tasks from clearing overgrown areas to cutting away dead branches to allow new growth on trees, to building new fences in the surrounding area. They were taught to use a variety of tools in the course of their training, and, by the end, were able to use axes, scythes, saws and wood chisels with confidence, which, before the course, most had neither seen nor handled.

Although this was unpaid volunteer work, the young people in our care showed commitment through working both in hot sun and driving rain to complete the necessary work.

The conclusion of this supported training is that two of the young people supported by Next Step have now been accepted into college on a 3 year horticultural course to further their development in this field.

Everyone at Next Step wishes them well for the future in their chosen careers.