Members of West Cumbria Rivers Trust youth panel have been putting the finishing touches to new art pieces for a community woodland.
The pop-up exhibition, at Walkmill Community Woodland in Moresby Parks, near Whitehaven, was due to go on display on Saturday, September 2 but the event has been postponed due to staff illness.
The youngsters worked with local artist and geographer Anne Waggot Knott on the project, which aims to encourage the local community, especially young people, to visit and engage with the woodland.
Visitors will be given a map to follow a 2km wheelchair friendly loop of the site.
Anne said: “Each piece of creative art the panel members made was inspired by an activity session in the woodland with conservation and ecology experts from West Cumbria Rivers Trust.
“This hybrid approach means there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Making art helps us slow down and look much more closely at the natural world, encouraging young people to build lasting relationships with these fragile environments.”
The young people met regularly over the past year at the woodland undertaking activities such as campfires and exploring the site to learn about different animals, plants and the mining history of the area.
The youth panel was set up in 2022 with funding from the #CanDoFund through Cumbria Community Foundation and the Dreamscheme project through the Cumbria Youth Alliance.
The panel consists of a group of 14 to 19-year-olds who work closely with key decision makers at West Cumbria Rivers Trust, ensuring that young voices are at the heart of what the trust does.
There are currently nine members at present from across West Cumbria, however some of the members will be moving on to jobs, college or university so the trust is calling out for new members to join.
Anyone interested in finding out more should contact Cathy Gruba, West Cumbria Rivers Trust’s learning and engagement manager on cathy@westcumbriariverstrust.org
Cathy said: “The youth panel has been an amazing addition to the trust’s team. It’s vital that we have young voices in the operation of our charity.
“It’s been insightful to work with them and consult about the best ways we can reach and engage with other young people and the community to ensure that the wondrous resource they have in Walkmill Community Woodland is understood and utilised. It’s been a very rewarding experience for us all and we’re really looking forward to hearing from more young people to join us as new members”.
