The Blue Influencers Scheme funds 22 blue mentor posts based in host organisations across England, supporting groups of young people (target age 10–14-year-olds) in their environmental social action projects. Groundwork NE & Cumbria is one of these organisations.
Blue mentors role is to recruit young people aged 10-14 to become ‘Blue Influencers’, help young people impact the environment through youth social action projects that benefit their communities, while helping them to create lasting and meaningful connections with nature.
The scheme aims to remove barriers to accessing the outdoors, while helping young people create deep, lasting, and meaningful connections to the natural environment via their local coasts and rivers.
Using their voice to make a change in their community and for the planet, a connection to the natural world is forged together with a sense of responsibility to protect and sustain it through a lifetime of continued social action.
Evaluation of impact is key in this programme to measure effectiveness and quality. The project is a catalyst for ongoing, sustained social action. Young people are empowered to make a positive difference in their communities and the natural environment for years to come.