I joined the Surrey Wildlife Trust Youth Action Committee back in March 2023. We currently have twelve members between the ages of 16 and 30. Through Surrey Wildlife Trust I have met so many different people that share the same interests as me, whether it be other committee members or other volunteers at Surrey Wildlife Trust events.

Surrey Wildlife Trust hosts a variety of events to get young people more involved and engaged with nature. I attended their Youth Action for Nature day at the Royal Holloway, University of London in March. This was a great way of bringing young people together for talks on biodiversity, the climate crisis, nature-based solutions and green careers. I learned a lot, including about the ‘waggle dance’ which is how bees signal to each other when they've found a flower or source of nectar!

It has also been really rewarding helping out as a volunteer at events such as the Space4Nature event at Painshill Park in June and Guildford Goes Wild in July. One of my favourite experiences so far has been running the mini beast stall at Painshill Park where young children could come and explore the organisms that live on the forest floor and appreciate the beauty of nature.

I also got a chance to volunteer on some of Surrey Wildlife Trust’s conservation projects as part of my work experience. For example, helping to remove poisonous ragwort from a site to enable grazing. While I was doing this I found many creatures in the grass like meadow grasshoppers and a common frog.

Surrey has such high levels of biodiversity. There are many species I have discovered recently, such as the 10 different species of grasshopper and cricket. Did you know that all grasshopper species apart from the meadow grasshopper are able to fly? Since learning this I have spent a lot of time trying to tell the difference between the different species on the North Downs. I have also learned more about species I was already familiar with from other members of the Youth Action Committee. I now know that a baby newt is called an eft and I know how to tell the difference between male and female toads!

One of the most fulfilling aspects of my time with the Youth Action Committee has been the chance to engage with other young people in Surrey. By attending and being a part of local events, workshops, and nature walks I have hopefully inspired young people to take a more significant interest in nature and the world around them. Everyone at the Trust has been extremely kind and helpful: they have taught me many things about Surrey's wildlife and have opened my eyes to the many career options within the environmental sector which I hope to one day join.

Visit the Youth Action webpage and find out more about the Youth Action Committee.