Story: Maxwell A. Ayamba
Project Co-ordinator SHEBEEN
Merhawit Bereket, one of the residents of the YWCA’s Peile House project on Pitsmoor Rd, took part in SHEBEEN’s environmental youth weekend at Losehill Hall in the Peak District.
The residential weekend was to promote understanding of freshwater management systems among young people from a variety of diverse backgrounds. Merhawit, who volunteered for the residential with her friend Hayat, said,
“This is our first time to attend a youth residential in the countryside and to meet so many young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds”.
It helped their confidence and opens up further opportunities such as volunteering at SHEBEEN and going on placement at Sheffield Hallam University. Merhawit was awarded the Peak District Award certificate for completing 30 hours studying water and ecosystems.
Climate change
The project provided activities to help young people learn about the climate change crisis. Urban communities often appear distant from the healthy benefits of these natural resources. It shows how people from both urban and rural communities share a dependency on vital natural resources and can work together for their sustainability.
Learning Outcomes
As future custodians of these resources, the young people learnt to understand and appreciate the importance of ecosystems such as drinking water. The project taught how individual lifestyles contribute to climate change and how interconnected the ecosystems are. It also showed how reliant the young people are on the natural environment, which can be used to promote cohesion among people from diverse backgrounds, breaking down barriers and bringing young people together to recognise and respect difference and appreciate nature!