DofE participants help with tree planting mission in Somerset

DofE participants from Pryland School have helped plant 105 trees in Somerset.

With funding from Somerset Council and Somerset Freemasons helped young people plant the saplings at Kilve Court on the Quantocks.

The young people involved in the activity are on an Alternative DofE programme with In The Mix Project – an organisation that provides youth and community services across Somerset. In The Mix provide professional youth work support to young people; expanding their skills and experiences and boosting self-esteem and confidence, and promoting teamwork.

In The Mix and the DofE programme is helping support the group from Pryland School to gain a soft qualification, alongside any academic ones, all while providing mental and physical health benefits.

Last year Somerset Council’s DofE bursary fund supported 157 individual disadvantaged young people to access the award, with further funding supporting five alternative DofE programmes. This year a further 68 young people have been supported, with two new alternative programmes in the county.

The trees were secured by Somerset Council DofE from the Woodland Trust and at the end of the tree planting session, Somerset Freemasons presented Somerset Council DofE with a well-established Silver Birch sapling, to plant at Kilve Court to celebrate the continued partnership between the two groups.

The Somerset Freemasons were also able to talk to the youth workers from In The Mix and the school staff, to hear about the success of the programme from their point of view; gaining a real insight into the impact the award can make to young people and their futures.