Even on holiday, I am always thinking about the Trust. Here’s an up-date of how we spend our time connecting young people with nature in the USA. I was fortunate enough to attend a reception hosted by the Homeless Children’s Foundation (HCF) to hear about the crucial work that they are doing.

HFC was founded by Vin Ryan and Carla Meyer in 2014 in Indian River County, Florida. Today they provide much needed opportunities to homeless children, while at the same time guiding their parents to self-sufficiency.

We are delighted to help this incredible organization by funding, for the fourth year, a group of children to attend a week-long nature camp during their spring holiday. These children get to be outside, observe, respect and photograph wildlife whilst also enjoying outdoor activities. It has been deeply moving to hear some of their personal stories of how these homeless children live. It’s striking how despite living in an area surrounded by nature, they have been unable to experience and enjoy it.

It was also wonderful to support four homeless teenagers' participation in the Junior Guide Programme at Pelican Island Audobon Society. They were trained to become assistant camp counsellors to enable them to volunteer during the summer holidays at various camps. Every child in America has to spend a number of hours volunteering as part of their education and these four teenagers were therefore delighted to have received skills to enable them to volunteer throughout the summer.

Internships are an incredibly important way for High School students to gain skills. After successfully sponsoring two 17 year old students last year, we are again looking for additional placements within nature based organisations. These internships are an invaluable way to help connect young people with nature and potentially pursue a career in conservation.

It seems unthinkable to imagine having no home to go to and spending every night either sofa surfing or sleeping in a car. It is incredibly special for us to be able to expose these children to the beauty of nature and to see the positive impact it has on their lives.

Cameron Bespolka Scholarship at Cornell, New York
This is the fifth year we are working with Cornell Lab of Ornithology to sponsor one UK birder to attend their educational and life changing Young Birders Event held 25th - 28th June, 2020 at Cornell. This event aims to inspire young naturalists with amazing experiences and special insights into birds and conservation. The knowledgeable staff discuss multiple opportunities to pursue a career in ornithology. Please share with anyone who might benefit from this scholarship.

Closing date 14th February.

We are so grateful to all our supporters both here and in the USA for their tremendous support and for continuing to help us reach young people across the globe.  

With much love from all of us,
Corinne