I, like many other Lancaster and Morecambe residents, business people, charities, educators, politicians across all parties, have everything crossed for the Chancellor’s Spring Budget and am hopeful for an announcement of £70m towards getting the Eden Project kick-started.
Many have been pushing hard for this, over time, with some outstanding campaigns like North West Youth for Eden’s apolitical video campaign, kickstarted by local Escape2Make/E2M charity.
Rishi Sunak’s budget should take tackling Covid and helping to secure economic recovery as an absolute priority… and what better way to do this in Lancashire and the North West than through the Eden Project? It will, for certain, create employment and volunteering opportunities, attract visitors and encourage tourism, and give a huge boost to the hospitality and leisure industry and businesses across many sectors as it combines horticulture, art, performance, education, large mechanical installations.
But, so much more than this, it will support a sustainable economy for our area. The project has evolved to focus on “today’s possibilities and challenges”, according to Eden’s Chief Executive Dave Harland. However, I believe that the project will help us to tackle tomorrow’s challenges too.
We’re currently faced, as a result of the pandemic and extended period of lockdown, with children and young people whose mental health will have suffered and whose future will have been impacted in ways yet unknown.
Eden Project Learning is already working with The Prince’s Trust and local colleges to support study programmes in related subjects with industry placements, as well as training and learning schemes which echo giving back to the community and offer the chance for real work experience with local employers.
Just a few months before we were fully aware of the economic and social devastation the coronavirus pandemic would have across the globe, in November 2019, The Eden Project and Lancaster University, through Prof Sue Dame Black (now Baroness as she was recently appointed to the House of Lords) joined together to back the newly formed Escape2Make/E2M charity, based in Morecambe.
At the charity’s launch event, Baroness Black, patron of the charity, told the audience about the importance of E2M given the mounting evidence that more and more young people are feeling lonely and isolated. And that was 14 months ago!
Founder Jenny Natusch says that E2M is about “escaping social media, boredom, loneliness, pressure at school or home and making things, making friends and making a difference”.
For me, as a mentor, the work that this charity is doing with 11-18 year olds is vital, like the Eden Project, for our local and regional productivity, sustainability and prosperity. It helps our young people grow skills, such as communication and interpersonal skills, and helps to develop healthier relationships, self-esteem and confidence, and positive lifestyle choices that are so important for leading successful teams, and in so many aspects of running a successful business.
From a personal, professional and business point of view, there’s never been a time when it’s been more important to support our young people’s development, to support charities like E2M and to have the vote of confidence in our young people and support for our area from the government. As Jenny Natusch so fittingly says: “It will help build back better, level up, create jobs and improve young people’s wellbeing and life chances.”
If you’d like to find out more about E2M, their work, and how you can support them, here’s the link https://escape2make.org/#home.