Berkeley’s The Green Quarter development hosted one of the cohorts from our partnership with Groundwork London and Southall Community College for a visit last month. 11 students came along to hear from Berkeley colleagues about the development of the site, and how biodiversity has been embedded throughout the masterplan.
The young people were introduced to some of the Berkeley St George team who work in different roles across the site, to give them an insight into the multitude of career opportunities a development like the Green Quarter offers. They also presented their social action project to the panel where ideas from their site walk were discussed and feedback was provided ahead of submitting a finalised project proposal.
Groundwork London, one of Berkeley Foundation’s Strategic Partners, is working with Southall Community College to deliver the Youth Leadership Programme. Young people aged 14-20 are taking part in a 14-week programme where they learn leadership skills, alongside what a career in the green economy might look like.
Katie Sampford, Sustainability Manager at St George, said:
“It was great to have the young people here, and show them how we make sure that nature is a key part of how we design and plan a development like The Green Quarter. They asked some really insightful questions, and we had a useful discussion of why biodiversity is so important.
Hearing their social action project proposal and seeing the programme already making a difference to these young people was really inspiring – excited to see the end result!”
Peter Fleet, Youth Development Manager at Groundwork London, comments:
“Being able to take the cohort to a development like The Green Quarter is invaluable for the students. It brings the learnings from the classroom alive, and they are able to visualise processes much easier.
Having the chance to speak to different people about their careers and how they got there is a great opportunity to inspire the students and help them make informed decisions about their future.”
We are looking forward to continuing to work with Groundwork London and Berkeley colleagues to introduce the young people on the Youth Leadership Programme to the many exciting roles Berkeley can offer.