Youth activist inspires local young people to take action for the environment

Hemlata Pant is a 16 year-old activist from Bristol who has taken the initiative to change things in her local area. Hemlata designed and runs the Newtown Nature Club, a local gardening club where children and young people can plant their own wildflower and herb seeds and learn about the amazing world of pollinators, plants and how they help people.

Hemlata explains how the project started “I moved into the area with my family at 14 in February 2019, right before the pandemic, during which I didn’t get the best chance to meet with my neighbours. Instead, I started immersing myself in my new garden - much bigger than the garden in my old home. I developed a green thumb but was aching to do something in the wider grassy areas outside my home with my community.”

In the summer of 2021 Hemlata applied for a £500 grant from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s Grow Wild “Youth Project Grant”. Her pitch was a success and she secured the funding for the “Newtown Nature Club”, a month-long summer gardening club for young people in her neighbourhood.

Every Sunday in August in Newtown park, young people, parents and children came together to plant wildflower seeds like poppies, herbs like oregano, basil and coriander while learning about why these plants are important - from pollination to seasoning. They held a celebratory awards ceremony in the Trinity Centre Community Gardens to mark the end of this successful first project by the club.

Newtown Nature Club is supported by youth environmental action and education charity Action for Conservation, that aims to inspire and empower young people, aged 12-18, to become the next generation of nature conservationists. They are passionate about bringing nature into the lives of all young people, regardless of circumstance, and prioritise working in disadvantaged areas and engaging young people from diverse backgrounds.

For more information on Newtown Nature Club please visit their Instagram or email newtown.natureclub@gmail.com, for Action for Conservation please visit actionforconservation.org or connect with them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.