FROM thatching, to woodland management and bushcraft, to map reading, stone carving, dry stone walling, and blacksmithing, youngsters have been learning it all.

Cotswolds Conservation Board is celebrating the conclusion of a pilot rural skills training scheme in partnership with Young Gloucestershire and The Princes Trust. The ‘Team’ programme, offered by the Prince’s Trust, and facilitated by Young Gloucestershire, aims to help young people from urban areas in Gloucestershire prepare for work or further education with a range of practice-based activities.

More than 70% of young people who complete the course go on to get a job or return to education or training within three months of finishing the programme.

To find out more contact Simon Smith (Cotswolds Conservation Board) at simon.smith@cotswoldsaonb.org.uk