Feasibility study exploring a natural environment programme

Tender description

This feasibility study will review current provision of opportunities to encourage children and young people (aged 5 -20) to make use of the Natural environment. The results will inform decisions on any future role for Government in supporting the increase of opportunities for disadvantaged young people to experience a range of natural environments, learn about how natural environments can benefit them (for instance in terms of health and wellbeing), and participate in social action related to the environment. The project is intended to help identify whether disadvantaged children and young people are accessing opportunities available, the barriers and challenges to increasing uptake of opportunities, and how best practice can be built upon and current provision maximised, to encourage use of the Natural environment by disadvantaged children and young people. The project should seek to understand how a future natural environment programme could reach the most disadvantaged young people, identify where support would be best allocated and how it could be developed, including the role for potential Government support. The project is expected to last 12 months, from December 2018 to November 2019. It is expected that: • An interim report will be produced in May 2019; • The draft research report will be provided in September 2019; • The final report in November 2019. The project is part of Defra’s Natural Environment and Rural Evidence Programme and is intended to inform implementation of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan (25 YEP).