On 24 August a group of 10 young carers from Richmond Carers Centre were invited to WWT London Wetland Centre in Barnes.

The trip, which gave this group of young carers a break from their caring roles, was thanks to our partnership with WWT which generously donated tickets for the visit to the WWT London Wetland Centre. The young carers were given a tour of the centre, starting with an otter feed, and had the opportunity to ask lots of questions about the wildlife they saw.

Lisa Woodward, centre manager at WWT London Wetland Centre said: “We were thrilled to welcome this special group of young carers from Richmond Carers Centre to WWT London Wetland Centre today, thanks to our partnership with the National Garden Scheme. We know that being in blue spaces and getting close to nature is good for our wellbeing. So to be able to provide the opportunity for these remarkable children to enjoy some well-deserved time out, to have fun and re-charge, makes it all the more special. We hope they created some great memories today.”

The National Garden Scheme has been supporting Carers Trust for over 25 years and in that time garden openings have contributed to donations of more than £4.6 million to help support unpaid carers. On top of this, through our partnership, we have been able to offer lots of groups of unpaid carers visits to gardens, giving them a chance to take a break from their caring role and relax in some beautiful green spaces.

National Garden Scheme Chief Executive, George Plumptre added: “Bringing together our partners, the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT),  Carers Trust and young carers from Richmond Carers Centre, one of our beneficiary charities, for a wonderful, educational visit to the London Wetland Centre was a great example of how working together with the shared goal of improving health and wellbeing – for people and planet – can have really positive impacts. We’d like to acknowledge the huge generosity shown by WWT for hosting the visit and for helping to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands while providing young carers with the opportunity of having time away from their daily responsibilities in such an inspirational space.”

 

Feedback from the young carers was hugely positive: “It was fun, I loved the ducks” –  “I enjoyed everything and I liked everyone”  –  “I enjoyed everything except for going home” –  “I really enjoyed watching the otters get fed”

Georgia, Young Carers Activities Coordinator, Richmond Carers Centre said: “It was a really enjoyable day for everyone. The Young Carers are now mini experts after the guided walks led by Hamish and Kathy! The day ran incredibly smoothly and the Young Carers benefitted greatly from receiving this break. A huge thank you for Carers Trust and National Garden Scheme for making this wonderful day happen!”

Find out more about our partnership with Carers Trust

Results from Carers Trust survey of young and young adult carers earlier this year, reinforced what the charity already knew; young carers are experiencing a steep rise in the number of hours they spend on their caring role each week. And many are being left alone to cope with the pressure of juggling schoolwork with their complex caring responsibilities.

• At least a third of respondents said their caring role resulted in them either ‘always’ or ‘usually’ feeling ‘worried’ (36%), ‘lonely’ (33%) or ‘stressed’ (42%).
• 40% of young carers and young adult carers responding to the survey said they ‘never’ or ‘not often’ had someone to talk to at school about being a young carer.

Learn more about the results of our survey on young and young adult carers

“We are so grateful to National Garden Scheme and WWT London Wetland Centre for creating the opportunity for these young carers to take some time for themselves, spend time with other young carers and enjoy an afternoon surrounded by wildlife,” added Hanika Sawhney, Senior Corporate Partnerships Executive at Carers Trust.