Young people across south Cumbria will be inspired to follow in Greta Thunberg’s footsteps thanks to funding from a national educational charity.

Oaklea Trust in Kendal has received funding from The Ernest Cook Trust to support the employment of a 'green mentor' who will enable young people to lead the way as ‘green influencers’ on social action projects in their communities.

The pioneering scheme is a project match-funded through the #iwill Fund – which is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and Department of Culture, Media & Sport which are each investing £25million seed funding to support young people aged between 10 and 14 to access high-quality social action opportunities.

Jack Monopoli, who will take on the role of green mentor for Oaklea, said: "We were delighted to receive the funding from The Ernest Cook Trust which will enable us to help young people from across the Eden Valley, South Lakeland and Furness areas of Cumbria to support their communities with environmental projects.

"We're honoured to be a host organisation for the scheme which is being rolled out across England and we’re excited about the future because we know this will make a real difference to our communities.

“We’re sure that young Cumbrians will step forward and join the scheme so we can work together to make sure it has a really positive impact on our communities.”

Anyone interested in joining the scheme in Cumbria should call the Oaklea Trust on 01539 735025 or email enquiries@oakleatrust.co.uk

For information about the scheme visit The Ernest Cook Trust website or email greeninfluencers@ernestcooktrust.org.uk