Young Roots
Young people at Bradford YMCA developed a project to make the First World War relevant to them by exploring YMCA tea huts. To learn about the vital role of the huts, some worked with Bradford Local Studies Library to research the period and visit relevant heritage sites such as Eden Camp Modern History Theme Museum and the YMCA archives at the University of Birmingham. They then brought the heritage into the present day by exploring their own family history links and the impact of armed forces on modern-day Bradford.
Other participants recreated a ‘ration’ vegetable garden and built from scratch a replica tea hut. The hut toured around several local veterans’ events allowing the young people to talk to veterans and feel part of the national commemoration.
Rachel Rickards, YMCA Business Development Coordinator, offered this tip on working on a youth-led project: “Delivering this kind of project can be tricky. It is great when young people lead on the idea but you must make sure you can deliver what they want to do."
