Youth Blog

Youth Blog: January 2026

Thank you to Hermione Pocock, member of the EUROPARC Youth Council and Outreach Project Assistant at Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, for this insightful blog.

My reflections on Our Radical Future Event held at the House of Commons – 16th December 2025

Something I never imagined myself doing happened at the end of 2025. It wasn’t on my bucket list, but I’m so glad I took the leap, even if it felt daunting and brought on a dose of imposter syndrome. Being invited by Campaign for National Parks to their ‘Radical Futures’ event at the House of Commons was surreal; I’m still reflecting on how it felt to be there.

The event celebrated the New Perspectives project, which started in 2021 to help diverse young people influence the future of our National Parks. Through storytelling, residentials, and leadership training, the project has led to some young people becoming Secretary of State Elected Members on National Park boards—a huge step towards diversifying voices and perspectives for the future. Find out more about the New Perspectives Project here..

I was invited as a ‘Future Leader’ after joining a residential in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, hosted by Neil Heseltine. Sharing that iconic place with others who’d never visited before was special. I was surrounded by passionate young people who care deeply about our parks and believe they should be accessible and protected for everyone.

The residential gave me practical tools for campaigning and helped me clarify my values and goals. I was even interviewed for Şeniz Mustafa’s short film, which gave me a chance to share how green spaces have supported my mental health. Being outdoors is where I find peace and escape from anxiety.

Since then, I’ve been selected for another term on the Youth Council, secured a permanent job in the Green Careers sector, and presented at the EUROPARC Conference in Lithuania. The motivation and skills I gained from the residential have helped me to achieve all of this.

So, after all that context – let’s reflect on being invited to the Palace of Westminster… no big deal.

I shared this amazing experience with the Friends of the Dales Team (Anne, Joely, Josh and Molly), decided to travel as a Yorkshire Dales Charity contingent, and we walked from Kings Cross Station to the Palace of Westminster together. We aimed to clear our heads prior to an intense and nerve-wracking event. Since we’re from ‘Up North’ it was nice to explore London too. Our walking tour included reading all the blue plaques we spotted. A highlight was the house where the suffragette movement was started. We also took in the Lions of Trafalgar Square, The Royal Horse Guards, Downing Street and the classic view from Westminster Bridge. It was an amazing way to explore London and to see the historic monuments whilst avoiding the busy underground. We also saw multiple farmers protesting in their tractors on their way to the House of Parliament. The walk was a highlight of the day and has made me interested in visiting London again. I am much more comfortable in a rural setting however!

Turning up at the Houses of Parliament itself was indeed surreal. It is such a massive and grandiose building. Just by looking at it you can feel the history. Let alone being inside! After making our way through security we wound our through to Westminster Hall and then to the Terrace Pavilion where the event was being hosted. We were right on the edge of the Thames and the setting felt like I was at a Royal event with how all the staff in the building composed themselves. However, I soon found familiar faces when I walked in.

My amazing peers from my cohort of the residential Pari, Saskia, Roshni and Hannah were all part of the planning committee to arrange the event. They did an amazing job, and all delivered great speeches that were impassioned and poignant. They spoke about diversity in our green and blue spaces and about the confidence the project has given them to use their voices. Other speakers included – Minister Mary Creagh (Minister for Nature), Dr Mya-Rose Craig (Black2Nature) and Will Dracup (Dartmoor National Park Authority). They were all great speeches. However, what struck me was the pride in seeing my peers from the residential and the amazing work that they have been doing. We only spent 3 days together at the in-person residential. However, I can see us building partnerships together for our shared goals into the future. Everyone also had the opportunity to sign the declaration for a radical future.

We also teamed up to do a bit of ‘networking’ and talk to people that we hadn’t met before. Even though I am a ‘young professional’ and have now attended multiple conferences I still find these settings difficult. It was great to have an unofficial ‘buddy’ to move around the event with and eventually I started to feel a bit more comfortable. I had some interesting conversations – one of them being about charging visitors a fee to enter our National Parks. It gave me some food for thought.

After the official event had finished me and the Friends of the Dales team decided to look at the public viewing gallery of the Chamber in the House of Commons and then the House of Lords. It was a great opportunity to see MPs discussing issues and see where the decisions are being made for our country.

After attending this event I was drawn to finding out the history of the Houses of Parliament (Palace of Westminster). What struck me was the state of the Palace is in a similar if not worse state than our National Parks. They have fire wardens patrolling the building 24/7 365 days a year due to the risk of fire that could devastate the building. Similar to the work the fire fighters did at the North York Moors National Park last year. The Palace also has sewage leaks and floods, Campaign for National parks wrote a report on the amount of sewage flowing into our National Parks rivers. The building is crumbling and will fall apart if MPs do not decide to start works to protect and repair it. Our National Parks are extremely nature depleted and need restoration.

It is an UNESCO world heritage site and is not just for the enjoyment of the MPs in parliament but for the thousands of staff working there and the millions of visitors that come every year. This is the same for EVERY national park.

The parallels are uncanny to me. Not only do we need to protect the natural and cultural heritage of our National Parks but also the building where decisions are made and upheld. The event itself gave me lots of hope about Our Radical Future and the declaration we signed. However, it also highlighted that we are running out of time and decisions need to be made quickly! This links to the unveiling of the National Parks Reimagined project which was announced at the event by Campaign for National Parks. They plan to work with 1000 young people. This is the future that we need for our National Parks, National Landscapes, Green Spaces and historical monuments!

Thank you so much to Campaign for National Parks for giving me this opportunity and for the National Lottery Heritage Fund for making it all possible.