Power of Youth Day is an annual celebration of all the positive contributions young people make to their communities. In 2025, we celebrate Power of Youth Day on Tuesday 3 June, during Volunteers’ Week.
Here we meet Gabriella Richardson, a member of North York Moors Youth Voice:
My name is Gabriella Richardson, I'm 22 years old and I volunteer with the North York Moors Youth Voice team.
I have been volunteering for Youth Voice for over three years now and have this past year taken on the role of treasurer. Since I have called the National Park home all my life, I have grown up passionate about the moors and its landscape with a particular passion for hiking. It is this passion for the moors that led me to Youth Voice as I believe it is vital that we protect this beautiful place, and that young people have a solid voice within that.
I love volunteering with Youth Voice because of all the new people I have met and become friends with as well as all the group activities we have done which I wouldn't have done on my own if I hadn't been a part of the group. Whether this is litter picks, conferences or group weekends and workshops, they have helped us connect and appreciate the natural world just that little bit more. Another part of Youth Voice which I have particularly enjoyed is attending the National Park conference in Newcastle last year. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we felt like we really got our message across about enabling young people to have a say in their National Parks.
Personally, Youth Voice has allowed me to gain confidence in speaking up and sharing my own thoughts and opinions without the worry of them being wrong. It has also given me the opportunity to express in my own way how I am passionate about the National Park, and this was demonstrated recently when we went on a group trip to the outstation at Stape. I was given the opportunity to lead a workshop in which I led a hike that incorporated the written word from various books and is a particular way which I connect with nature and the landscape. I thoroughly enjoyed leading the workshop and I hope that the others did too!
I would absolutely recommend volunteering with Youth Voice and the National Park as it is a safe space for you to have your voice heard but also enjoy the North York Moors in a way you wouldn't have necessarily done before. If you are passionate about protecting this beautiful landscape, then volunteering with Youth Voice is for you!
To find out more about Youth Voice, please visit the Youth Voice page of the website.
To view our current volunteering opportunities, please visit the Volunteering area of the website.