Neurodiversity describes a wide range of people, and many are drawn to nature. For people with ADHD, for example, it may be the freedom to move around - learning outdoors instead of being stuck in a classroom. Autistic people may enjoy the lack of the constant stimulus that can come with dense urban environments. We know that the conservation sector is of interest to neurodiverse people, so last year Megan, our Youth Development Officer, worked to make our Climate and Conservation Traineeship as accessible for as many young people as possible. The trainees learn about all the kinds of work we do here at the Trust, and gain valuable qualifications, but sometimes coursework and exams can be difficult for neurodiverse people. Which is why Megan worked with  AQA, the examination board,  to help adjust the coursework to allow our trainees to achieve their best. 

Here Megan describes the adaptations she made to make the traineeship as accessible as possible:  
“We found that many young neurodivergent people were attracted to the traineeship because it is vocational and has mostly practical elements. However, there are academic written elements that cannot be skipped if the participants are to gain the official qualification they receive at the end. With feedback from participants and observation during the course, I decided that something needed to change to make the written side more engaging and to ensure that all our young people had an equitable opportunity to excel.  

What did we change? 
First we made changes to the structure of the written part of the traineeship;  
longer more difficult questions are broken down into their components, which made them simpler to answer. Next, we re-phrased some of the questions to make them simpler and easier to understand.  

We added more options to the questions, where the trainees could show their answers in the form of a piece of art, a diagram or writing. Finally, we gave everyone the option to work with the course leader as a scribe. They could dictate their answers, showing real understanding but without having to sit and physically write. The trainees could also type their answers rather than handwriting them.  

After the traineeship in 2024, all of the written elements that were submitted to AQA were of great quality, and I think even just offering the different options was greatly appreciated by the participants.” 

It is important that we work on changes like these, so that all our staff, volunteers, and anyone working with us, doesn’t face unnecessary barriers. It is not just about what we can do for neurodivergent people, but what they can do for nature when obstacles are removed. When we work together, we are stronger. 

To learn more about what young people have achieved during our traineeship visit our traineeship page.