Nick Lenane, The Youth Worker

Nick Lenane is a Youth Worker with Foróige, an Irish organisation whose purpose is “to enable young people to involve themselves consciously and actively in their development and in the development of society”. Foróige encompasses the belief that not only are young people able to develop themselves – based on their needs and interests – but that the organisation facilitates young people to be aware of their growth, learning and development as it occurs. This reinforces their development and enables them to engage more effectively with their communities. Nick is in charge of Foróige for the Ballinfoile Castlegar locality of the city. Their base at No. 50 Baile An Chóiste encourages their organisational ethos through a range of programmes and supports, while also offering young people a space to relax, create and develop their personal attributes.  Young people who engage in the project have taken on and won a number of national youth awards for their personal achievements and community engagement.

Foróige has always promoted positive engagement with the environment and a number of their young people have gone  into schools to promote the environment and  the importance of green spaces. Their staff also organise a range of nature programmes over the summer months through kayaking, hillwalks, forest bathing and surfing.