Post written by Jo Morrell. May 2026.
We’re absolutely delighted to share some exciting news with our partners, supporters and young people across Torbay.
Thanks to a successful funding bid to the Network for Social Change, alongside match funding from Local Motion Torbay, we are now able to begin development of Torbay’s very first youth-led Imagination Station at People’s Parkfield in Paignton.
This is a project that has grown directly from conversations with partners in our Environment Impact Group and young people across Torbay about climate change, the environment and the future they want to see for the Bay. The Imagination Station will be a welcoming space where young people can come together to explore climate action, green skills and environmental projects in practical and inspiring ways. They will be empowered to use their creativity and imagination to think about the environment in ways that decrease, not increase, anxiety. Based at People’s Parkfield’s, it will combine hands-on activities, outdoor learning, environmental action, storytelling, peer leadership and opportunities to connect with local organisations and future green pathways.
Importantly, this won’t be a project designed for young people — it will be shaped with them.
A huge part of bringing this vision to life was the brilliant contribution of young person Ivy Hodgson-Hunt, who worked with other young people from Doorstep Arts in Paignton to create a powerful short film about the Imagination Station idea. We know the film played an important role in helping funders understand the potential of this work. You can watch the film here:
As Ivy said:
As a young person who has lived in Torbay all my life I have seen the impact that the environment has on the Bay and how important it is that we encourage and engage with young people to listen to them and make their voices feel important, because they are. So I am so excited to be a part of this and to make sure it always has young people at the centre!”
Earlier this year we shared a commissioning brief with partners across the Imagine This network, inviting ideas about how the first Imagination Station could be developed. We’re thrilled that our partners Taleblazers CIC will now be facilitating the project at Parkfield.
Taleblazers bring huge experience in connecting young people with nature, storytelling, conservation and outdoor learning. Their proposal focuses on creating a collaborative environmental hub where young people can explore local environmental issues, learn from inspiring environmental organisations and shape real action projects themselves.
One of the things we loved most about the Taleblazers proposal was its commitment to amplifying youth voice throughout the process — including young people helping shape the space itself, contributing to evaluation and producing creative outputs to share their experiences.
This is just the beginning.
We’re also currently waiting to hear the outcome of a major bid to the Co-op Foundation’s Green Opportunities Fund, which would allow us to expand the Imagination Station model across Torbay and develop a connected network of youth-led green pathways, skills development and environmental action opportunities.
For now though, we simply want to say thank you — to the young people who inspired this idea, to our partners who believed in it, and to everyone helping us imagine something different for Torbay’s future.
Watch this space…
