Young Citizen 2021

This year we have launched a new initative for our club, to recognise and reward positive contributions to the local community made by young people. We have named the awards The Peter Cowling Young Citizen Awards, in memory of a much-loved former President of our club, who sadly passed away last year.

At an awards evening held via Zoom, three recipients of this year's award were announced, and our President Mike Haythorpe met them a few days later at Loch Neaton to present the awards. Two of our Young Citizens had been nominated by organisations that work with young people, and the third came to us via a newspaper article about his exploits.

Our youngest recipient, James Naylor is 8 years old. During lockdown, whilst walking around his village with his mother, he was horrified by all the litter he came across, and became very concerned about the impact this had on wildlife and the environment generally. Consequently, he persuaded his mother to join him on 'waste walks' where he collected  litter. But he didn't stop there, because he wrote to the headteacher of his school, Parkers Primary Academy in Saham Toney to ask for help. He also wrote to the local county councillor, and he wrote to the Environment Minister. The result of his efforts to  date is that he has been invited to tour a new waste facility by Breckland Council, and pledges have been made for a community litter-pick when lockdown is over.

Grace Lawlor is an Air Cadet, and we received a glowing nomination for her from the Officer Commanding the Watton Air Cadets, Pilot Officer Kris Crittenden. He said that her attitude has been exemplary, and she led by example during lockdown, when parade evenings moved to virtual meetings. Grace rarely missed a meeting, whereas others decided to give up. She has represented Norfolk and Suffolk in marksmanship and in athletics, and last year completed her Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award. Unusually for her age, she has also qualified as a cadet instructor and taught lessons whilst being observed by assessors. If all that wasn't enough, she has been looking out for vulnerable neighbours, doing shopping and other chores for them.

Our third Young Citizen is Eduarda (Eddie) Mucavele, whose nomination came from the Head Teacher of Wayland Academy, Glen Allott. Eddie has been instrumental in setting up the Youth Advisory Hub at the  Academy, and has been a staunch supporter of the anti-bullying initiative, on one occasion travelling to Dublin to represent the views of Norfolk's young people. In 2019 she was lead speaker at Norfolk's anti-bullying conference. She has made a radio appearance and regularly meets with Breckland Council and Watton Town Council to discuss the needs of young people in and around Watton. She took a lead role in plans to build a skate park in Watton and also the launch of the Youth Hub, which provides a safe place for young people to meet.

Each of these inspirational young people was presented with a certificate, a shield and gift voucher by President Mike Haythorpe, who said that our future looked safe in the hands of such outstanding young people.