Jasmine’s conservation voyage supported through a grant from Young and Talented

Jasmine was awarded a Young and Talented grant to help fundA sum of money made available for grant making, often with specific criteria/conditions. a life-changing conservation volunteering placement with ProjectA piece of work that delivers an output. Biodiversity in Sal, Cape Verde — and the experience proved every bit as rewarding as she had hoped.

Project Biodiversity runs multiple conservation programmes across the island, working to protect birds, sharks, and sea turtles. Jasmine joined the turtle project, where she quickly found herself at the heart of a vital effort to safeguard one of the ocean’s most ancient species.

It was incredibly hard, but it was extremely rewarding and gave me valuable skills for working in conservation.

Jasmine’s nights were spent on long beach patrols, often covering around 15km, monitoring female loggerhead turtles as they came ashore to nest. Her responsibilities included recording the location and number of eggs in each nest, relocating nests to safer ground where necessary, and identifying and logging turtle tracks — sometimes more than 100 in a single night. She also assisted with the tagging and naming of individual mother turtles, contributing directly to the project’s long-term research.

In her final week, Jasmine moved to the project’s hatchery. By day, she spoke with hotel visitors to raise awareness of the conservation work; by night, she monitored relocated nests for signs of hatching activity. Conditions throughout were demanding — sleeping on the sand, protecting nests from stray dogs, and living without running water or basic facilities — but Jasmine approached it all with determination. 

About the fund 

We believe every talented young person deserves the opportunity to achieve their potential! 

The Young and Talented Fund strives to help young individuals across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, who have demonstrated outstanding talent in a particular field – such as sport, the arts, and science – but are struggling to achieve their ambition or progress in their chosen career because of hardship or disability. 

Since it was first established in 2005, Young & Talented Cornwall -The Lord Lieutenant’s Fund has granted over £500,000 to young people between the ages of 14-23 living in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 

The fund was launched in 2005 as The Lord Lieutenant’s Fund for Youth (LLFFY), by the then Lord Lieutenant Lady Mary Holborow and Vice Lord Lieutenant Michael Galsworthy, aiming to inspire and support exceptional ability in Cornwall’s young. 

The fund is now known as Young & Talented Cornwall and is headed by Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall Colonel Edward Bolitho KCVO OBE.  

If you are a community group looking for funding, please view our available grants. 

If you are looking to support the Cornwall Community Foundation with a donation, go to our online donation page.