More than 100 students take part in a landmark, immersive outdoor learning experience focused on sustainability, biodiversity and future skills

21st July 2026 – Over 100 local students joined a team of industry professionals for what was a unique, hands-on experience centred around exploring future opportunities within sustainability and the built environment.

Taking place at Stonehouse Farm and Lakes, a 120-acre rural redevelopment site in Plummers Plain, Horsham, the event was organised in partnership between The Love Local Jobs Foundation and The Hunter Group, a specialist rural developer of country estates and farms.

This inspirational day placed students with a passion for sustainability and a greener future at the heart of a live rural regeneration project, allowing them to gain hands-on experience and further understand the work that goes into projects such as the one at Stonehouse Farm and Lakes.

In addition, the event gave the students the chance to meet and be inspired by the people, ideas and industries redeveloping, reimagining and renaturing the region’s local areas.

Lee Goossens, Managing Director at The Hunter Group, commented, “This was a great opportunity to meet the experts that are helping shape the future of Stonehouse Farm and Lakes. Everything from architecture, building design, contractors and ecology, it was a chance to experience a vast range of employment opportunities within the industry.

“We need the students’ help because it’s about bringing fresh ideas and thinking about how we can reduce the carbon emissions and develop in a sustainable way that’s going to make a huge difference”.

The Love Local Jobs Foundation’s Head of Programmes, Jack Hayes, added, “This was as special a day as I have ever had in my working career.

“Nothing I’ve achieved in radio even comes close to what it means to give these students the chance to see the real world, see a place for themselves in it, and believe that the things they are passionate about can lead to a life of truly fulfilling work”.

Providing more opportunities to connect classroom learning with real-world pathways is something the team at the Love Local Jobs Foundation is passionate about.

Immersive and meaningful experiences such as this demonstrate how education and industry can work together to help young people believe in themselves, build the skills that matter, and connect with a future they're excited about.

The day culminated in the creation of the ‘Dare to Dream’ wood, with the students, industry professionals and those in attendance coming together for a grand finale to plant 240 trees.

Reflecting on the experience, Gavin Bowles, Careers Manager at The Angmering School said, “In all the years I have been leading educational visits for our students I can honestly say hand on heart this has been the best. For our students to hear directly from people working in those careers is a true godsend.”

Since its launch in 2018, the Dare to Dream programme has reached over 45,400 students across the South East and worked in close partnership with numerous educational institutions, employers and public sector entities on a variety of community projects.

The programme promotes the key themes of identity, self-belief, resilience, happiness, relationships and employability through a mix of assemblies, workshops, one-to-one mentoring and employer workplace visits.