An Oxenhope teenager has been preparing for a once in a lifetime volunteering trip to Ecuador by helping to improve a children’s nursery.

Connor Graves, 16, today left for a four-week programme in the South American country during which he will plant trees in the Amazon rainforest and help build schools in impoverished rural villages.

It will be a huge step for Connor, who has just finished his GCSEs, as it is also his first time away from home.

Joining him on the trip is classmate Kate McDermott, also 16 and from Parkside School, Cullingworth, and the pair have been collecting supplies for the month-long programme, run by Camps International.

To prepare for the work, Connor spent a week helping improve the outdoor facilities at Rocking Horse Day Nursery in Oxenhope, where his mum Jemma Holgate is deputy manager, by painting fences and tending to vegetable patches.

Mrs Holgate said: “I’m a bit worried because he’s never really strayed away from home before, but this is a great cause and great experience for him. It is so much life experience”

Despite having to spend much of the month camping in an unfamiliar climate, Connor said he was looking forward to the challenge.

He added: “I’ve always really wanted to be an aid worker. I want to work in other countries, and this will be a good experience. I’m really looking forward to it. We’ll be trekking through the Amazon to plant trees.

“I’m looking forward to the idea of helping people. I’ve watched quite a few shows about the area and the people there are quite impoverished.”

The trip cost £4,000 per student and Connor and Kate had also asked businesses for donations of rucksacks, walking boots, sleeping bags and waterproof coats.

Nursery manager Kath Clements made a donation and Sajid Rasool, of Oxenhope Pharmacy, gave a first aid kit and other medical supplies needed for the Amazon.