Youth empowerment
Our future depends on an engaged generation of young people and our young people’s future depends on opportunities to cultivate this.
Action never sprouts from silence – our next generation of outdoor caretakers, environmental advocates and rural citizens must be empowered to shape their future. Through our Youth Advisory Board, our Influencer Schemes and our future-focused learning we aim to support young people and enrich our shared future.
Why is youth empowerment important?
As an educational charity rooted in the land, all our work aims to nurture young people’s connection to land and learning. Our youth empowerment work is specifically focused on encouraging young people to use their voice to help create a better future.
Not only does this clear a path for new generations, but we all benefit from intergenerational perspectives and engagement. We can nurture a new generation that care about the environment and land, we can support innovative ideas to grow and flourish, and we expand the horizons of our work.
A lifelong love for the land
Youth empowerment offers young people the chance to shape the future they want and in the ways that they want. When this is done well it also enables young people to flourish. For some this will be a collective movement like a funded influencer scheme – others will seek a personal pathway through our Youth Advisory Board or an apprenticeship.
Whatever the journey looks like, we want young people to feel supported by the Trust and to feel their impact shaping a more sustainable, environmentally-conscious future for all of us.
Blue Influencers Scheme
Bright futures flow from bright young minds, and our influencer schemes allow young people to engage in the issues facing their landscapes and communities. For young people living in coastal, river and estuary communities, these include climate change, flooding, and coastal erosion – as well as challenges facing coastal economies.
Youth Advisory Board
Youth empowerment means real power and our Youth Advisory Board has the important role of appraising specific grant applications. They are also consulted on our strategy, brand development and EDI policies – meaning they genuinely help shape our organisation and our work. We are now looking to expand their role, and offer meaningful pathways for them going forward.
I find it so valuable that a project such as this [Blue Influencers scheme] which is set up for young people, has a board of young people at the very centre of it helping to make decisions.
Esther, Youth Advisory Board member