£30m to support environmental social action

Our Environment, Our Future – managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts – will provide up to £1m of funding to charities wanting to deliver long-term social action projects with 11- to 24-year-olds.

The scheme will support up to 35 projects that use proven best practice to empower young people to lead significant environmental change in their local communities over a five-year period.

Peter Ainsworth, chair of the Big Lottery Fund, said: “We are passionate about funding activities which improve the places where we live and we are passionate about supporting the talent and imagination of young people.

“This major project unites those two ambitions with the aim of making our environment better and enabling young people to learn skills which will serve them – and all of us – well in the rapidly growing green economy.”

Naomi Barrow, a volunteer with vInspired, added: “The environment should be of great concern to young people as we’re the ones who’re going to have to live with it in 50 years time, not our parents or politicians.

“This scheme will allow young people to take control of their local environment, putting them back in touch with the world around them and empowering them to make a real, positive difference in their local area.”

Charities have until 17 December to apply for a share of the funding, with decisions about which projects to fund due in March 2015. The chosen projects are expected to start in April 2015.

Earlier this year, the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, in conjunction with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Canal and River Trust and the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, launched a raft of rural and environmentally focused social action opportunities as part of its Action Squad programme.