developing
young leaders
Mentoring young leaders
Over the past decade, we have supported over 350 young people to carry out environmental projects and campaigns in their community, shape decision-making within the sector and become powerful voices for nature through our core leadership programmes.
Across all our leadership programmes, we prioritise recruiting young people who face the greatest barriers to accessing, benefitting from and shaping the future of nature in the UK.
Our core leadership programmes :
Other Opportunities:
young leaders driving change
Yetunde, 23, london
Yetunde first joined AFC in 2017 when she successfully applied for a place on a residential Summer Camp alongside thirteen other young people from across the UK. Moving toward a decade later, Yetunde is a leading youth voice in the environmental movement, a trustee at Action for Conservation and has extensive experience leading and contributing to strategic decision-making and governance, for example, she chaired the Natural History Museum’s Urban Nature Project — and all while studying Geography at the University of Oxford. She has experienced all our programmes either as a participant or mentor, and has profoundly impacted both the environmental sector and our work.
Yetunde applied for AFC’s Summer Camp as a fifteen-year-old concerned about air pollution in London and its impact on people in her community. On camp, Yetunde emerged as a leader and respected voice amongst her peers as she shared her concerns for environmental justice and consumerism. She left Camp feeling motivated about the change that she and other young people could make in their local communities.
In her first months as an AFC Ambassador, Yetunde was selected to take part in research conducted on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to better understand the barriers to young people volunteering. During this focus group, Yetunde contributed to recommendations for how environmental organisations can make environmental volunteering more accessible, relevant and enjoyable for young people.
Yetunde’s profile in the sector grew further when she successfully applied to become an Ambassador for the #iWill campaign, focussed around the Government’s 25-Year Environment Plan. #iWill aimed to empower and enable young people to lead youth social action in their communities. Yetunde was subsequently hand-picked to co-chair the #iWill steering group, and acted as the very first youth chair for this initiative.
In 2019, she helped shape and was featured in the 2019 State of Nature Report, bringing youth perspective to this flagship scientific report for the first time and was featured on BBC Politics.
Now as a young adult, Yetunde inspires other young people with her leadership, experience and journey from bright-eyed teenager to seasoned speaker, mentor and influencer. She sits on AFC’s Board of Trustees, where she shapes our organisational strategy and programmes of work.
“Don't be afraid of change. You can make the change. I am looking forward to what we can achieve as young people together”
Yetunde, Trustee
Hana, 20, sheffield
Hana’s involvement with Action for Conservation (AFC) began in 2019, and has evolved into a journey of personal and creative growth, with Hana developing into an inspiring young environmental leader. Hana first joined us on an AFC Summer Camp where she met other like-minded young people who became friends for life.
As an AFC Youth Ambassador, Hana discovered a sense of empowerment and connection to nature through her involvement as a Youth Leadership Group member of the Penpont Project. This was an opportunity for her to contribute to meaningful environmental action alongside a diverse, intergenerational community of people. The collaborative nature of the project offered her a voice in decision-making, and a deep sense of belonging, purpose, and hope in a time of widespread eco-anxiety.
Hana is now a Young Volunteer with AFC, and her path came full circle in 2024 when she returned to Penpont as its first Young Artist in Residence. During the residency she immersed herself in the landscape she’d helped shape and restore, finding inspiration for her artwork in the flowing waters of the River Usk. The piece she created, which combines textiles and cyanotype printing with water from the Usk, now hangs prominently in the Penpont Project’s Land Library.
She has since returned to Summer Camps as a Young Leader supporting new groups of young people to connect with nature. In 2025, she began delivering fast fashion workshops with North West Ambassadors, teaching groups how to mend and upcycle clothing. Hana’s story stands as a powerful testament to how long-term youth engagement in conservation can nurture leadership, creativity, and emotional connection to the natural world.
“I was lucky enough to go on camp in the summer of 2018. and it's had a monumental impact on my life. it was so valuable to meet a group of other young people with a shared interest, it gave me access to a new group of friends and a community, a new sense of belonging that I'd not had before”
Hana, Ambassador
Angélica, 16, liverpool
Angélica first joined AFC on Camp in 2019, an experience that opened her eyes to the world of conservation. With little prior knowledge, she was captivated by moments like bird ringing and exploring habitats like peat bogs. When the COVID-19 lockdown disrupted her first year as an AFC Ambassador, she found purpose and connection through AFC’s online WildWEB programme, learning about nature, meeting young people from across the country and collectively creating projects to make a difference to their local communities. After lockdown she found herself facing severe social anxiety. Her involvement with AFC’s programmes helped to improve her symptoms, where she was able to spend time with friends and find community and purpose.
She has grown tremendously as a young leader, building her confidence by speaking about the youth environmental movement at conferences and public events. Angélica joined the Heartwood Project’s Youth Leadership Group in 2023, where she has expanded her knowledge and experience of taking practical action to restore nature. Getting hands-on experience at land-based project sites, from pond-building to tree planting, reinforced her love for teamwork and community action. Angélica credits AFC with not only helping her grow as an environmental advocate but also playing a key role in her personal journey, offering her the knowledge, support, and inspiration to lead change and empower others.
"I honestly wish every single young person could experience AFC. I'm so happy I'm part of a network of young people who can grow together and learn from each other. AFC has been a leading inspiration in my life, I’m inspired to learn, to take action and to create a positive change in the world."
Angélica, Ambassador
david, 16, bristol
David (aged 14) was excited to learn more about nature in the UK, and so he applied for an AFC Summer Camp in 2023. During Camp, he visited the UK coastline for the first time and was struck by its beauty. He also discovered his love for woodlands, where he enjoyed peaceful meditation sessions. He described the Summer Camp as a “life-changing” experience that he would recommend to anyone.
After Camp, David became an AFC Ambassador, where he embraced learning more about conservation and took part in tree planting and seed collection in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park at the Penpont Project, AFC’s flagship Intergenerational Nature Restoration Project. As an AFC Ambassador, David developed his confidence, knowledge and hands-on conservation skills.
David has now joined our Youth Leadership Group at Grow Wilder in Bristol, our newest Intergenerational Nature Restoration Project and joins Ambassador events with our current cohort as a Young Volunteer.
"My goal is to know more, know more about nature, to see more problems that are going on right now, and then find more solutions."
David, Ambassador
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