Leading a Project for Positive Change

At Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, our strategy is rooted in creating opportunities that bring people closer to nature, sharing skills in inclusive and accessible ways, and helping people develop the green skills we need for the future. For us, this means not only protecting wildlife, but also equipping the next generation with the confidence, knowledge and experience to lead positive change.

Young people care deeply about the future of the natural world. According to the 2024 Children’s People and Nature Survey, 83% of children and young people agreed that looking after the environment is important to them. Yet too often, their voices are overlooked in decision-making. A YouGov poll in 2023 found that just 9% of 16–24-year-olds feel they have real influence over climate change decisions. This gap between passion and power highlights the importance of creating genuine opportunities for young people to take action, build skills, and be heard.

Children next to their presentation about the importance of flowers and pollinators

That’s where the Environment Leaders Programme comes in – a qualification that enables young people to develop leadership and practical skills while making a tangible difference for nature in their communities.

According to the 2024 Children’s People and Nature Survey , 83% of children and young people surveyed agreed that looking after the environment was important to them. But the sad reality is that the concerns of young people are often overlooked by decision makers. After all, it is ultimately their future on which the decisions and actions of today will have the biggest impact, and yet there is a perception of powerlessness amongst many young people, particularly on environmental issues. For example, another 2023 poll conducted by YouGov found that only 9% of people aged 16-24 feel like young people have a great deal of influence making decisions about climate change.

Leading by Example

One of the key steps to addressing this imbalance is empowering young people to take positive action for the environment and for a group of Sixth Form students in Derby this school year was one with a difference.

After a successful pilot in 2023-24 involving Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Allestree Woodlands School, this year saw the full roll out of the Environment Leaders Programme – qualifications developed by the Leadership Skills Foundation in partnership with WWF and RSPB. The new Level 3: Leading a Project for Positive Change course aims to build student’s leadership skills and environmental awareness, culminating in young people taking the lead to plan and implement their own environmental projects. As an accredited qualification, students also gain UCAS points to support their further education and career aspirations.

The course has been delivered by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and this year’s expanded cohort involved 20 students across two secondary schools – Allestree Woodlands and Derby Cathedral. With full ownership over their projects - from developing awareness campaigns to taking action for biodiversity - the breadth, scope and bold ambition of the students’ group projects this year has been nothing short of remarkable.

My project aimed to inform others about the harmful repercussions of modern-day farming techniques, focusing on the implications of eutrophication and its outcome, namely, harmful algal blooms. I created and hosted a complementary petition aiming to reinstate the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme and I aim to continue to promote and circulate my petition across multiple platforms (social media, school newspaper, Derby Youth Council, etc.) to increase visibility and attract new signatures.

Kaiden

Community Action

Many of the students’ efforts this year focussed on engaging other young people and how they can take action for nature, with some groups choosing to build their projects in collaboration with local primary schools to maximise impact within their communities.

The aim for our project was to raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity. We went to Dale Primary School where we gave a short presentation on biodiversity and later did a practical on how to make seed bombs and made them with the kids as well. We made over 100 seed bombs in total, and the school plans to create a wildflower space in their allotment with some of the seed bombs, and some are going home to create wild spaces around the community.

Sasha

Seed bomb making at Dale Primary School, Derby

Another group took this concept even further with their project at Portway Junior school. After delivering a teaching session on wildflowers and biodiversity, the group led a seed planting session with the children to improve their school grounds for nature, and also transplanted a portion of them to support the creation of new wildflower meadows at Allestree Park.

We helped to educate a class of year four students on the importance of biodiversity and about pollinators and wildflowers. We hoped to connect the children with nature, and this had a positive impact on the pupils that we worked with as they now have a greater knowledge of wildflowers and pollinators. They also were given wildflower seeds to plant at home. This will further improve biodiversity of Allestree. Along with going to the primary school, we planted 11m2 of wildflowers in our local park which will hugely support the local pollinator population.

Lizzie, Leah, Dasha, Bel

Children sat in the grass planting at Allestree Park in the sunshine

The main aim of our project was to not only bring awareness to the dire and ongoing loss of our pollinators but to also educate those who may not be as well versed in the subject about the importance of pollinators and why it is so important to protect them. We also wanted to teach the children about bees, because it is easier to care about something when you understand it. We linked in people from our school to teach them so they had an understanding on why the decline in pollinators is an issue but, also how they can impact them positively by changing certain behaviours.

Charis, Pip, Sammy, Fran

Developing Lifelong Skills Through Nature

Alongside growing external pressures and anxieties (including eco-anxiety), as a generation shouldering the disruption caused by the Covid 19 pandemic and its impact on their social and emotional development, students have also reflected on other positive outcomes from their participation in the course beyond their far-reaching environmental impacts.

“This project has been instrumental in changing my ability to successfully work in a team,” said Alfie, whose social media project focussed on highlighting nature on people’s doorsteps in the city of Derby. “I now realise that having multiple people to help and support you makes tasks so much easier. I feel like I am able to understand others’ points of view better now.”

Having autonomy over a project from inception to delivery can be a daunting prospect even for experienced professionals, but the ways in which the students have overcome these challenges should provide inspiration for us all. Writing as their tutor, it has been a hugely rewarding experience to see the growth of their teamworking, organisation, problem solving skills, communication, confidence and self-belief. Above all, they have demonstrated that anyone can take the lead for nature I am delighted and encouraged to know that the leaders of tomorrow have such a passion for the environment and a deep desire to bring about a better future for the natural world.

“It’s been really interesting and insightful, and I have learnt a lot about leading projects as well as making positive changes to the local and wider area,” reflected Toby, whose group planned and led a Himalayan Balsam bashing event at Allestree Park. “It has definitely had a significant impact on where I may end up after A levels which I did not expect at the start of the course. Thank you for allowing us to do this project with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.”

Looking Ahead

The achievements of these young leaders show what’s possible when we create opportunities that bring people closer to nature, build inclusive and accessible ways to share skills, and nurture the green skills that will shape a more sustainable future. By taking ownership of their projects, the students have not only improved local environments but also grown in confidence, resilience and leadership – skills that will last a lifetime.

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