Thousands of young people from Bournemouth to Southampton and across the New Forest have been taking action against climate change in a £1.4 million Youth for Climate and Nature (YouCAN) scheme.
Led by the New Forest National Park Authority, young people have been empowered to understand and lead climate action within their communities, having their voices heard on the biggest stages and grasping opportunities to develop green skills and careers.
The YouCAN scheme has engaged more than 31,000 young people between the ages of 11 and 25 across the 300 square mile area of the New Forest, Southampton, and Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole since it launched in October 2023.
In this, the second in a three-part blog series, we hear from leaders at YouCAN partners – the Countryside Education Trust and Southampton National Park City – about the impact the scheme is having for young people, their organisations, the New Forest National Park and surrounding areas.
The Countryside Education Trust
The Countryside Education Trust is an educational organisation celebrating its 50th anniversary based in Beaulieu that connects schools and families to nature by providing learning opportunities to teach people about rural life, farming, and the British countryside.
The CET has delivered a variety of short and longer-term internships and early green career opportunities spanning woodland management, youth engagement, and farm work as part of the YouCAN scheme, as well as climate lectures, courses and open days.
Countryside Education Trust Deputy Chief Executive Anna Barnard said:
‘Our internships have allowed us to bridge the gap for people and means, looking beyond YouCAN, they have a foothold to get into green careers. That’s something we really believe in a lot and think is very important.
‘The ripple effect of this will be huge too because a lot of our interns have already secured green careers so, in future years, the impact of what they did as part of YouCAN will still be felt.
‘Even already within the YouCAN timeframe, we can see the next step occurring. We’re riding the crest of a wave with young people being concerned, interested, and intrigued by the environment.’
Anna continued:
‘This is one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my career for a long time, and I say that in the context of doing a career that I feel very passionately about and feel the vast majority of the things I do are rewarding, but this one will really stick out to me.
‘When you see new people coming into something and showing so much enthusiasm and drive, it renews your ideas – I think YouCAN has really brought that out. YouCAN will absolutely have a lasting impact on the CET in various ways.
‘I think this is the best career that I could possibly do, and if I can help somebody else, or we as an organisation can help others to also be in that position, that’s a great thing.’
Anna said:
‘YouCAN has allowed us to have additional dedicated staff members, which means we’ve been able to do more outreach and attend more and bigger events.
‘YouCAN has been a springboard for the Countryside Education Trust to reach into different areas of work with different people and enables us to do that from the ground up.
‘It’s motivated us to develop activities and resources that are really going to engage young people and has enabled us to extend offerings to develop new, more targeted activities so participants can get deeper into the climate and nature side of our work.’
Southampton National Park City
Southampton National Park City (SNPC) is part of the National Park City movement that originated as a way to reimagine urban environments by promoting green and blue spaces, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability within cities.
SNPC works to strengthen relationships between people in Southampton and the local environment and has held community engagement events such as the launch of a city-wide Urban Wild festival in summer 2025.
Southampton National Park City Co-ordinator Ruth Magennis said:
‘YouCAN has allowed us to position ourselves as a voice of authority on nature issues in Southampton and take a step towards getting National Park City accreditation, which will be a great boost for the city.’
Ruth added:
‘Being part of the YouCAN scheme has enabled us to increase our reach and focus thanks to additional staffing support and we have a more strategic direction.
‘Through the Urban Wild project we have delivered a festival showcasing Southampton when people and nature live harmoniously.
‘Support from YouCAN partners has been invaluable and meant being able to access and offer a pool of resources, project management support, and even having a space to learn from and bounce ideas around in.’
- The Youth for Climate and Nature (YouCAN) scheme has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players through a £1.2 million Climate Action Fund grant from the National Lottery Community Fund – the largest community funder in the UK – and a further £264,000 in match funding from partners.
- Find out more about the YouCAN scheme and the partners involved by clicking here: https://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/communities/young-people/youth-for-climate-and-nature-youcan/