Grants for young people
YDMT Grants supports all kinds of projects run by young people or youth organisations. Here are some of the amazing projects we've helped support so far. If you've got an idea for your own project check out our YDMT Grants page for how to apply.
Orin's Bioblitz
11 year old Orin was awarded £1,000 to run a family friendly bioblitz event at the National Trust's Footprint Centre near Windermere.
His aim was to make the event more attractive to young people and the grant enabled him to buy materials for nature themed craft activities and surveying equipment. The equipment is still being used by local schools. He inspired 162 people to join him to investigate the number of species at the site and they found a total of 468, nearly 300 of which hadn’t been documented there before! These included wood mouse, bank vole and common shrew along with common pipistrelle and soprano pipistrelle bats, four species of frog, toad, and the smooth and palmate newts.
“I love surveying wildlife." Orin told us. "Seeing the animals gives me such joy and I love watching the ecosystems around me. I really wanted to organise my own bioblitz event to help local people find out what wildlife lives in the area. My hope is that lots of people and especially young people were inspired to love the natural world around us. I believe that if people know and understand what lives alongside them, they will be more passionate about protecting it.”
Ludus Dance Company - Polluted People
Lancashire based Ludus Youth Dance Company made use of their £1,000 grant to create a call to action in response to plastic pollution.
The flagship youth company wanted to help its members, aged 14-21, to deepen their understanding of the importance of reducing plastic waste and then empower them to articulate a creative response using their new found knowledge.
The group gained first-hand experience of plastic pollution when they had a site visit to their local coastline in Morecambe. They completed a litter pick and collected and removed two refuse sacks full of plastic rubbish.
Here's what some of the young people involved said:
“I am now more aware of the major crisis we have with plastic. We need to all play our part in making choices that reduce our wasteful use of single use disposable plastic. We must all act now.”
“We went on a walk that took us outside of Lancaster, litter picking on the way. I was so shocked at the amount of plastic we picked up. Two full bin bags and we had barely scratched the surface of the amount of plastic we saw/couldn't get to. It made me realise just how drastic the plastic pollution situation is.”
“The research was really shocking, obviously we knew about plastic pollution before the project, but to see how bad the effects of it were (especially in the site we looked at) emphasised how much of an issue plastic causes.”
Wildlife Gardening Club - Settlebeck School
Settlebeck Wildlife Gardening Club were awarded £432 to help enhance wildlife spaces in the school grounds, as well as enabling the students to learn how to grow food to promote healthy living.
A litter pick helped to clean up the area and then the group set about planting trees, weaving a low lying fence and making a path through to the garden where they constructed a wooden bench. Tools were bought to plant seeds and plants in the newly built raised beds.
Maisie, a student at Settlebeck, applied for the funds, “It made me feel more connected to the wildlife in and around Settlebeck" she said. "We have made a positive impact on the environment and have been able to help connect the students at Settlebeck to nature.”
People First Keighley and Craven - Green Spaces
People First is a self-advocacy group, run by people with learning disabilities for people with learning disabilities. Their Green Spaces project helps young people with disabilities learn gardening skills. People First used their grant of £638 to buy tools so they could use their newfound skills to transform a community space at Airedale Hospital. Their aim was to provide patients, staff and visitors with green spaces to enjoy.
More about our work with young people
Young person's guide
Meet some of the inspirational young people who are fighting for a better future for our planet, celebrate their impact and find out how you can get involved…
Green Futures
We are committed to making sure every young person is supported and empowered to make a positive difference on the issues that affect their lives, their communities, and wider society.
Green Routes
Green Routes is a new scheme providing opportunities for young people aged 16-17 from all backgrounds to experience and benefit from spending time in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
