Young People's Forum

We are now recruiting for new members of our Young People's Forum. 

Our Young People’s Forum is made up of members from across Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland. The aim of the group is to help the Trust work better for young people whilst gaining skills, experiences and taking action for nature in the process. 
 

Stand up for nature and join us!

Want to get involved? Are you: 

• Aged 16-24

• Motivated to create change

• Reliable and enthusiastic

• Keen to take part in discussions, events, meetings, workshops and training

• Excited about furthering youth involvement at the Trust and representing youth voice in meetings 

• Interested in being an advocate for other young people and the role that young people can play in determining the future of the environment and wild spaces in the northeast 

• Interested in learning more about environmental action. 

How often could you get involved? 

The forum meets face to face once a month with the option to join online. This usually happens on a Tuesday, 5pm to 6:30pm, but can be flexible. Outside of meetings you can get involved as much as you like, from planning events, doing training, shadowing staff etc. 

What we offer you in return: 

• We will cover your travel expenses to meetings/events you attend and sometimes snacks/refreshments. 

• Mentoring from staff

• Regular training opportunities on a wide range of topics for your personal development, e.g. event management, safeguarding, public speaking etc 

• Support with your CV if you’d like it 

• Opportunities to visit our nature reserves and projects in action
   

How to apply

To apply, complete our short application about why you would like to be part of the Young People’s Forum. Please apply using the form linked below – you can either write your answers or send us a video. This role does not require any formal educational qualifications – it's enthusiasm and passion we’re looking for💫 

Read our information pack here

Apply to be a Young People's Forum Member here

 For more information, or to have a chat about the Young People’s Forum, please contact the staff who support the Forum: Alex, Joe or Rhiannon at alexandra.reynolds@northwt.org.uk, joseph.ford@northwt.org.uk or rhiannon.studholme@northwt.org.uk.
 

What we've been up to

The Young People’s Forum was set up in January 2023 and have achieved lots in that time: 

• Organised ‘Switch and Stitch: Eco Fashion Festival’ - an anti-fast fashion festival to swap clothes 👗, learn to mend and upcycle 🧵, listen to live music and more! 

• Visited three of our flagship nature reserves: Hauxley, West Chevington and East Chevington to see our wildling efforts in action.  

• Advised our Red Squirrel Northern England project on how to increase their engagement with young audiences. 

• Supported our marketing team to develop a new young people focused membership – Adopt an Animal. 

• Supported funding applications for youth-led projects at the Trust, like Eco Influencers. 

• Learnt new skills like writing funding applications, event planning, health and safety, writing professional emails, how to plan a social media campaign and more!