‍Young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow – they are leaders now!

The mission of the Green Influencer Scheme is to help young people create deep, lasting and meaningful connections with the natural environment. Through the scheme, young people will learn and develop new skills that help them engage their friends and families, and contribute to their local communities. The scheme will help them to become Green Influencers – ambassadors for youth environmental action.

The Green Influencers Scheme was developed by The Ernest Cook Trust as a match-funded project with the #iwill Fund. The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £50 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities.

The Green Influencers Scheme aims to make environmental social action a regular, habitual part of young people’s lives.

How much a person feels connected to nature is linked to their wellbeing, and to their environmental behaviours*. Yet studies show that nature-connectedness tends to decrease in people aged 10-14† – at an age that is already a difficult period of transition. The Green Influencers Scheme will provide opportunities for young people to re-connect with the natural world and share their newfound passion with their peers, benefitting both their communities and their environment. It will empower young people to continue their actions in the long term, in face of the climate and ecological emergency before them. The concept is represented in the Influence Hill below.

Young people will be at the forefront of designing, delivering and promoting their own environmental projects. As a youth social action scheme, this could include elements of volunteering, fundraising, campaigning or supporting peers. Projects can be anything they like, for example, creating a community garden. The Green Influencers will be supported by Green Mentors from SOS-UK helping them to make connections with local organisations and secure further funding from The Ernest Cook Trust in order to bring their social action projects to life.

Green Influencers will be ideally be young people whose voices have not previously been heard, whether due a lack of confidence, access to funding, or opportunity to engage with the environment.

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1. At the beginning, young people are less interested in the environment and lack confidence.
2. Green Influencers have ideas that spark their journey to engagement.
3. With the help of Green Mentors, Green Influencers cajole their peers up the hill. Green Influencers gain in confidence, acquiring power from decision making to become Ambassadors.
4. Ambassadors spread environmental influence in all directions

Are you a teacher, youth-worker, sports coach or community leader? SOS-UK are looking for young people aged 10-14 to become Green Influencers. With the assistance of Green Mentors, they will design and run their own environmental youth social action projects in your schools, youth groups and communities.

SOS-UK are hosting two Green Mentors as part of the Green Influencers Scheme, based in Southampton and Norfolk. They will be recruiting groups of Green Influencers within and around these areas over the next two years. Grants will be available to each group to help to make their ideas happen. If you would like to give young people from your school, youth club or organisation the opportunity to become Green Influencers, please get in touch with us:

• Southampton and surrounding areas: contact Holly.
• Norwich and surrounding areas: contact Kate.
• Elsewhere in England? Locate your nearest Green Mentor on this map.