Youth Board

Young people in group at Camley Street Natural Park

Following on from the fantastic work that the Keeping it Wild Youth Forum achieved from 2018-2021 (including influencing our comms, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion work and creating the new Wild Youth Hub), we have placed youth voices right at the heart of the Trust’s governance structure in the form of our Youth Board.  

The Youth Board consists of 12 motivated young people (aged 16-25) who are passionate about London’s wildlife and amplifying young people’s voices. Members are also part of our mentoring scheme, with Youth Board members being paired up with Trustees and Senior Management team, meeting to discuss professional and personal goals every six weeks.  

Meet the current Youth Board members

We meet 12 times throughout the year in person to discuss a range of agendas and formal meetings, and advocate for the environment and young people. Alongside this, our Youth Board members act as representatives for the project at events, get involved in workshops and campaigns, curate events, feed into London Wildlife Trust’s communication and youth strategy and create content including blogs, podcasts and films. In return, we offer a range of social events, training opportunities and an annual residential in the countryside.

Youth board members amongst the green by the water at camley street natural park.

Group of young people - the new youth board at Camley Street Natural Park

Achievements of the Youth Board

Sheetal and Julia attended a roundtable event for young people organised by Deputy Mayor Mete Coban, where they met youth advisors for the GLA and fed into discussions around access to nature in London and clean rivers.
Sadie, Anisa, Lily, Jiya and Io attended and supported at the 2024 Green Careers showcase on the LWT stall, creating content and supporting the delivery of events.
Anelechi spoke at the Westminster Youth Voice event.
Anisa was part of the interview panel for the Keeping it Wild Coordinator, and Jazzie was part of the interview panel for the CEO.
The Youth Board drafted questions and reviewed and scored answers for the recruitment of the Director of Nature Recovery and Head of Youth Programmes.
Youth Board members give a presentation for our members and Trustees each year at our annual AGM around the reason they joined the Youth Board, highlights of the past year and the projects the group have been working on (2023: Haleema & Jazzie; 2024: Sadie & Maria).
The Youth Board have been working on creating a campaign centred around taking action for wildlife to ease eco-anxiety.
Kam, Katie, Jazzie, Alan and Queen were involved in the London Wildlife Trust Brand Review, taking part in workshops focussing on the three main strategic priorities for the Trust and ensuring youth voice was heard through the process.
Jazzie, Alan, Maria and Nishat shortlisted the 54 applicants for the Youth Board 24-25 to 12, and Queen and Jazzie sat in on the online interviews, asked questions, scored the candidates and were involved in the final selection process of nine new Youth Board members.
The Youth Board reviewed the London Wildlife Trust sustainability policy and supported staff in drafting a new one.
The Youth Board planned, curated and delivered the Youth in Nature event which combined London Wildlife Trust’s Strategy with the Nature Nurtures workshops. The evening showcased young people’s creativity within nature, inspiring young Londoners to take action. Youth Board members Andrew, Alan, Jazzie and Morag gave an inspiring speech about the achievements of the Youth Board.
The Youth Board curated a presentation and Q&A for 50 CEO & SMT delegates from Trusts nationwide at the Wild Leaders Conference, talking about topics including mental health and wellbeing, green space access, youth voice and representation in nature. Their segment was truly inspiring and started important conversations about youth engagement and involvement!  
Jazzie, Andrew, Isabella, Katie, and Lily represented London Wildlife Trust at our stand, shared their experiences during panel talks and interviewed young people at the Green Jobs Fair, which an amazing 120 young people attended!
Sam and Lily attended The Wildlife Trust's weekend youth event planning a nature festival for young people in 2023.
Queen took part in an online Q&A hosted by Action for Conservation.
Jazzie and Andrew were featured on the Harmony in Health podcast which talked about how connecting and taking action for wildlife can help mental health and eco anxiety.  
Kam spoke on behalf of LWT as part of a panel at the Eden Project for a climate-themed event delivered by Extreme Hangout and Earthminutes. 
Nishat ran a guided walk and creative zine workshop in collaboration with the BTO Youth Reps, and attended a ringing demonstration.

Young people at stall at Camley Street Natural Park

It’s the importance of being in the room, learning and building confidence, knowing that you belong in those conversations and have something to say. Being on the Youth Board is helping to build confidence in myself as who I am, not being pushed in a particular direction.

Youth Board Member

Youth Board member Sam and Naomi at Camley Street Natural Park

This role has helped me connect with others who also care about the world and want to make positive change and it has helped me feel able to take action and feel more confident in contributing ideas and challenging myself. It has been wonderful to really feel that what you are doing is making a difference that you can see happening.

Youth Board Member

Young people standing around pond at Camley Street Natural Park

It has inspired me to take on wildlife conservation as something that is my responsibility. This has furthered my stance on climate change and how looking after the planet is all of our individual responsibility. It has also opened me up to new experiences in volunteering, menteeship and collaborating with diverse voices

Youth Board Member