Field Studies Council Youth Panel

The Field Studies Council’s Youth Panel is a diverse group of proactive young naturalists aged 16-25 from across the UK. Youth Panel members fulfil a strategic role, sharing perspectives on barriers and opportunities for youth engagement across Field Studies Council education and programmes. 

Our inspirational Youth Panel members meet regularly with colleagues across Field Studies Council to: 

• Advise us on topics we should be engaging with which are relevant to young people; 

• Provide feedback on our youth products and programmes; 

• Discuss and implement actions on increasing engagement and diversity. 

Members of the Youth Panel are in role for a 2-year term. The Youth Panel meets online roughly once a month, and gets together in person once a year for training, goal-setting and to spend time together in nature as a group.   

Youth Panel members additionally have the opportunity to: 

• Attend training opportunities, including heavily subsidised Biodiversity Courses (online and in-person). 

• Gain valuable transferable skills, including meeting skills (such as chairing meetings and minute-taking), decision-making, and influence within the environmental education sector. 

• Create content such as blog posts for sharing on Field Studies Council channels as well as your own channels. 

A word from our Youth Panel members:

“This has been my third year on the youth panel, and I am going to miss volunteering with Field Studies Council. Since I was a Young Darwin Scholar, and through to my experience on the Youth Panel, the Field Studies Council has supported me in starting a career in conservation and better understanding my own connection with nature. It is through the Field Studies Council that I have discovered a love for wildlife story telling and conservation in media as well as the importance of education in creating meaningful change.

It has changed how I interact with the natural world and helped me decide what I want to do in the future. I have found it to be an incredibly beneficial and enjoyable experience, particularly being able to spend time with a group of like-minded people all in similar life stages. It’s one of the best parts of being on the Youth Panel as it gives you a real sense of community. I am very grateful for my time on the Youth Panel and wish the current and new members all my luck for the future.”

– Connor Edwards

“If you’re thinking about applying to the Field Studies Council Youth Panel, do it! Being on the Youth Panel isn’t just about sitting in meetings and giving your opinion. You get to actually help shape what environmental education could look like for the next generation, while meeting a brilliant group of young people who are equally passionate, curious and occasionally a little bit obsessed with wildlife. You also get opportunities to learn things you probably wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to — from seal identification and bog ecology to beaver ecology and mammal surveying, I’ve had a whale of a time.

As a panel member, you can also feed directly into projects like the Natural History GCSE consultation, helping Field Studies Council think about what young people actually need from nature and environmental education. And honestly, one of the best parts is the people. You meet young people from completely different backgrounds, with different interests and experiences, and get to learn from each other as much as from the experts. You don’t need to know everything about wildlife. You don’t need to be a scientist. You just need to be curious, willing to get involved and interested in making nature education better and more accessible.

Plus, where else are you going to spend a weekend learning about bogs, finding field voles at 9am and having very serious conversations about the future of environmental education?”

– Mia Clement

Youth Panel Values

As a Youth Panel, the impact we want to have on the Field Studies Council is wide. We aim to empower youth voices to shape a more transparent, accessible organisation while expanding access to nature and reaching more diverse communities.

We want our impact to be informed by our lived experience as young people driven by science and social justice. We also want to improve wellbeing by focusing on the individual and the positive impact nature and wildlife can have. We recognise many issues have an intersectional aspect, and we want to have this at the forefront of our actions too.

When we work together, we value clear communication, creativity, collaboration, consideration and curiosity. These 5 C’s create the base of our values. Consideration for us means creating an open and non-judgemental space for the communication of ideas. Curiosity is the staple of learning; to be curious is to be open to new ideas.

Overall, we are a group of young people committed to making a positive difference. We value accessibility, transparency, wellbeing and the 5 C’s.

How can I join the Youth Panel?

We recruit for new members in late summer to autumn each year. Applications will next open during summer 2026.

Watch the video below created by Field Studies Council higher education placement students to learn a bit more about how the Youth Panel runs:

Contact the Youth Engagement team

If you want to get involved or have any questions about our Youth Panel, please contact us at [email protected]  

Blogs:

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