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.

Meet our Youth Panel members

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.

”I strongly feel that I wouldn’t have chosen to study Biology at University or have the job I do today, without the FSC. Joining the Youth Council is now a fantastic opportunity to ensure that other young people can have access to the same positive experiences that I have.”
Liv C (24)

”It is a fantastic opportunity to help influence projects, making them more appealing and accessible to young people. I also feel young people are not aware of the FSC and the valuable projects and programs they provide and how young people could benefit from such as the wide variety of educational camps and the valuable skills they can learn from these.”
Joe P (20)

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.