Find out more

Applications for this year's programme are now live! Apply now by clicking the yellow button at the top of this page.

The application form should take around 10–15 minutes to complete, but you can save it and return to complete it later.

We will ask for a bit of information that will help us start to tailor and adapt the programme to your individual needs as much as possible, including your demographic information and aspirations for the programme. We’ll also ask you some questions about any potential barriers you may have to participating in the programme. Importantly, this information will only be used in connection with your name when you apply. 

We assess every application individually in order to ensure we’re providing support where it is most needed. 

Once you have been accepted onto the programme, we will send you an email to collect some other information in order to get you set up on the programme, including emergency contact details, a media consent form, a plan of how to participate during the online sessions and a code of conduct. This information is only used to ensure you have the best experience possible with us.

Before the programme starts in October you can expect to hear from us with some information we hope you find useful, including links to previous campaigns run by ELP alumni, the programme participant handbook, and ‘keep warm’ activities where you can meet some other participants who will be joining you on this programme. 

You will also be contacted by a member of the Pastoral, Access, Welfare and Safeguarding (PAWS) team who will talk you through any additional needs you may have, answer any questions and make sure you’re well prepared for the beginning of the programme.

At this point, we’ll also ask you to complete a short survey that asks you some questions about pre-existing knowledge, skills, confidence and networks. This is really important, as it helps us gauge and evaluate the success (or not) of our programme. The answers you give are kept anonymous. 

These sessions will be held on Zoom and are designed to build your knowledge on nature connectedness and how you can use this to make a difference in your community and take the first steps into environmental leadership.

These will be held fortnightly, and will be recorded if you can't make it or just want to refresh what you've learnt! We will be using a tool called Mighty Networks to house all the programme information and it will be your one stop shop for everything  you need for the programme. 

You will also be set up on a tool called ‘Slack’ which will be the main way that we will communicate with you once the programme has started. 

Before the programme starts, someone from our team will contact you to help and ensure you are all set up to begin. In your first online session, you will meet the whole ELP2 team (we’re very friendly!), learn about the structure of the programme, and also get the opportunity to meet and get to know other participants taking part in the programme.

Midway through the programme, you will have the opportunity to have a catch up with a member of our team to find out how you’re getting along and let us know if there’s anything else we can do to help you get the most out of the programme.

In-person events will be held throughout the programme and will provide an opportunity to learn experientially about some of the things that we'll be covering during our online sessions. 

The launch weekend will be the first in-person sessions for the programme and will include: 

• Team building activities so that we can get to know each other better 
• Starting to explore nature connection and how this can impact you, your community and the environment 
• Taking part in an activity designed to help you get connected to nature in a way that speaks to you
• Starting to form an idea of what you personally would like to achieve during your nature connection campaign

Once you have gained some knowledge of your preferred area of interest over the course of the sessions you are now ready to start your own Nature Connection Campaign! 

You will choose and work with a small group from your cohort, all interested and passionate about the same issue as you in order to identify a local area you want to carry out your campaign. 

With the help and support from local stakeholders, our teams will help empower you with the skills that you need to start to design your campaign and begin to make links to the community where you want to carry this out. You'll develop and learn about the impact you want to make and how to effectively design and carry out your campaign to make a positive change for your community and environment.

In previous sessions you will have learnt about different ways to measure the impact of your campaign, how to establish goals and a project management structure that works for your team, and other tools which will help your campaign be a success! During the NCC day, you will have the opportunity to pitch the plan for your campaign to a panel of experts, who are there to help you refine your ideas and give you tools to help you move forward with your campaign. 

You will also have the opportunity to pitch your ideas to local community groups and leaders who may be able to help with the implementation  of your campaign. 

Time to make a change! After you've had some time to get to know your fellow participants, and identify your campaign's focus, you will start to put your campaigns into action. In the weeks leading up to your campaign launch you will have built connections and links within your community to arrange whatever materials and permissions you might need to help you carry out the campaign. 

You will be able to advertise your campaign in your local area and get your community involved! During the campaign and using the skills you have learned from participating in the programme you will be able to measure the impact you have had, both on the nature connectedness of your community and the impact on the physical environment. 

The campaigns will be followed with some online drop-in sessions where our team will be able to help you with problem solving, troubleshooting, data collection and measuring the impact of your campaign. 

Once all of the campaigns have taken place, the group will have the opportunity to come together again during graduation in July! Here you will share and hear from other participants on how their campaigns went and all give yourselves a pat on the back! 

After the programme has finished, you’ll be asked to complete a 3 month survey, 6 month survey and a final reflection form. These are vital for allowing us to measure the impact this programme has had and also allows us to keep track of the impact of your nature connection campaign.

You will be able to join an alumni network of other inspiring young people who have completed our programmes and continue to receive other exciting opportunities from us so you can continue your leadership journey.