Always on
This project successfully funded on 31st January 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Help Us Grow the Next Generation of Changemakers!
United Kingdom
Aim
Keep learning for sustainability free for children in the Scottish Borders and inspire the next generation to protect people and planet.
Stow Disrupters is a grassroots, volunteer-led movement empowering children aged 5–12 to help create a more sustainable, fair, and connected world - starting within their local communities. We offer free, meaningful and relevant learning experiences that are fun, inclusive, and inspiring, nurturing curiosity and confidence while encouraging real-world action.
Our mission is simple but powerful:
To empower children to become positive disrupters by using their voices to inspire change locally and globally.
We provide free, creative, and inclusive weekly educational experiences that empower children to explore sustainability, take meaningful action and use their voices to positively disrupt the status quo.
Guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Scotland’s Learning for Sustainability Action Plan, we work collaboratively with local partners to turn global challenges into local opportunities for change.
At the heart of our mission is the belief that children’s wellbeing -mental, emotional, and physical — is deeply linked to their connection with nature, community and purpose. By fostering confidence, creativity, and a sense of agency, we support children to grow into changemakers who are not just preparing for the future, but leading the way today.
Our Objectives
1. Educate and Inspire Through the Sustainable Development Goals
Deliver engaging, age-appropriate experiences that introduce children to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), helping them understand global challenges such as climate change, inequality, health and sustainability in ways that inspire curiosity and action.
2. Foster Global Citizenship and Local Action
Empower children to recognise their role as active global citizens and to connect global issues with local realities, developing practical, positive solutions that make a meaningful difference in their communities.
3. Support Mental, Emotional and Physical Wellbeing
Create a safe, nurturing and inclusive environment where children’s mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing are supported through nature-based, creative and community-driven activities that build resilience, confidence and self-expression.
4. Cultivate Core Values and Inclusive Learning
Embed empathy, respect, and responsibility in every learning experience, ensuring all sessions are accessible, equitable, and reflective of diverse cultures, abilities and background - empowering every child to thrive and feel valued.
5. Model Sustainability and Measure Impact
Operate sustainably by minimising waste, reusing materials and modelling eco-friendly practices. Collaborate with local partners to expand reach and continuously evaluate impact to ensure meaningful, responsible growth.
What We Do
Over the past year, Stow Disrupters has delivered:
• 51 free sustainability-focused sessions
• 118 hours of hands-on learning
• 46 engaged young people
• Countless acts of environmental and sustainable kindness
Our weekly sessions give children the chance to:
🧶 Work with local organisations, like minded people and community groups
🔧 Learn practical sustainability skills linked to the UN Global Goals
🌿 Take action with litter picks, rewilding and biodiversity projects
🤝 Build relationships across generations
🌳 Plant trees and restore natural spaces
📣 Use their voices to inspire change in their communities and beyond
Why It Matters
Children’s wellbeing is deeply connected to nature, community, and purpose. By giving young people the chance to explore, create, and lead, we help them grow into confident, compassionate changemakers.
Children thrive when they feel connected, to their world, their community, and a sense of purpose.
Our programme builds:
• Confidence
• Wellbeing
• Environmental awareness
• Real-life problem-solving
• Community pride
We make sustainability fun, practical, and empowering.
Many children in our community would never have access to these opportunities without groups like Stow Disrupters. That’s why all our sessions are free and why we rely on grants and donations to keep going.
💚 Why We Need Your Help
Our biggest ongoing costs are:
🏡 Venue hire
A safe, warm, accessible space for our weekly sessions.
Travel
Getting children to community partners, green spaces, farms, and local organisations where the real learning happens.
As a volunteer-run group with no paid staff, every penny goes directly into delivering high-quality, meaningful experiences for young people.
Your support will help us:
• Continue running our free weekly sustainability sessions
• Expand opportunities to reach more children across Galashiels and beyond
• Offer day trips, hands-on workshops and outdoor learning experiences
• Strengthen partnerships with local organisations
• Branded Disrupter sweatshirts and Tshirts
• Provide young people with the tools and confidence to make a difference
Together, We Can Grow Changemakers
With your support, we can continue to give children the space, skills, and confidence to protect the planet, strengthen their communities, and lead positive change - not someday but today!
Thank you for believing in our young Disrupters and the power of children to shape a better future 💚
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made