SEEd Young Changemakers (YCM)

Aim

Enabling more students to imagine and take action to mitigate climate change by increasing the reach of SEEd Young Changemakers (YCM).

SEEd: Empowering Young Changemakers for a Sustainable Future

 Hear from one of SEEd's Young Changemakers:

"I didn't realise just how much we could do for the school, and also how many others outside of SEEd would want to get involved too."

-        Student, YCM 2024

Who are SEEd and what is our project about?

For 17 years, Sustainability and Environmental Education (SEEd) has been working quietly but steadily to transform how young people and educators understand and act on sustainability. We're a charity with a simple belief: that real, lasting change comes when people - especially young people - are equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to become active agents of change in their own communities.

We don't teach sustainability. We empower young people to imagine and take their own action to make it better. Through our Young Changemakers (YCM) programme, our Educator Changemakers training, and our work across local communities, we've spent nearly two decades building an evidence-based approach to environmental education that actually works.

"Sustainability is an important part of our future [and] movements such as Young Changemakers are giving hope to students."

- Kieron Smith, Headteacher, Archway School

SEEd works across England, helping to reshape how sustainability is woven into learning. We've trained hundreds of educators, reached thousands of young people, and built a growing body of evidence that proves: when young people are given genuine agency, they become powerful agents of change in their families, schools and communities.

This year, we're expanding our reach. The funding we're seeking will help us accelerate our programmes - training more educators, reaching more young people, scaling what works. Because in a time of environmental change and genuine concern about the world we're leaving behind, we need many more changemakers, working at every level, in every community.

We're applying for Climate Action funding because education for sustainability is one of the most practical, achievable climate solutions available. It transforms. It builds resilience, inspires action, and creates communities who can take ongoing effective action.

Photo 1. SEEd YCM School and Community Launch Event 2024. Credit: SEEd.

Why are we crowdfunding?

As parents, carers, teachers and grandparents, we know about climate anxiety and how it impacts the mental health of youth today. Our Attitudes to Sustainability Survey shows that many young people care deeply about climate change, environmental protection and the kind of world they'll inherit - but they feel powerless, overwhelmed, and unsure how to channel their concern into meaningful action.

"I think the fact we are told about the problem [climate change] but not told how to fix the problem gives kids around my age a lot of stress."

- Female, Age 14, Youth Listening Project

At the same time, teachers need support. They want to help their students become engaged citizens, but lack the training, resources and confidence to teach sustainability effectively. There's an appetite that is not being met.

The gap we're addressing: For every school embracing transformative sustainability learning, dozens more are missing this opportunity. For every young person trained as a changemaker, thousands more could be. The barrier isn't lack of demand - it's lack of funding to expand proven programmes.

Photo 2. Archway School Poster Report on getting solar panels 2024. Credit: Archway School.

Your donation will help us:

• Train more educators to confidently teach sustainability and equip young people for action;
• Reach more young people with our Young Changemakers programme, giving them genuine agency to address challenges in their own communities;
• Develop more schools using our whole-school sustainability approach, creating places where environmental action becomes part of the culture; and
• Build evidence of what works, so other organisations can learn from and scale our approaches.

We've seen the impact. Young people in our programmes go on to lead local initiatives - planting trees, reducing school waste, building community gardens and advocating for nature in their neighbourhoods or schools. Teachers report greater job satisfaction and a renewed sense of purpose. Schools become more engaged with their communities, and better places to learn.

"It's not a one-off little project that, when it doesn't work, you feel hopeless, but actually, you can see how to engage with it, evaluate what you've done and have another go again."

- Laura Arstall, Teacher and YCM Facilitator (2023-2026)

Photo 3. Clifton College Food Waste Project 2025. Credit: Clifton College.

How we'll spend the money raised

We're committed to transparency, so here's how your contribution will directly fund our climate action work:

Programme delivery and training (60%)

• Running our Young Changemakers programme in more schools;
• Developing and delivering Educator Changemakers CPD training.

Evaluation and evidence-building (20%)

• Working with universities to research and evaluate our programmes' impact;
• Publishing our findings so other organisations can learn and replicate what works;
• Ensuring we continuously improve our approach based on evidence.

Outreach and community engagement (15%)

• Increasing awareness of our work among schools, educators and communities;
• Developing partnerships with local organisations and networks;
• Supporting volunteer and fundraiser engagement in schools themselves;
• Making our resources and expertise accessible to more people.

Operations and infrastructure (5%)

• Essential running costs: team, office, digital platforms

Every pound directly supports our mission to put sustainability at the heart of learning, and learning at the heart of sustainability. The cost per school is decreasing the more schools we engage with and then how they help each other. 

"Young Changemakers has had a demonstrable and powerful impact on a number of students and their teachers, best summed up by the student who reported that, for them, this had been 'an amazing journey'."

- Dr Paul Vare, University of Gloucestershire, YCM Evaluation Report 2024-25 

Photo 4. Action Planning in Bracknell Forest Climate Conference 2025. Credit: SEEd.

How you can help

There are three simple ways to get involved and support our project:

1. Make a donation

Every pledge gets us closer to our goal. Whether it's £5 to support a young person's first step as a changemaker, or £500 to fund a full educator training course, your contribution makes a real difference.

• £15 supports one young person through part of our Young Changemakers programme;
• £50 helps fund resources and materials for a school sustainability initiative;
• £150 supports a teacher to complete our Educator Changemakers Professional Development training;
• £500 funds a full school to implement our whole-school sustainability approach through Young Changemakers.

2. Spread the word

Share our project with friends, family and your network. Tell people in your community - at work, in your faith centre, in your sports club, through your social media - why this matters to you. The more people we reach, the more likely we are to succeed.

You might share:

• A story about a young changemaker making a difference in their community;
• Why you believe sustainability education is important;
• How you've seen environmental concerns affect people you care about;
• A link to our website so others can learn more

"It's quite bizarre because I've never seen my year group come together like this. Everyone gets on with their own things normally, but when it comes to something like sustainability and climate action, everyone knows they need to get involved."

Student, YCM Participant, Age 17

3. Volunteer or get involved

If you're an educator, researcher, environmentalist or someone passionate about building more sustainable communities, we'd love your expertise and time.

Ways to contribute:

• Help us deliver our climate one day conference in your local area;
• Help us find local collaborators and businesses to work with the students;
• Share your professional skills (writing, communications, feedback, networking);
• Fundraise with us or mobilise your network.

If you'd like to explore any of these opportunities, please get in touch through the "Contact" section of our page using the subject "I want to volunteer my time or expertise."

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 10th July 2026 at 8:28am