The charity making life better by water
Making life better by water
If you're aged between 16 and 24, want to help shape the work we do, and develop your knowledge and skillsets to enhance future career prospects, then apply now.
The Youth Fellowship Programme is back. And myself, Louis Howell, alongside the Canal & River Trust, we are excited to invite you to become a Fellow for 2025. Listen, the first time we did this, we were astounded by what the young people were able to do. We're talking about young people from all different parts of the country at the time, who were able to really influence change in an organisation as significant as the Canal & River Trust. You know, this is an organisation that is taking care of these beautiful waterways that you see, the examples of which are here. That are taking care of these beautiful assets that are rooted in so many communities. And the truth is, first and foremost, not enough people are using these waterways. Secondly, not enough people, even when using them are using them in a way that necessarily is helpful to everybody else in their community. And thirdly, there are not enough young people being able to influence the kind of work that the Canal & River Trust does, and therefore influencing the way that people in communities are utilising the waterways and making them appealing to other young people. So, let's be real. If you had the opportunity to run the Canal & River Trust for a day, for a week, for a month, for a year even, there are some things you’d probably implement. There are some ways you would probably go about making sure that people in their communities were taking full advantage of these beautiful assets. Well, now you have the opportunity to do that because on the Youth Fellowship Programme, you are going to be able to lead what we call a ‘social innovation’ project. We're going to give you a task. We're going to give you a challenge to go about increasing the usage and style of usage of the waterways in a particular community. But more importantly, we're going to help you to develop some key professional skills as part of that, because we know you're going to want to walk away with not only this experience, but also some practical skills that you can use on your career journey. So we're talking design thinking. We're talking project management skills. We're talking public speaking. We're talking event management. We're talking about these things that genuinely will help to separate you from the other young people that may be going for the kind of professional opportunities that you say you want to be going for in your career. So listen, the Youth Fellowship is not an opportunity to overlook. Oh, I didn't even mention this bit! All of this is formally accredited by ASDAN. So yes, you will get a formal certificate at the end demonstrating your community leadership skills and experience. So listen, this is a no-brainer. It's completely free. All you have to do is register today and get involved. My name is Louis Howell. I'm excited to be working with the Canal & River Trust to have designed and be delivering the Youth Fellowship Programme for 2025. Let's make it happen.
Are you passionate about:
If you've answered 'yes' to the above, then keep reading to find out more!
This programme respects and celebrates the unique perspectives, energy and networks that young people from all backgrounds have.
It is an opportunity for you to develop and exercise your leadership and innovation skills. You'll help your local community to benefit from time by water, and support Canal & River Trust in responding to challenges such as climate change, fly tipping, invasive species control and heritage preservation.
Through activities that you design, whether that be community cohesion events, sports activities, health and wellbeing events or social action campaigns, you'll be empowered to lead change in your area.
As a Youth Fellow, you may also go on to get involved in decision-making with the Trust, bringing fresh perspectives to help us shape the future direction of our charity and help evolve how we work with young people across the organisation.
Our 6-month Fellowship includes:
This is a voluntary opportunity that will require a maximum of 15 days of your time. Commitment to all of the aspects in this programme will prepare you for a range of future career opportunities.
At the end of the six months, you'll receive support and signposting to enable you to take the next steps of your professional journey.
The programme is made up of three main strands, all of which offer training and development opportunities.
This is where our commitment to giving you ownership over our organisation’s direction is shown. Fellows will have the opportunity to design and manage a 4-month project focused on community engagement, relationship building, and improving health and wellbeing in local communities.
The project’s goal is to influence changes in habits and behaviours which currently have an adverse effect on the canal ecology and environment, whilst increasing the level of physical activity that local people engage in, on or near the canals. We encourage you to take the lead and show us how transformative your solutions are.
You will receive training around project planning and management, practical delivery of activities (including safety, risk assessments and leading others) and impact measurement.
We know that with new skills and experiences you will become more effective not just as Fellows, but as professionals in whatever career you pursue.
As part of this programme, we have created a wide range of online and in-person training on topics such as Public Speaking, Leading Teams, Agile Project Management, Design Thinking, Event Management, and much more. Professional mentoring is also offered.
This is not just about you championing the work that we do as an organisation, but also us committing to champion you as a Fellow. You'll have the opportunity to represent the Trust at high profile events and conferences, sharing your own experiences and helping to raise our profile and awareness of our work amongst new audiences.
Through this, you will help transform what we do and become true role models for other young people in your communities, and the wider environmental charity sector. We will recognise this by giving you real responsibility, and profiling and celebrating your role across our media and marketing channels.
As well as helping to raise awareness of the Trust and our work, this exposure will help you to build your professional networks and your personal brand.
Should you be accepted onto the programme, it is worth noting the dates below. We understand that some people may have specific commitments booked well in advance, but ideally we would love Fellows to attend as many of the following:
Last Edited: 07 April 2025
Sign up to our newsletter and discover how we protect canals and help nature thrive
