More than 5000 local young people are set to gain access to new climate action projects designed to grow the skills needed to care for Morecambe Bay and secure local 'green jobs', thanks to a £1.5 million grant from The National Lottery Community Fund.
Thanks to National Lottery players, Lancaster University, Lancaster and Morecambe College, the University of Cumbria and Morecambe Bay Partnership will launch the new 'Our Bay Our Future' (OBOF) project.
The money comes from the Climate Action Fund, a National Lottery Community Fund programme that supports communities across the UK to act on climate change and involve more people in environmental action.
The project builds on the highly successful work of the Morecambe Bay Curriculum, a teacher-led approach to valuing and learning about the locality, environment and sustainability, encouraging and empowering local children and young people to become the change-makers and the innovators the planet needs.
Lancaster University, the lead partner, will work to enable climate action opportunities linked to its cross-sector partnership work on the Morecambe Bay Curriculum, which has already created and delivered more than 40 community-led projects since its inception in 2019.
'Our Bay Our Future' adopts a 'head, heart and hands' approach to learning about and caring for the Bay, which will be evident across the nine exciting new programmes designed to launch in late 2026, early 2027.
All nine programmes are geared towards developing skills, knowledge and values that spark behaviour change and climate action, essentially empowering the 'youth voice' and enabling young people to feel confident creating positive change.
Set against the 'Green Energy Coast' backdrop which will, by 2050, according to the Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub, see Lancashire and Cumbria projected to have the most 'green jobs' outside of London.
Stretching from Barrow to Fleetwood, the project area includes 120 square miles of coastal, rural and urban environments.
Specifically, focussing on young people, the project will:
- Mobilise action, helping care for Morecambe Bay, one of the most biodiverse places in the country, in addressing the effects of climate change
- Develop green skills, knowledge and values, ahead of significant regional green investment
- Grow a cross-bay network of Climate Action Leaders, sustaining long-term regional climate action
The innovative nine programmes, designed with community input, for toddlers to adults, will create a 'ladder of participation' leading from climate awareness to action and leadership.
'Green Connections' works with three to seven-year-olds, their parents and practitioners to connect with nature. 'Green Researchers' encourages youngsters aged 11 and under to investigate environmental issues and present findings to their peers. And the 'Green Futures Award' supports 11 to 16-year-olds to conceive and deliver community-based climate action projects.
The 'Green Passport' works with 16 to 25-year-olds to encourage the exploration of climate action through the lens of career aspirations, creating opportunities to meet industry experts, experience real-world sustainability practices and make green recommendations to business and community organisations.
The 'Green Next Gen Entrepreneur Challenge' supports groups of 16 to 18-year-olds experiencing inequality to create green business ideas (linked to SDGs) and then pitch to sustainability experts. 'Green Leaders' is a leadership programme for 16 to 25-year-olds focusing on empowering the young change-makers our planet needs to undertake community-based climate action.
'Green Action Facilitators' will provide paid work for widening participation students at the University of Cumbria and Lancaster University, including coaching and employability support, while 'Green Working Groups' will build on the MBC Working Group programme, encouraging educators, youth workers, charity workers and concerned citizens to work together to deliver collective actions to solve environmental issues.
The 'Green Fellowship' will be a flagship offering for youth leaders/educators with a drive for creating youth climate action, providing support and funding to create projects with community mentors.
The official launch of the project will take place later this year and will culminate in a significant celebration at the end of the four-year project in 2029.
Morecambe Bay Curriculum Partnership Manager Carys Nelkon, who submitted the bid, said: "We are over the moon to receive the funding from The National Lottery Community Fund.
"OBOF builds on our home-grown Morecambe Bay Curriculum community approach in educating young people to value the environment and sustainability.
"The money will enable us to take this to the next level and transform the awareness that has been built into the action and leadership needed to empower young people for a climate-altered future."
Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University Professor Steve Decent said: "This will be economically vital work, helping deliver the 'Inclusive Growth and 'Net Zero' agenda which rely on our communities developing sustainability knowledge.
"Our Bay Our Future will link Sustainable Development Goals to business and entrepreneurship, empowering young people to imagine, create and lead sustainable solutions."
