Deadline: July 28, 2024
Are you a young person dreaming of a world where people and landscapes thrive? The Global Landscapes Forum is now accepting applications for the 2025 Restoration Stewards program, and this is a chance to turn your dreams into action.
The Restoration Stewards program is a youth program rooted in care, landscape leadership, diversity, intersectionality and intergenerational equity. Launched in 2020 by the Global Landscapes Forum and the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, it aims to support the efforts of youth-led teams in holistically restoring their landscapes and seascapes while nurturing biocultural diversity.
The program has four main pillars: funding, learning opportunities, mentorship and spotlighting at global events. Restoration Stewards and their teams are supported for one year to further develop their vision, deepen their impact and become ambassadors for restoration at global and local levels.
Benefits
The selected Restoration Stewards will receive mentorship from experts, as well as opportunities for professional and project development. They will also receive a grant of EUR 5,000 to further develop their restoration project while meeting the following objectives:
- Set project-specific targets to be reached by the end of the year, with guidance from the mentors and GLF experts;
- Seek and carry out training activities to deepen the understanding of the landscape approach and other relevant topics;
- Run a minimum of one event to engage local communities;
- Coordinate with the GLF team to promote their project via social media
- Produce articles and other content for GLF platforms to deliver progress updates and showcase inspiring stories from their local landscape ;
- Meet with the GLF team and the mentors on a regular basis to discuss the project’s progress.
Eligibility
Apply if you are:
- A young, ambitious restoration practitioner between the ages of 18 and 35.
- Leading or part of a youth-led and youth-driven team.
- Working on an ecosystem restoration project for oceans, wetlands, peatlands, mountains, forests, drylands or rangelands.
Please note that:
- You do not have to create a new project from scratch to be eligible; candidates are invited to build on restoration programs or projects that are already running.
- It would be beneficial if at least one person in your team is proficient in English, as many of the activities and opportunities provided through the program are currently in English.
Application
Project selection is a competitive process, and as such, the application will require some preparation. Be sure to build an application that showcases the work you are carrying out in the best way possible.
When applying, you will be asked the following questions.
About you:
- What experience do you have related to restoration? (200 words).
- Prepare a one-minute video of yourself telling them why you would like to become a Restoration Steward. Share the video as a post on your social media or use an unlisted YouTube or Google Drive link. Make sure to add the link to your video in the application.
About your project:
- Make sure you have a name for your project.
- Describe the landscape you are restoring including its current state, the main drivers of degradation and why you are working on it. (200 words)
- Describe your project, clearly specifying your objectives and related activities. Also explain how your project aims to restore the landscape through a landscape approach and how it aims to bring positive change for local people. (400 words)
- Explain where you see your project in a year after completing the program. (200 words)
- Prepare a one-page PDF or Word document with a clear breakdown of how you intend to use the EUR 5,000 seed funding.
- Attach a photo of your project area.
For more information, visit Restoration Stewards Program.
