Youth Council

Who we are

The Youth Council is a group of young people aged between 13 and 25 who live across Lancashire, Manchester, and North Merseyside. They are volunteers who are dedicated to improving the Trust and it’s offering for young people.

This includes helping to tailor the campaign calendar, giving input on the marketing plan, creating events and volunteering opportunities specifically for under 25’s and so much more.

The Youth Council are passionate about protecting the local environment, inspiring other young people to take action and to create positive change across the region and beyond.

What we have achieved

What the current Youth Council have achieved so far:

Attended a Dirtworks session that included fire building and roasting marshmallows
Pulled ragwort at Brockholes Nature Reserve
Created activities including making a bird feeder, a bird song quiz and creating a pledge tree
Planned and manned a sucessfull stall at Manchester Festival of Nature
Helped to organise a Parlimentry event taking place in October 2023
Handed in a open letting to Downing Street regarding HS2
Written to DEFRA in support of a peatland project

Meet our 2026 Youth Council

Lauren - Lancashire-based ecologist and invertebrate lover

Lauren is a Lancashire based graduate ecologist working at Bowan Ecology. She studied Zoology at Myerscough College which she loved and is passionate about advocating for the importance of youth input in conservation.

Lauren joined the youth council as she is keen to make a difference by increasing accessibility and organising events to encourage and empower young people to access more nature related opportunities. She strongly believes the Youth Council is a strong asset to the trust as it provides an important platform for youth voice and that the Youth Council is something Lancashire Wildlife Trust can be proud of.

Lauren has many interests she would love to explore within the trust including policy and advocacy, Biodiversity Net Gain, further developing her knowledge of the wonderful world of insects and getting involved with reintroduction projects.

Her favourite animal is the incredible hen harrier and she very relatably shed a tear after her first sighting of one in the wild."

Tammy - the moth-trapping, pigeon-rescuing Youth Council member

Tammy Winters (She/her) is a 25-year-old youth council Member from Skelmersdale. She is currently a BSc wildlife conservation student at Liverpool John Moores University. Tammy originally joined the Youth Council to be involved in conservation outside of physical and scientific work by connecting with people in their communities. She believes that the Youth Council is important for providing necessary conservation education to the younger generations, as older generations can only get so far in reaching and engaging to our generation.

Outside of the Youth Council, Tammy is a committee member of the Friends of Tawd Valley in Skelmersdale, where they monitor the River Tawd. She enjoyed this because Tammy enjoys being able to splash about wherever she can in habitats such as rivers and in streams. Tammy also volunteers by travelling around with her moth trap and conducting moth night trapping surveys whenever she gets the opportunity to.

Tammy’s favourite species is the feral pigeon (Columba livia domestica) because pigeons are intelligent, neglected and overall underrated birds. She finds species that are underrated easier to connect to because she can relate to them being ostracised by people, as she identifies as queer. Therefore, Tammy is part of a pigeon rescue group that rescues injured pigeons and takes them for appropriate medical care.

If you need late-night moth surveys or have a pigeon in need of rescuing, then Tammy is your girl!

Lilia - Bangor based ecology enthusiast and youth advocate

Lilia is from Liverpool but currently based in Bangor while at university studying Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. She is currently in her second year of full-time study and is thoroughly enjoying her course. Due to full time study, Lilia does not yet work, however she wants to work in conservation.

Lilia wanted to join the youth council to be involved in nature conservation and volunteer. Growing up in Liverpool, Lilia found the only opportunities to work outdoors were with local friends' groups in parks. Lilia was unaware of the opportunities available to young people in the environmental sector before joining the youth council. She felt she wanted to meet like-minded young people to share ideas and forge friendships.

Lilia feels that the youth council can make a difference to the Lancashire Wildlife Trust by providing youth voice to a charity which has an older demographic. Lilia hopes that the youth council can act as a bridge between LWT and young people in the wider area and wants to share the message of hope for the future.

Lilia’s favourite species is an octopus as she is interested in their high-level intelligence and ability to change colour.

Miri - using paleobiology to help inform a better future

My name is Miri and I'm a 3rd year undergraduate studying Palaeobiology at the University of Manchester. In my degree I learn a lot about the diversity of life on earth and how it evolved.

I am passionate about combining this knowledge with an understanding of current ecosystems, and using the past to see how biodiversity can be protected in the modern day. I thought that the youth council would be a great opportunity to make a difference in practical conservation, meet like minded people and learn more about the subject.

The youth council is a very important part of the trust, as we are able to provide an insight into the experiences of young people, especially with what motivates and prevents participation in events. This means we can help to break down barriers and try to get more young people involved eith the trust and engaging in nature.

Amy - Environmental Management student looking to share youth voice and advocate for LWT

Amy is from Chorley, currently living in Lancaster while studying her master's degree in environmental management. She completed her undergraduate degree in earth and environmental sciences, also at Lancaster University, in July.

She joined the youth council to gain experience volunteering and working as part of the Lancashire Wildlife trust team. She's had a passion for nature since high school and wanted to get more involved in conservation efforts and campaigning. She hoped to get more involved in providing youth voice in discussions, to meet other young people with similar interests and to gain experience of how large environmental organisations work.

Amy feels that the youth council can make a difference to the trust by bringing youth voice to discussions and events, ensuring young people are heard and helping the trust to gauge both youth interests and passions for their numerous campaigns and events.

In her spare time Amy is a keen nature photographer and can often be found hiking, climbing or running. Her favourite animal is the red squirrel'

Izzy -Woodland restoration in the Lake District - the best way to learn about conservation.

After studying philosophy, psychology and art at Runshaw College, Izzy took a couple of years off to fully decide on what to do at university. During this time, her uncle invited her to help out at his farm in the Lake District, with the promise of cute dogs. Izzy was there for 9 months, helping to restore a forestry plantation to its natural woodland state, along with other projects.

This inspired her to study ecology conservation at Keele University, which is approximately 60 miles away from her usual home in Wheelton, Chorley. Now in her second year, she says Keele appealed to her as it offered the most optional modules and she had heard great reviews from others.

The youth council initially piqued her interest when she read about it in an email and realised she wanted to get more involved in the Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

She is 22 years old and has been a member of the council for two years now, which definitely shows her commitment and love for nature. On top of that, Izzy fills her free time with outdoor activities like bouldering (a form of rock climbing that involves climbing short walls or boulders without ropes). She also has a summer job in landscape recovery, which she thoroughly enjoys, regardless of the task she's given. This presents her with exciting opportunities for a future career.

Jemma - badminton loving biologist, pursuing natural sciences, gaining all the experience she can.

Jemma is a lifelong Prestonian, and at 17 years old is the youngest member of our current Youth Council. It is her first year on the Youth Council and alongside studying for her A-levels in Chemistry, Biology and Geography and her part-time work on a food truck (alongside her sister) it is shaping up to be a busy year.

Once completing her A-levels Jemma is planning to study a Degree in Natural Sciences- a path which she decided upon after her summer spent gaining work experience on the Knepp Estate- a monumental rewilding project in Sussex.

Jemma’s involvement in the Lancashire Wildlife Trusts Youth Council is driven by her desire to gain all the experience and knowledge she can of the wildlife sector, and to be sure in her decision to follow a career path within this. Outside of school, work, and her interest in wildlife Jemma is a keen badminton player and is looking forward to pursuing this hobby at whichever university she ends up at next year.

Monty - Bird expert adding his knowledge to the Youth Council team

My big thing is birding! My favourite bird is the Kingfisher - it’s such a bright and tropical creature shouldn't be found in Britain! I have been an active Lunt Meadows volunteer for the past three years, and I did my year 10 work experience with LWT at the Seaforth reserve, where I helped with a Tern bird survey.

I’ve also spent a week over the summer on the Isle of Arran doing conservation, from which the highlights were assisting with the reforestation efforts in Glen Rosa, and a wild flower survey on Goat Fell – where I learnt that there are three species of heather!