Nature Scot - Future Routes Fund 2024

Do you have a big idea to help young people connect with nature and take positive action for biodiversity and the climate? The Future Routes Fund is now open for applications.

The Future Routes Fund is for young people, by young people. The fund supports projects run by 11-26-year-olds and aims to help young people improve their local environment, provide more opportunities for them to connect with nature, increase their knowledge and understanding of Scottish biodiversity, and empower them to take positive action for nature and the climate.

Any individuals or teams (2+) of young people, living anywhere in Scotland, who are aged between 11-26 can apply.

• An individual can apply for £500 to £2000.
• A team (2+) can apply for £1000 to £5000.

How do I apply?

This fund is designed to be applied for by young people themselves. Please read the Guidance before submitting your Idea - this guide will tell you everything you need to know about applying. You will also find the Idea Submission form on this page.

Please email futureroutesfund@nature.scot - If you have any questions or need these in a different format or language, or if you have any other support needs.

Key Dates

Idea Submission Deadline – 19 June 2024

• If you would like to submit an idea for Future Routes funding, you will need to complete an Idea Submission form by 19 June 2024.

Decisions – 10 July 2024

• Your submission will be assessed by a decision-making panel made up of young people and NatureScot. They will decide which ideas receive funding and you will hear back from them before the 10 July 2024.

Make your Idea a Reality! - By end of November 2024

• Successful projects will need to be delivered by the 30 November 2024

Join the panel of young assessors

NatureScot is recruiting young people to join the panel of assessors to look over applications and decide which projects to fund. Please email futureroutesfund@nature.scot before 3 June with an expression of interest for more information or if you have any questions.

More about the fund

The Future Routes Fund was created by Scotland's youth biodiversity panel, ReRoute. The young people on the ReRoute panel developed the aims, outcomes and criteria for fund in collaboration with NatureScot and YoungScot

They designed it to be for the benefit of young people, easy to apply for, and they worked hard to encourage submissions from a wide range of young people, regardless of their level of interest in nature.

The Future Routes Fund was launched in 2018 as part of Scotland’s Year of Young People, with £100,000 available over five years for young people to deliver activities, projects and ideas which engage people with nature. Unfortunately, due to Covid, there was a bit of a break in the fund, however it is now back and ready to help young people take action!

If you would like to promote the Future Routes Fund to your network and require a communications pack, please email futureroutesfund@nature.scot

Recipients of the previous round of Future Routes funding are:

• The Vennie Community Garden
• Indi Youth
• Kinlochbervie High School
• Eat, Sleep, Ride CIC
• 5th Giffnock Guides
• Nature 4 Wellbeing Sake
• SiMY Community Development
• Cairngorms National Park Junior Project
• Renfrewshire Nature’s Guardians

Any questions about this fund? Please email NatureScot at futureroutesfund@nature.scot