our work with young people
Growing creative, ecological and connected young people for a just world
Our work focuses on developing children and young people so that they can reach their full potential, thrive in their own lives, and become agents of positive social and environmental change in the world. Youth leadership and youth social action are intricately woven into our priorities across the organisation.
Our programmes are developed in response to the local and global contexts of young people’s lives, aiming to bring positive experiences in a world of division, climate emergency, loss of biodiversity, social injustices, eco-anxiety and the ever increasing presence of phones and social media.
Our framework of ‘I, We and the Planet’ underpins all our work, highlighting the interconnection between self, others and the earth:
‘I’ - Developing a deeper more connected sense of ‘I’
‘We’ - Creating opportunities for an inclusive and diverse sense of ‘We’ amongst different types of people and the wider natural world
‘Planet’ - Delivering practical hands on projects that make a tangible difference to the ‘Planet’
OUR PROJECTS
Across our different projects, we aim to help young people who grow up in urban environments develop deep, embodied relationships with nature - relationships that shape who they become, how they see the world, and the values they carry into adulthood. Through hands-on, experiential engagement with growing, wildlife, land stewardship and traditional building techniques, Global Generation creates rare opportunities for young people to learn by doing - to work with soil, plants, materials and living systems, rather than simply learning about them. For many, this is their first sustained encounter with nature as something they can care for, shape and belong to - rather than something distant, inaccessible or abstract. This is not about one-off environmental education or exposure. It is about experience, stewardship and belonging. By nurturing relationships between young people and place, we help to seed a generation who care about nature not as an abstract issue, but as something personal and relational, shaping their values, identities and long-term behaviour.
SCHOOLS
We work with all educational settings, from nurseries, primary and secondary schools to colleges and specialist schools, providing ‘out of the classroom’ experiential learning in our gardens for school groups. In these sessions, students develop their creativity, learn new skills and improve their wellbeing through activities such as outdoor nature connection, cooking, ceramics, woodworking, gardening, weaving and more. We can also support schools to set up and maintain gardens in their school grounds, through engaging the students in the learning. Find out more.
Generators
The Generator programme is our flagship after-school youth leadership programme which has been at the heart of Global Generation since we first started. We work with up to 60 young people aged 10-18 on a weekly basis, building their skills, interests, resilience and leadership to address social and environmental issues. Through participating in hands-on and reflective activities, rooted in the natural world, young people become stewards of the Earth and take action to create a more just world.
Fellows
The Fellows is a paid programme for 18-25 year olds. We train them in action research to support the creative documentation and evaluation of our programmes, as well as in co-facilitation. Fellows are often recruited directly from our Generators programme as a progression opportunity. After a training period, Fellows actively contribute to the vision and work of Global Generation through paid opportunities.
Trainees
The traineeship is a paid practical learning programme focused on sustainable design and building, heritage crafts, landscaping and gardening skills, aimed at 18 - 25 year olds. Through a four month programme, trainees work as a team, develop their social and emotional capacities and learn green skills for the future on a live construction site. The final phase is completing in 2026 and we are looking to redesign it based on our learnings and relaunch it.
“Dear future garden, I hope that for 1000 years this will be great and green for all the generations that have not yet come. ”
impact & Outputs
Creativity with nature at its core
We invite young people to engage with nature in a multidisciplinary way, through different ways of knowing. We delve deeply into topical themes that young people respond to creatively through a variety of practices, such as woodwork, crafts, event hosting, storytelling, art, creative writing and photography. Recently, our Paper Garden Generators designed The Big Book of Birds, Bugs, a Bridge and Beyond. This activity book explored the Canada Water Dock and surrounding area and the wildlife that thrived there. Read the digital version
sHARING THEIR VOICES
Reflection is built into all our programmes, from individual freefall writing to theatre performances. We have collaborated with partners like Complicité and Chickenshed to develop theatrical interpretations focused on themes of water and earth. Recently, our junior and senior generators went on a four week programme with Voices Radio to develop, design and produce a collection of podcasts on topics chosen by the generators. Recorded at the Voices Radio studio in Coal Drops Yard, they held a launch event and listening session at the Story Garden in 2025. Listen to the episode.
shaping their physical environment
We call our spaces ‘Gardens of a thousand hands’ because 1,000s of people are involved in the making of them. Our Generators in particular are given even more scope to design physical elements of the built environment. Many have been involved in the community builds of our sites and can point to the brick or piece of wood that they helped to put in place. Recently, Generators in Kings Cross explored the British Library Archives and helped to design, create and build an outdoor planter for the Piazza. Our South London Generators have worked with YesMake! to build a bridge from reclaimed and renewably sourced timber to be installed above the re-designed pond.
Progression and skills Building
We aim to build young people’s skills to support them in accessing future opportunities. Many of our staff members and our Chair of Trustees started their journey with us as Generators, and have progressed to become fellows, trainees, paid members of staff and trustees. Their first hand experiences of our programmes and insights are invaluable in shaping the work we do.
“Our students don’t have this opportunity of coming out into King’s Cross, meeting real businesses and doing activities and trips that help them on their business course without someone like Global Generation. You can teach in a classroom how things work and how businesses interact with each other. But actually going in and meeting people who are doing those jobs and seeing how things operate is massively beneficial.”
Grow within our gardens
From generator to fellow to action researcher to employed facilitator, Cassie is just one member of our staff team who has come up through our programmes. Learn about her journey as well as the range of confidence and skills building activities we organise in and outside of our gardens.
Get in touch
To support our work with young people or collaborate on future programming, speak to the team generate@globalgeneration.org.uk
“Many of the students in our school feel disconnected and resentful of the changes in Southwark. Global Generation is giving them the opportunity to take an active role in creating, moulding and taking ownership of their area and potentially their future.”
