Youth-led biodiversity initiatives are essential to safeguarding our planet’s future — yet many young leaders face major challenges accessing the funding they need to sustain and grow their work.
Whether it’s restoring ecosystems, protecting endangered species, leading community education campaigns, or shaping policy advocacy, young people are at the frontlines of biodiversity action in their communities. But too often, the funding systems meant to support this work are out of reach, difficult to navigate, or simply not designed with youth movements in mind.
That’s why we’ve joined forces with Synchronicity Earth (home of the Chrysalis Youth Fund), the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN), the Global Fund for Children, The Iris Project to better understand how funding flows to youth-led biodiversity initiatives, what barriers exist, and what needs to change to make funding systems fairer, more accessible, and aligned with young people’s leadership and priorities.
🌱 Who is this for?
If you’re a young person or part of a youth-led group working on biodiversity — whether that’s ecosystem restoration, species protection, advocacy, education, or campaigning — and you’ve ever applied for or received external funding, this survey is for you.
We welcome insights from informal collectives, registered organizations, global networks, and grassroots initiatives of all kinds, working at the local, regional, or global level.
📊 About the Survey
📝 Time required: 15–30 minutes
📌 Number of questions: 25 required (multiple choice) + optional extras
🗓️ Deadline: 27 July 2025
Your insights will help map out what funding access looks like today, where the challenges are, and how we can collectively advocate for a funding landscape that better supports youth-led biodiversity work.
💬 Why this matters
''This research centers the lived experiences of youth leaders in biodiversity, transforming their insights into actionable knowledge to improve how funding resources are allocated and decisions made in biodiversity and conservation. It seeks to inform both funders and movements about the current gaps in biodiversity funding and to advocate for a more equitable, responsive, and sustainable philanthropic ecosystem that meaningfully supports youth-led action.''
— Sylvia Gan, Learning Manager at YCJF
🔒 How will responses be used?
Your anonymised responses will feed into a research report, advocacy efforts, and strategy recommendations, which will be shared with funders, youth networks, and other stakeholders working to strengthen resourcing for youth-led biodiversity work.
Data may be shared with our trusted research partners: The Hour is Late, The Iris Project, Synchronicity Earth, GYBN, and Marina Melanidis. It will be handled according to GDPR guidelines, and you can withdraw your consent at any time.
Full details are provided in the survey itself.
📣 How to participate
🌸 Take the survey here
🌸 Share it with your networks — the more voices we hear, the better our collective picture will be.
The survey is also available in Français, Español, and Português via the language dropdown at the top of the survey page.
📬 Questions?
Contact lead research team member Swetha Stotra Bhashyam at swetha@synchronicityearth.org.