Môn Gwyrdd youth forum © Andy O'Callaghan
Meet the Môn Gwyrdd youth forum!
What's the forum all about?
The Môn Gwyrdd youth forum, which began in 2016, is a group of young people aged between 11 and 24 living on Anglesey or in the Bangor area. We are passionate about learning about the environment and helping bring communities on Anglesey together to protect it.
We run monthly sessions focusing on a broad range of subjects from marine to terrestrial conservation, to the nature and climate crisis. You have the chance to:
- Learn about the nature on your doorstep, it’s threats and how you can be part of the solution to help protect it
- Develop conservation skills that will be valuable in the green sector
- Get involved with community work and events we're holding across Anglesey
- Add volunteer experience to your CV!
- Meet other like-minded young people from across Wales through the Stand for Nature Wales project
We recruit all year round! So if this sounds like the right opportunity for you get in touch with our Youth Development Officer: Charlotte.Keen@northwaleswildlifetrust.org.uk to find out more and for the date of our next session.
Môn Gwyrdd youth forum © Andy O'Callaghan
@NWWT_AndyOCallaghan
© NWWT
Mon Gwyrdd forum members about to begin a beach clean © Mon Gwyrdd
© NWWT
Plastoff volunteers with all the rubbish they collected © Mon Gwyrdd
© Megan Parkinson
"I love being able to get out and see new things around Anglesey and North Wales, there's always new things to learn about or do. It's great to see how the forum keeps evolving not knowing what it could become in the future." - Jayke
Meet our forum members!
© Megan Stone Photography
Hi I'm Jayke!...
"I first joined the original forum in 2016 during the Our Wild Coast project, with about 2 hours notice, after our groups rep backed out last minute. I went to that very first forum meeting not knowing what to expect at all or anyone there. There were reps from school groups, scouts, all kinds of different people, and i was from the local LGBT youth group, so we all had different perspectives and aims.
It took quite a while for us all to get to know each other and be a bit less nervous of sharing our ideas and what we wanted to do.
Since then we've done so much, talked to all kinds of people, campaigned and done conservation work and even helped write the funding bid for the current Stand for Nature Wales project, so young people have been involved since before it even began.
The forum members aren't group reps now, but we still all come from very different places and have lots of ideas that we all share and discuss to decide what we want to do, and everyone gets to be involved in the things they like best. We've even done silly things like the climate bake off, which was a great excuse to just eat lots of cake."
© NWWT
Hi, I'm Michelle...
"an I am one of the alumni involved with the project. I had signed up for the first youth conservation ranger traineeship advertised, back in 2018 and, as there wasn't enough people for that traineeship, I was invited to join the Our Wild Coast project. I enjoyed volunteering with other young people so passionate about the wildlife and the environment that I decided to stay on for the Stand for Nature Wales project and here we are (also, yes I did get to do the youth conservation traineeship eventually, it was amazing)!
One of the things I love about being in the forum is that it has allowed me to get a lot of conservation experience I may have not gotten, due to having a eye condition that affects my eyesight immensely. I enjoy taking walks in nature and spotting the different animals out there in North Wales. I hoped that with my time volunteering with nature, I will be able to get a nature based job in the future.
I also will soon be finishing my MSc Research studying primates. I love primates, especially lemurs. I also enjoy reading, writing, and drawing, and I am currently attempted to turn a short story I wrote into a short illustrated book for the Stand For Nature Project (Clyde the Crabby Shorecrab)."
Snorkelling © NWWT
My name is Isobel...
"and I was part of the Ocean Rescue Champions project, and got involved with the Môn Gwyrdd youth forum through that. I am very passionate about caring for our planet, especially stopping climate change in order to protect all the wildlife, land, ocean and people around the world. Therefore, I joined this project to take more action!
My favourite things about the youth forum are being able to help the environment locally and on a larger scale, and meeting great new people! With the project, I hope to get opportunities to create visible change in my area and around the world, and to support local projects working hard to do the same. The NWWT has given me fantastic opportunities so far, even learning to snorkel, and I can’t wait for more to come! "
© Andy O'Callaghan
Hello, I’m Amber...
"and I am part of the Môn Gwyrdd youth forum, Stand For Nature Wales. I came about this project through discussing the volunteer opportunities with the Youth Forum (YF) with current members, and as I have a passion for nature and all things wild, I took the opportunity to join this dynamic youth conservation group. What I love about the YF project is that anyone can get involved in acting towards rejuvenating and conserving nature, and there is so much opportunity to learn new skills, meet new like-minded people and develop your self-confidence when involved with the YF.
My favourite thing about nature and being outdoors is the freedom, and the feeling of being connected to something bigger than yourself; we are a part of a diverse community of organisms all interacting in some way. While part of the forum, I am eager to get involved with helping to protect wildlife by participating in beach cleans, nature blogging, contributing to wildlife surveys, getting involved in peaceful protests, and participating in habitat management projects."
© Andy O'Callaghan
Hi, I’m Daniel...
"a member of the Môn Gwyrdd youth forum. I got involved with this project through the summer traineeship offered as part of the Stand For Nature Wales project during a summer I spent in Bangor as an undergraduate student. Being part of the youth forum allows me to have access to opportunities to expand my knowledge, meet new people, and gain new interests, as well as take part in activities such as beach cleans.
I enjoy being involved with nature as it provides fundamental space for hobbies such as walking, as well as the fact that there is always something more for me to learn and explore. As part of the youth forum I hope to expand my employability options for after I graduate from Bangor university and to just keep on learning about nature."
