Opening doors: creating opportunities for the next generation of ecologists

What does it take to get your first opportunity in the environmental sector?

A degree or apprenticeship, countless hours of volunteering, a driving licence, a connection and a sprinkling of luck seem to be common ingredients. But what if one or many of these ingredients are not accessible to you?  

In the summer of 2026, we opened applications for two paid ecology traineeships for 18-30 year olds on the Coast to Coast Path National Trail. We wanted to offer young people the chance to gain practical experience as part of our Nature Recovery Programme and start to address some of the barriers that prevent some from accessing the sector.

Why create an ecology traineeship?

For NTUK’s Nature Recovery Programme Manager Hannah Brightley, the idea for the traineeship came from seeing how difficult it can be for talented young people to get their first opportunity in ecology.

“After a recruitment cycle, I realised there were many talented and passionate young people looking to get their foot in the door of the environmental sector, with the only thing holding them back being related work-place experience. And that was before even thinking what it took some of those young people to get those qualifications, volunteer experience and skills in the first place.”

In addition, a recent report from the Department for Work & Pensions states “nearly one million young people aged 16 to 24 in the United Kingdom are not in education, employment or training. One in 8 young people. And rising”.  And in a 2017 Policy Exchange report, the environment sector was ranked as the second least ethnically diverse in the UK.

The traineeship offered a practical opportunity to respond to these challenges, while exploring how National Trails UK could support more people to develop skills and experience in ecology.

It was part of NTUK’s Nature Recovery Programme, which is supporting three National Trails, the Cotswold Way, The Ridgeway and the Coast to Coast Path to better understand the habitats along their corridors and identify opportunities for nature recovery.

With funding from Defra via the Protected Landscapes Partnership, the pilots are testing NTUK’s recently published habitat baselining guide produced by Plantlife. The work will help trail teams and partners understand the habitats along their routes, identify opportunities for restoration and creation, and develop shared action plans for future delivery.

NTUK is at the beginning of its own journey in this area and the pilots offered a unique opportunity to explore how we could support more opportunities for young people to develop skills and experience in ecology.

Creating the traineeship

With support from colleagues in the Protected Landscapes Partnership, we created a call-out for a five-day paid ecology trainee opportunity supporting the Coast to Coast Path Habitat Survey pilot.

We were looking for two people aged 18-30 with a passion to learn more about ecology or develop their skills. We were particularly interested in supporting people from diverse backgrounds or communities underrepresented in the environmental sector, and applicants based within reasonable travel distance of the study area.

You didn’t need a university degree or previous training in ecology to apply. We were looking for people with a desire to learn.

To try and address financial and transport barriers, the traineeship offered a £600 grant, travel and lunch expenses. We also wanted to support trainees with gaining their next role and provided a reference letter from NTUK and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

The response was far greater than we expected.

232 applications, two traineeships

We received 232 applications, from across the UK and internationally. The majority of applicants were aged 21–24.

Applicants brought a wide range of experiences. Some had qualifications in ecology, environmental science or related subjects, alongside substantial volunteering experience, but had struggled to secure their first paid role.

Others had not had the opportunity to gain formal qualification or been able to take part in volunteering, but were keen to develop their skills and find a way into the sector.

We could see the value of this opportunity for many of the applicants. But we only had two places available.

We were delighted to award the traineeships to Evie and Talia, who both clearly described their experience to date and how the opportunity would support them in taking their next step into the sector.

“When I saw this experience advertised on Environmental Jobs, I really did think it was just way too good to be true.” Talia

“During my studies, financial commitments and the need to work alongside my degree made it difficult to find time to take part in unpaid volunteering. Therefore, having the opportunity to gain paid, hands-on experience in ecological surveying was a huge help to develop my skills.”  - Evie

Learning from ecologists on the Coast to Coast Path National Trail

For Evie and Talia, the traineeship provided a chance to see how ecology works in practice. They spent one day training with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, followed by four days shadowing ecologists as they surveyed the newly designated Coast to Coast Path between the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Parks.

“We learned about UKHAB, BNG and how to carry out a habitat condition assessment. As a complete beginner, this was great and I learned so much on this day" - Talia

"We then took our training into the field, assisting ecologists from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust with identifying habitats using the UK Hab guide and conducting condition assessments along the Coast-to-Coast Path. The days were long and tiring but were worth every minute. The scenery across the North York Moors was stunning, and the ecologists were extremely knowledgeable and eager to answer our questions. Being able to shadow and assist ecologists on a real project, while gaining hands-on experience with UK Hab surveys and condition assessments, was extremely valuable and greatly increased my confidence. " Evie

The experience also offered an opportunity to see the range of people and organisations involved in caring for the National Trails and the landscapes they pass through.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust supported the trainees throughout their time in the field.

Gabrielle Cruttenden, Nature Based Solutions Lead at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said “It was wonderful to have Evie and Talia contribute to the project, and they approached all tasks with a conscientious and proactive attitude. Having trainees in projects like this enables us to provide valuable field experience for the next generation of conservation professionals, as developing practical ecological skills and supporting career development is an important part of building capacity for future nature recovery.”

Exploring careers in the environmental sector

The traineeship did not end in the field.

Following the surveying, Evie and Talia took part in a workshop with professionals working across the environmental sector.

The workshop gave the trainees an opportunity to hear about different career routes, learn from people already working in the sector and ask questions about their own next steps.

“As someone without a degree, I'm extremely grateful for this because it has meant I've been able to have conversations with people in the field of work I'm interested in, and really find out ways that I can try make myself stand out when applying to these roles". Talia

Thoughts on National Trails

"It was also so crazy to see how nature-dense certain areas of the trails were despite being so close to main roads or urban villages, and I really do feel like that just shows how incredibly important National trails really are. Not only are they absolutely fantastic for nature, obviously, but also just for people, too." - Talia

“Walking along the Coast to Coast Path, I saw firsthand the unique opportunity that National Trails have to act as corridors for nature as well as people. As the trails pass through a variety of habitats, I could see how protecting and restoring these areas not only improves the scenery for people but also helps connect vital ecosystems, allowing wildlife to move between them.” - Evie

What we learned

This was NTUK’s first step towards creating opportunities for young people, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, to gain experience in the environmental sector.

We learned a great deal from the process, including where there is scope to improve to deliver a similar initiative in 2027, this included:

Make the opportunity accessible

Offering written, video and audio applications gave applicants different ways to tell us about their experience and interest.

We would look to continue offering a choice of application formats in future.

Be clear about the experience required

The applications showed us that people can arrive at an opportunity with very different backgrounds and levels of experience.

Some applicants had formal qualifications and substantial volunteering experience, while others were looking for their first opportunity to develop practical skills.

It was difficult to prioritise one group over the other as we could see this opportunity supporting both. For future opportunities, we think there could be value in creating separate opportunities, or a dedicated fund, for people with different levels of prior experience and education.

Design application questions carefully

The application process also prompted reflection on how we ask people to describe their experiences, especially those who identify as being from an underrepresented group in the environmental sector.

The panel was aware that some questions could put applicants in a vulnerable position, particularly where they might feel encouraged to share personal information that wasn’t necessary to assess their suitability.

In future, we would look to make the criteria more specific and use required questions to help applicants understand what information is needed.

Dedicated trainee days

Whilst one day of office based training was dedicated to the trainees, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust recommended also having dedicated field-based survey training days as well. This would ensure dedicated time for teaching and separate dedicated time for completing the wider surveying work. Which we will look to build into future contracts with our ecology delivery partners.

Think about timing

Offering the traineeship during the summer holidays appeared to work well.

What next?

The response to this traineeship showed us how much interest there is in gaining practical experience in the environmental sector.

We want to explore how National Trails UK can build on this first step, working with partners and funders to create more opportunities for people to develop skills and experience in nature recovery.

If you are already supporting people into the environmental sector, or would like to collaborate on future opportunities, we would love to hear from you.

Please get in touch with Hannah Brightley, Nature Recovery Programme Manager, at hannah@nationaltrails.uk.

Thank you to the following people who helped make this traineeship possible:

Kate Conway, Saskia Luqmani, Craig Grimes, Rob Coates, Gabrielle Cruttenden, Joe Bodycote, Michelle Griffiths, Rebecca Cadbury-Simmons, Rosie Sanderson, Victoria Handby, Andrew Carter and Sarah Bird.

All photos copyright Lilia Tyreman

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