2026 RESTORATION STEWARDS PROGRAM

Applications open until Sunday, 29 June 2025, 23h59 CEST (UTC+2)

Are you a young person dreaming of a world where people and landscapes thrive?

We’re now accepting applications for the 2026 Restoration Stewards program, and this is a chance to turn your dreams into action.

WHAT IS THE PROGRAM ABOUT?

The Restoration Stewards program is a youth program rooted in care, landscape leadership, diversity, intersectionality and intergenerational equity. Launched in 2020 by the Global Landscapes Forum and the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, it aims to support the efforts of youth-led teams in holistically restoring their landscapes and seascapes while nurturing biocultural diversity. The program has four main pillars: funding, capacity development, mentorship and spotlighting at global events. Restoration Stewards and their teams are supported for one year to further develop their vision, deepen their impact and become ambassadors for restoration at global and local levels.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

The selected Restoration Stewards will receive mentorship from experts, as well as opportunities for professional and project development. They will also receive a grant of EUR 5,000 to further develop their restoration project while meeting the following objectives:

Set project-specific targets to be reached by the end of the year, with guidance from the mentors and GLF experts;
Seek and carry out training activities to deepen the understanding of the landscape approach and other relevant topics;
Run a minimum of one event to engage local communities;
Coordinate with the GLF team to promote their project via social media
Produce articles and other content for GLF platforms to deliver progress updates and showcase inspiring stories from their local landscape ;
Meet with the GLF team and the mentors on a regular basis to discuss the project’s progress.

The program will consider applications from anyone between the ages of 18 and 35 who is leading or working on a youth-led restoration project in any of the following ecosystems: forest, mountains, oceans, wetlands, peatlands, drylands or rangelands. Applicants must understand and be willing to adhere to and model the GLF vision, pillars and values.

Priority will be given to projects that:

Are led by a young person or a group of young people (aged 18 to 35) who are either local, Indigenous, or nationals of African, Asian, Latin American or Caribbean countries and are running projects in these regions;
Have been running for a minimum of six months.

Please note that:

You do not have to create a new project from scratch to be eligible; candidates are invited to build on restoration programs or projects that are already running.
It would be beneficial if at least one person in your team is proficient in English, as many of the activities and opportunities provided through the program are currently in English.

The GLF and YIL would especially like to encourage young women, Indigenous youth, rural youth and other underrepresented groups and identities to apply for this program.

Project selection is a competitive process, and as such, the application will require some preparation. Be sure to build an application that showcases the work you are carrying out in the best way possible.

When applying, you will be asked the following questions.

About you:

What experience do you have related to restoration? (200 words).
Prepare a one-minute video of yourself telling us why you would like to become a Restoration Steward. Share the video as a post on your social media, or use an unlisted YouTube or Google Drive link. Please make sure to add the link to your video in the application.

About your project:

Make sure you have a name for your project.
Describe the landscape you are restoring including its current state, the main drivers of degradation and why you are working on it. (200 words)
Describe your project, clearly specifying your objectives and related activities. Please also explain how your project aims to restore the landscape through a landscape approach and how it aims to bring positive change for local people. (400 words)
Explain where you see your project in a year after completing the program. (200 words)
Prepare a one-page PDF or Word document with a clear breakdown of how you intend to use the EUR 5,000 seed funding.
Attach a photo of your project area.

We will acknowledge all submissions but will only contact a shortlist of applicants later in the application process. The evaluators’ decisions will be final.