Youth Ocean Action Fund

Removing barriers for the next generation of ocean advocates. 

Individual Grant

The Individual Grant will support you with skills development, capacity building or training opportunities related to marine advocacy. This might include event ticket or transport costs, equipment costs, training courses, costs incurred as part of volunteering, or other accessibility needs etc.  

All activities must be conducted in Scotland. 

Applications will be open all year, with funding allocated in different seasonal rounds. Applications for the 2025 Summer Round are currently open.

£25 to £150 available!

Ideas and inspo

  • Example: Seasearch training course

    This one-day course develops your skills in marine species identification and teaches you how to record your observations and contribute to a nationwide citizen-science project. The techniques learnt can be used for shore surveys, snorkel surveys or dive surveys and the course includes a handy field guide to help with species ID.  See details here.

    Cost: Course fee £80-85  

  • Example: Snorkel Taster Session

    These sessions with COAST are perfect for anyone who’s not snorkelled before or wants to build their skills and confidence in the water, whilst getting a taste of some of the amazing marine life Arran has to offer. See details here.

    Cost: Course fee £35, Travel to Arran ~£30, Accommodation ~£50, Total £115

  • Example: Travel to Sea Scotland 2025

    Sea Scotland is a fantastic event for anyone wanting to get into the world of marine policy and advocacy, an invaluable opportunity for networking and a chance to get to grips with a conference type set-up, all in a supportive environment with other young people. See details here.

    Cost: variable, i.e. Travel from Oban to Edinburgh £30, Accommodation £50,

    Total ~£80

  • Example: Mini Artists' Residency

    Residencies are (usually) short periods of time where artists can develop their creative practice or work on specific projects in a dedicated and inspirational space. You could use the fund to organise a self-directed residency to work on your ocean artwork - whatever that means to you!

    Cost: Accommodation in coastal bothy £50, Travel £50, materials £50, Total: £150

Timeline & Deadlines

Individual Grants

Applications are open year-round, with funding allocated quarterly (four times per year). You may apply for up to two grants per year, though priority will be given to those who have not previously received funding from us. Please note that funds must be spent within three months of receiving the grant.

2025 deadlines:

Spring round – closes 26th May 9am 

Summer round – closes 11th August 9am - open now!

Autumn round – closes 10th November 9am 

Applications will be assessed within 2 weeks at the end of each round.

How to apply

All applications should be submitted via an online form, which will ask for details about what you’re applying to spend money on. There are also options in the form to apply via video application or other method if you prefer. Any questions regarding the application process or any access needs can be directed towards contact@youthforseas.org and we’ll make sure you’re supported to apply. 

Applications for the Summer Round are now open

✺ Frequently asked questions ✺

  • We are welcoming applications with a very open brief for the first year. If you have questions or want to talk through your idea more, please attend one of our online Q&A sessions or get in touch at contact@youthforseas.org. 

  • All applications will be assessed anonymously to help minimise unconscious bias. Each application will be reviewed by at least two members of the YSCS team to ensure a fair and balanced decision-making process.

    We will use the following criteria: 

    • Is the request relevant to our funding priorities? (e.g. marine advocacy or accessing a marine-related opportunity)

    • Is the request realistic for the level of funding available?

    • What is the potential personal or wider impact of this opportunity? (e.g. in terms of skills or capacity to engage with future ocean action)

  • If your application isn’t successful, you’re welcome to reapply in the next application round.

  • You will have three months from the date you receive the funds to spend them. The exact deadline will be outlined in your grant agreement.

  • We collect equal opportunities information (i.e. questions on race, class, gender, disability etc) for everything we do, so we can understand how accessible, inclusive and diverse our activities are, and make sure we’re engaging with young people from all backgrounds.  

    For the Ocean Action Fund, we will collect this data in your application form, however it will be separated from your application for review. We will follow our data Privacy Policy and all information will be kept confidential. 

  • All applications will be assessed on merit and alignment with the criteria above. If two applications have the same number of points, we may award an additional point to applicants from underrepresented backgrounds / identities (see above).  This is called ‘positive action’. 

    This is because these groups are currently underrepresented in the marine sector and YSCS in general, and we want to address these inequalities as best we can.  

  • You’ll need to provide evidence of all your expenses, equal to the sum of money you applied for/received. This will be set out in our Grant Agreement but will most likely be receipts and invoices – so remember to keep all your documents! 

  • We would love to hear how you used the money and what impact it had on you, your community or the ocean. We will invite all recipients to contribute a blog or social media post, presentation or something else to share their experience and help promote the fund for next year.