A canalside location, a heron sits on the water and last year's group smiling in Edinburgh

  • When:

    (7) Virtual meetings will take place on the below dates:

    • 08 February 2027 (Intro Call) 18:00-19:00
    • 22 February 2027 18:00-20:00
    • 08 March 2027 18:00-20:00
    • 05 April 2027 18:00-20:00
    • 19 April 2027 18:00-20:00
    • 10 May 2027 18:00-20:00
    • Virtual meeting TBC

    London Residential: 20-21 March 2027

    London Residential: 12-13 June 2027

  • Who: 18 to 29 years

  • Location: Virtual and in-person meet ups

  • Cost: £100 per person

  • Closing date: Monday 18 January 2027

Leadership Skills Foundation

It’s time to turn your passion for the environment into leadership and take part in the Environmental Leadership Programme with VICTA.

This group of Environmental Leaders will get the opportunity to work alongside the Canal and Rivers Trust at a Site of Special Scientific Interest.  The Canal and Rivers Trust have asked for our support in helping connect others with the waterways and the space. We will be assessing a section of the network and evaluating its accessibility. This project could have a profound effect on the way vision impaired individuals are able to access the canal network across the UK; if the trust finds the adjustments suggested impactful, they could be rolled out across the entire canal network throughout the UK. This a fantastic opportunity to take part in hands-on activities directly contributing to the betterment of the area.

If you’re ready to take control of your time, your goals, and your future; this six-month programme is designed specifically for students who want to gain real-world skills in project management through a dynamic, hands-on experience. With a mix of in-person and virtual sessions (which includes 2 separate 1-night residentials in London), you’ll learn how to stay organised, manage deadlines, and lead successful group projects driven by you – all while building confidence and collaboration skills that will set you apart.

The residentials are designed to bring the project to life and provide opportunities for research and stakeholder engagement, all while creating lasting relationships with likeminded peers. The project will support educational awareness for environmental organisations. The project management element of this course will have each leader taking on a defined role; each of you will be contributing to bring the project to life.

VICTA has teamed up with the Leadership Skills Foundation (LSF) to deliver their Environmental Leadership Programme. Developed by LSF alongside the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the programme supports young adults like you to develop the skills they need to make positive change for the natural world. Upon completion, learners will earn an accredited Level 3 qualification in leading a project for positive change, and 8 UCAS points.

Why apply?

  • A great opportunity to meet other like-minded young people with a vision impairment
  • Grow in confidence
  • Increase your independence skills
  • Improve your teamwork skills
  • Instil life skills and reinforce independent travel
  • Help create a project for positive change
  • Stand out on your application for university or include on your CV
  • Earn 8 UCAS points (A level equivalent)
  • Create exciting new memories.

Who can apply?

Applicants must be:

  • Registered or registrable as blind or partially sighted
  • At least 18 years old on Monday 8 February 2027
  • Able to take medication independently (if applicable)
  • Able to communicate their needs independently
  • Looking to take on a new challenge
  • Must be able to commit yourself and your time to the programme.

Apply below:

Note for applicants completing this form
After completion, if you have successfully submitted the form, you should receive a successful submission message. If you do not it may be because you have not completed a required field. After your form has successfully gone through you will also receive notification via email. If you do not receive an email please contact the office on 01908 240 831 as there may have been a problem with your application.

Applicant details

Confirmation of vision impairment

To qualify for this activity the lead applicant (your VI child) must be either registered or registerable as blind or partially sighted (sight impaired/severely sight impaired). VICTA will ask for supporting evidence post application if we have not previously received it.

Contact details

Independence skills

Please indicate your level of independence in the following areas by selecting your response and giving details if the assistance is required.
In order to ensure that activities are adequately staffed we need full and accurate information about all participants. Please note we reserve the right to refuse admission to the activity or ask a participant to leave the activity if the information given proves inaccurate or the conduct of the participant reaches an unacceptable level.

General information

The overall theme of this activity is about having fun, but we would like you to gain confidence and develop life skills through a programme of leisure, cultural and social activities. To help us plan our activities and staffing levels please describe your ability in the following areas:

Please rate yourself from 1-5 in the following competencies:

Photographs and filming

Declaration, privacy and consent

To be signed by the applicant or a responsible person. This form has been completed accurately and I undertake to update VICTA should any of the information in this form change.
a. I agree to/for my child to take part in VICTA's activity and have read all the information sent to me.
b. I acknowledge the need to/for my child to behave responsibly at all times during the activity.
c. I confirm that this form has been completed accurately and I undertake to update VICTA's organisers should any information contained on the form or personal circumstances change.
d. In the event of an emergency/accident, I consent to emergency medical treatment, which may include the use of anaesthetics.
e. In order to ensure that activities are adequately staffed we need full and accurate information about all participants. Please note we reserve the right to refuse admission to the activity or ask a participant to leave the activity if the information given proves inaccurate or the conduct of the participant reaches an unacceptable level.
f. Whatsapp is a great tool that can be used to communicate activity information and help facilitate social interactions. From time to time, VICTA facilitates Whatsapp groups for 18+ participants who have given consent to do so to get to know one another before an activity. While VICTA facilitates these opportunities, they are not monitored and therefore your behaviour and language used on Whatsapp must match the expectations we have of you when we meet in person – polite, courteous, and inclusive at all times. If you have any questions surrounding this, please contact the Activities Team on [email protected]
g. By signing this form you consent to VICTA using the information supplied for the purpose of administering the named event. All the information will be treated in the strictest of confidence and made available only to those staff working with the participant. We may need to share your details with third party suppliers in relation to this activity. Contact information will be retained and used for marketing of other relevant services.
h. I give consent for VICTA to carry out the following in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulations as supplemented by the Data Protection Act 2018 and related laws and to store my personal information on VICTA's database and/or any other suitable system.

Agree to payment and T&C's

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