Youth Climate Action Fund
Empowering the city's young climate leaders!
The Youth Climate Action Fund (YCAF) supports young people aged 15 to 24 in bringing their climate solutions to life across Hobart.
Delivered by the City of Hobart in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the fund provides grants of up to $7500 for youth-led projects that drive real-world climate action in schools, homes, streets and communities.
Over two rounds of funding, we've supported dozens of innovative projects - from garden transformations and bicycle challenges to art campaigns and backyard conservation.
Applications for the latest round have now closed and 20 new youth-led projects are being rolled out across the city.
Hobart is one of three Australian cities chosen to take part in the latest round, joining 98 cities globally in empowering youth to lead the fight against the climate crisis.
Read more about some of the grantees here and stay tuned for updates as their inspiring ideas come to life.
What kind of projects get funding?
The YCAF backs youth-led activities that deliver urgent climate solutions and help create a climate-ready Hobart.
Projects focus on one or more of these key areas:
- Zero emissions: Renewable energy, composting/FOGO, walking and cycling, transition to electric vehicles, and more.
- Building climate resilience: Helping people adapt to extreme weather and other climate challenges.
- Mobilising community action: Raising community awareness and getting more people involved in the fight against climate change.
Her's a small collection of successful projects from the 2024 round of the YCAF:
The Heat Is On
The Heat Is On is an interactive role-playing game that challenges 14 to 20 years to tackle climate adaptation.
Set in 2050, in a world 1.5°C warmer than pre-industrial times, players step into the shoes of local councils, making critical decisions to help communities adapt and thrive.
The grant resulted in four young people being trained as game facilitators, who then led 8 workshops involving up to 200 young people.
Game facilitators were mentored by the University of Tasmania who designed the game.
The Susteinerbles
Student-led sustainability group, the Susteinerbles from Tarrameah Steiner School, developed their idea to measure and reduce school transport emissions.
Over 15 weeks, students tracked current emissions and explored cleaner transport solutions.
This led to development of a plan to communicate and engage with the school on transport issues and planning of an electric vehicle charging system linked to the school's solar system.
The climate friendly initiative deepened students' understanding of electric transport technology and the national energy market.
Commute4Climate Challenge
The Communte4Climate walk and ride challenge encouraged active transport and was led by the UTAS Environment Society.
More than 120 locals logged more than 6000kms of active commute trips in one month to work or school via bike, scooter, walking/running or public transport to reduce their carbon footprint.
They gained points to go in the run to win the challenge as well as enter the raffle for a pool of prizes donated by local businesses.
The Society complemented this event with events at the nexus of mental health, climate, creativity and culture that engaged over 100 attends in importance of art in environmental campaigning, simple ways to reduce your own climate footprint and get involved with your community.
The New Town Rivulet Platypus Challenge
The Newtown Rivulet Platypus Project, led by Coexist youth leaders, undertook design and planning to restore platypus habitat in Newtown Rivulet while engaging students from five local schools.
In collaboration with Nipaluna Nursery, these young leaders delivered six hands-on events, involving 35 community members in environmental restoration, rubbish collection, and conservation discussions.
Additionally, they expanded with four extra events across the City of Hobart, including beach cleanups and volunteer activations, engaging another 33 participants.
The Youth Climate Action Fund Guidelines(PDF, 4MB) outline the application process, eligibility and assessment criteria.
Katherine Bourne and her team used their funding from Round 1 of the YCAF to run the innovative Commute4Climate campaign.
Who can apply?
The fund supports projects led by young people aged between 15 and 24. Eligible applicants must be either:
- Youth-led groups: At least three young people aged 15-24, auspiced by an incorporated organisation
- Youth-serving organisations: Organisations that provide programs and resources for young people. Projects must still be youth-led, with young people actively participating in decision-making and oversight.
Application timeline
The most recent round of the Youth Climate Action Fund was open for projects to be delivered between 1 May and 15 December 2025.
- Applications opened: Monday 24 February 2025
- Applications closed: Monday 24 March 2025
- Notification of outcome: Wednesday 23 April 2025
Applications are now closed.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our Youth Climate Action Team by emailing YouthClimateAction@hobartcity.com.au.
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