Oona Verveld and Clara Vikberg, both 18, have secured paid summer jobs as young planetary stewards in Sweden, a role that combines environmental action with employment in a country where youth unemployment stands at about 24% among 15- to 24-year-olds, compared with an EU average of about 15%.
Programme Origins and Structure
“Someone came up with the simple idea that, since young people clearly need jobs, why not create them?” says My Sellberg, project manager and programme lead for regenerative development at Upplandsbygd, a non-profit based north of Stockholm. “The strongest objective was to inspire hope for the future among our young residents.” Upplandsbygd is funded by five municipalities and the EU, using the EU’s bottom-up “leader method” to support local development projects with sustainability at their core.
The young planetary stewards (YPS) initiative pairs participants with local organisations—from farms to conservation groups—and provides funding of up to 40,000 Swedish krona (about £4,000) per person, along with mentoring in project management. Crucially, the project ideas come from the young people themselves.
Participants’ Projects
Verveld and Vikberg’s project involved creating a network of educational signs along walking trails to help young people connect with nature. They were matched with Eda Lägergård, a historic children’s summer camp north of Stockholm that has hosted generations through Sweden’s “kollo” tradition—a century-old practice of sending children from cities to spend time in nature. The camp’s regular information signs are being replaced with digital ones featuring QR codes for updatable content. One trail winds through a leafy forest where signs highlight biodiversity benefits, such as leaving tree trunks to support fungi and ants’ nests. Another sign covers the history of Eda.
“In a world where so much can feel hopeless, it’s incredibly rewarding to come up with an idea of your own and turn it into something that you genuinely feel makes a positive difference,” says Vikberg, one of 10 successful applicants.
Broader YPS Projects
Other YPS initiatives include restoring biodiversity by clearing invasive species, creating habitats like a frog pond, conducting an oak tree inventory to strengthen protection, building bird boxes and insect hotels, developing a new stretch of hiking trail, and running community workshops on climate and sustainability conversations.
“During the interviews, it became clear that many of the young participants found the collaborations with local organisations particularly valuable,” Sellberg says. “Not only did they feel that their work served a real purpose, but they also gain new contacts and insights. The partnerships added an extra dimension to the programme by connecting their ideas and efforts to organisations that could put them into practice.” Upplandsbygd hopes to expand the initiative in the future.
Youth Perspectives
“I have a pretty pessimistic world view,” Verveld says. “But through this project I feel that I can contribute in ways that will have an impact. I don’t just watch climate change happening, I’m somehow active in improving it later on. Both of us want to engage children and youth in their surroundings – to create an interest in nature in order to care for it.” Vikberg’s interest in climate began as a scout. “Young people are often disconnected to nature. I want to spread that the joy of spending time outdoors,” she says. “If you have an interest for it, you also care for it more.”
Tore Sjöqvist, who has worked at Eda for many years, says: “We fought for it for several years. To learn from young people’s perspectives.”
