The funding landscape for grassroots environmental organisations, particularly those led by young people and women in the Global South, remains deeply inadequate relative to the scale and quality of the work being done.

From 1,301 applications across 108 countries in total, The Iris Project is excited to announce this year’s shortlist made up of 28 incredible projects!

Youth-led environmental work is not inherently too risky to fund. The greater risk may be continuing to underfund it, while expecting young people to carry the future of climate and nature work without the resources, trust and long-term sup

Through three testimonies, we spotlight members of The Iris Project community and their tireless efforts to save the elements their communities, and any living being, can’t survive without.

Be it in the mountains of Mongolia or the islets in the Philippines, our struggles are all but the same.

The data is clear, the solutions exist, and the practitioners are ready. The question is whether philanthropy is ready to restructure systems to match the scale and urgency these movements require.

Project Lawud shares their journey of dugong conservation, youth empowerment, and capacity building in effort to protect Sarangani Bay and the life it sustains.

Confidence grows when young leaders understand how funding works, know what questions to ask, and feel equipped to navigate systems that weren’t designed with them in mind.