Logo of the Discover Nature Award featuring a stylized pinecone and the words 'Discover Nature Award'.

Find your place in nature with our free award for 18-28 year olds

The Discover Nature Award (DNA) is a youth-led Scottish charity helping young adults find their place in nature restoration and tackle the environmental emergency.

Our flagship offer is the free, entry-level Award that shares our charity’s name. It is built around our four bases of DNA: Knowledge, Connection, Community and Action.

These core elements from our co-designed syllabus help participants build climate knowledge, connect with nature, join a supportive community and create a clear pathway into environmental action.

Start your DNA journey
  • Group of ten diverse hikers standing outdoors in a lush, green landscape with rolling hills and fields in the background.

    1: Discover Nature Award

    Start with the Discover Nature Award. Our free, co-designed, two-day award that builds knowledge, connection, community, and action and unlocks our DNA next steps events.

  • A grassy field with a picnic table on the left and a ring of wooden logs on the right. In the background, there are rolling hills with patches of green and brown, trees, a small red building, and a faint rainbow. The sky is partly cloudy.

    2: Discover Nature Camp

    Take your nature connection further on our free Nature Camp for DNA graduates. Immerse yourself in the outdoors, connect with a like-minded community, and learn responsible camping skills to help you discover Scotland’s wild spaces.

  • A man hiking on a muddy trail in a rural landscape, carrying a backpack and a green bag, with hills and trees in the background under a cloudy sky.

    3: DNA Community Volunteering

    Take climate action with friends through our community-led volunteering. Participate in sessions run by our staff or supported DNA graduates at Borders Forest Trust sites and local spaces, connecting with other environmental organisations to make a real impact.

  • Group of people hiking through grassy field, led by a woman with a backpack and walking stick, surrounded by autumn foliage.

    4: Nature Champions Pathway

    Coming soon! This free pathway is designed for DNA graduates to gain leadership skills, work experience, and qualifications, helping them find their place in the environmental sector. We are co-designing it with our graduates to create a route that is inclusive, practical, and impactful, building a more diverse outdoor sector and giving young adults a real chance to step into environmental leadership in Scotland.

  • Three people sitting outdoors in a grassy area, engaging in a conversation, with trees and a house in the background.

    5: DNA Trustee Board

    By the youth for the youth. Shape the future of the Discover Nature Award. Apply to join our trustee board when opportunities become available, helping keep the programme community-designed, relevant, and evolving with the times.

Find your Place like Abisola

“As a non-local in a foreign country, I often felt like climate action was something other people did, people who already had the knowledge, the network, or the confidence. I cared deeply about the environment but wasn’t sure where to start or how to get involved in a meaningful way.

The Discover Nature Award changed that for me. It created a space where I could step in without fear of “not knowing enough,” and instead focus on learning, connecting, and finding my own path into action.”
— Abisola - 24
Start your DNA journey