CWM Arian has launched an exciting new grant scheme designed to put climate action directly into the hands of the next generation.

The Daniel Blackburn Memorial Fund for Youth Action will award a £5,000 grant every year to a local group creating bold, sustainable projects in West Wales.

The fund celebrates the vibrant legacy of Cwm Arian’s late founding director and friend, Daniel Blackburn, who spent his life inspiring young people to think differently about physics and green energy. Whether he was firing toilet rolls across classrooms to show how air behaves or staying up until dawn super-gluing miniature wind turbines for children to hold, Daniel brought environmental science to life with joy and brilliant eccentricity. This new fund acts as an enabler for that same creative spirit, turning fresh, community-minded ideas into reality.

The late Daniel Blackburn on Frenni Fach
The late Daniel Blackburn on Frenni Fach (Cwm Arian)

Cwm Arian is actively looking for vibrant, youth-led projects that champion low-carbon living, sustainable transport, renewable energy, or environmental ecology. The grant is open to schools, registered charities, and youth groups working with people under the age of eighteen within a catchment area covering North Pembrokeshire, South Ceredigion, and West Carmarthenshire*. Because Daniel passionately believed in listening with empathy, the young people themselves must be the driving force behind applications. Cwm Arian wants to see projects that local youth have actively inspired, shaped, and will help deliver from start to finish.

Full criteria and digital application packs are available on the Cwm Arian website. The organisation will accept formal applications throughout September and October, and the team will announce the very first grant recipient in January 2027.*

Daniel Blackburn built the change he advocated for. The community wind turbine spinning in Llanfyrnach stands as a direct monument to his tenacity, fundraising efforts, and hours of voluntary dedication.

By keeping this fund flexible and open to bold new ideas, Cwm Arian ensures his unique spark continues to ignite local change.

Cwm Arian is a community benefit society based in North Pembrokeshire, South Ceredigion, and West Carmarthenshire. Established in 2015, Cwm Arian develops community-owned renewable energy projects while supporting initiatives that strengthen local resilience, tackle climate change and improve wellbeing. Alongside renewable energy, the community benefit society delivers projects focused on woodland restoration, nature recovery, sustainable transport, food growing and community engagement, helping people build stronger connections with both the natural environment and each other. Find out more here.

*NB South Pembrokeshire is not included in the society’s stated catchment area. Interested parties from this neck of the woods would be advised to check with Cwm Arian about any eligibility.