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A necessary condition for a functioning democracy is the participation of its citizens, including its youth. This is particularly true for political participation in environmental decisions, because these decisions can have intergenerational consequences. In this article we examine young people’s beliefs about one form of political participation—protest—in the context of communities affected by fracking and associated anti‐fracking protest, and discuss the implications of these representations for education. Drawing on focus groups with 121 young people (aged 15–19) in five schools and colleges near sites which have experienced anti‐fracking protest in England and Northern Ireland, we find young people well‐informed about avenues for formal and non‐formal political participation against a background of disillusionment with formal political processes and varying levels of support for protest. We find representations of …