Know a young environmental champion who should have their ideas heard? Here’s why they must apply for our Youth Environment Council this year.
Do you know a young person who is passionate about the environment and wants to make a difference while developing their skills and having heaps of fun? Then the Youth Environment Council of South Australia (YEC) might be just the thing for them.
It’s a yearly program that provides students in years 7 to 11 with a community of like-minded peers and supportive mentors, to help them develop leadership skills in their homes, schools, and communities, while working toward their own sustainability projects.
The program is run by Green Adelaide and proudly supported by the Department for Education, along with in-kind support from regional Landscape Board staff.
Last year, the YEC’s 40 members represented schools from across South Australia. 6 more students who were involved in previous years were selected to be mentors.
Participants choose a wide range of environmental actions to focus on in the program. These have included:
- creating food and wildlife gardens in schools
- setting up and maintaining recycling stations
- fundraising for environmental and community organisations
- researching and revegetating local threatened species
- experimenting with compost to understand the benefits over store-bought fertilisers
- promoting the use of native food, by comparing the growth of native spinach and baby spinach
- organising and taking part in rubbish cleanups
- creating beeswax wrap products.
Sound interesting? Read on to see what the program entails and how to get involved this year.
1. Welcome Day
The first event of the year is a Welcome Day. Members enjoy being in nature, sharing their experiences and learning from mentors about projects that create positive environmental change.
2. Leadership Camp
The annual YEC Leadership Camp takes place in the Adelaide Hills.
Members build their leadership skills and environmental knowledge, link their learning to real-world practice, and develop plans for their own environmental projects that they will focus on for the remainder of the year.
3. Connecting across regions
For 6 months, YEC members work hard to research their ideas for change and turn them into action.
Monthly online meetings keep members connected to give updates on their projects, provide advice to each other and hear from guest speakers.
4. Leadership skills in action
Members are offered additional leadership opportunities over the year. In previous years this has included contributing to a YEC submission for an SA Water consultation on investment and management of water resources, presenting to the City of Burnside Youth Forum, sharing projects at Green Adelaide events, and attending the Power Shift conference in Brisbane with young people from around Australia – including a past YEC member who helped organize the conference.
5. Projects showcased at celebration forum
The final event of the year is a sharing and celebration forum.
Activities in previous years have included nature journaling, a botanical treasure hunt, making seed bombs to investigate bird behaviour, learning about and trying Aboriginal art, and hearing about the personal journeys of past YEC members – some that dated back to the late 1990s.
The day closes with a showcase of the members’ individual and group projects to their peers, family members, school staff and VIPs. Here are just a few of the previous inspiring projects in more detail:
- Charlotte and her mentor Naomi created 2 huge murals on water tanks at the Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary, depicting the 6 ecosystems and more than 40 native species found within the sanctuary. A group of children on an art camp contributed by painting the base coats, making it an even more special landmark.
A curious kangaroo looking at a painting of himself in the rain tank mural Charlotte is painting.
- Archer set up a recycling station at school with a set of drawers to collect household items. The recycling station takes bread tags, oral care packaging, alfoil, packaging, and office supplies. He promoted the initiative in his school newsletter.
Archer's smart recycling station. - Ruby created a water-efficient edible garden at her school after researching water-wise plants, sharing ideas and fundraising. Ruby held a casual clothes day fundraiser that raised $102.40 toward the project, and gave advice to other YEC members on their plant selection.
This is a stock photo, but we're sure Ruby's garden looked much better.
How to apply
Applications are open to South Australian students in year 7-11 who can get permission from a parent or guardian, be endorsed by a teacher or principal, and uphold the expectations of being a YEC member.
Want to build leadership skills with a fun environmental project? Don’t wait! Find out more and apply on the YEC SA application page.
This story was originally published on 13/1/2023, and has been updated.