Young leaders meet at the lagoon

Ideal weather conditions greeted representatives from 13 South East schools as they gathered at Bool Lagoon as part of the Young Environmental Leaders Program (YELP) final Expo.

The expo is an opportunity for the students to showcase their school projects with their peers and encourage actions toward natural resource management.

"We did our project on Red Tailed Black Cockatoos. The best part was making the poster and talking about the project to others. Our entire school helped with the tree planting and we planted over 200 trees," said George from Frances Primary School.

Education sessions on the day included discussions on Aboriginal culture, water in the landscape and basic ecology. The young leaders enjoyed walks to Hacks Lagoon whilst on the lookout for native wildlife.

St Martin’s Lutheran College Year 6 teacher Michelle Yates said: "It was a great experience for youth to share their passion for caring for our environment and I will definitely be bringing some new students along in 2020 to take part in this worthwhile and beneficial program."

YELP is a platform for young people to come together to discuss environmental issues and share their ideas with other like-minded students. The program encourages students to make a difference in their school and the broader community by becoming a leader and sharing their passion for the environment.

The South East Natural Resources Management SENRM Board’s YELP is funded by the Natural Resource Management NRM Levy and delivered by Natural Resources South East NRSE.