Fourth and final YEL forum on the YP for 2017
Last week saw the fourth and final Young Environmental Leaders (YEL) workshop for 2017 take place at Maitland and Warooka.
Fifty-eight students and eight adults from Warooka, Stansbury and Curramulka Primary Schools, Moonta and Yorketown Area Schools, Minlaton District School, Maitland Lutheran School and St Columba’s Memorial School came together to share what they learned throughout the year.
Natural Resources Northern and Yorke Ranger Fabienne Dee said she was overwhelmed by the creativity of the students who developed activities, games, books and puzzles to demonstrate what they had learned and to inspire and engage others to learn about their environment.
"Some students performed a rap song about soil salinity titled Salt is Great in Vegemite, while others produced a Lego animation The Rubbish Monster and compost art sessions to teach their classmates about waste," Ms Dee said.
"Other projects aimed to increase awareness about local threatened species, with a board game explaining the nesting habits of the malleefowl, and a jigsaw puzzle complete with questions about the White-bellied Sea Eagle highlighting the challenges faced by the species."
Ms Dee said the YEL program encourages a ‘ripple effect’, with students taking what they have learned back into their school and community.
"The final forum for the year brought all of the students together to celebrate the completion of the program and the young leaders were presented with a certificate and badge at the end of the workshop," Ms Dee said.
"Throughout the year, the students have earnt badges by sharing what they learned at YEL workshops with their peers at school or in their community by running activities, writing newsletter articles, reading to younger classmates or speaking at school assemblies.
"This year’s topics were shorebirds, insects, threatened species, tree planting as part of habitat restoration, waste and recycling, and beaches are habitat."
The Young Environmental Leaders Program will be run again in 2018. It is open to Year 5–7 students in all schools in the region.
Funding and support for the Young Environmental Leaders program is provided by the Northern and Yorke Natural Resources Management Board through funding from the National Landcare Programme.
To register your school’s interest in the 2018 Young Environmental Leaders Program or to receive a 2018 Education Pack, visit www.landscape.sa.gov.au/northernandyorke or contact the Natural Resources Centre in Clare on 8841 3444.
