You are one person; it's no longer an excuse, it’s a reason...
This was just one of the poignant sayings that inspired me at the Enviroschools Youth Jam this year. This year was the first Regional Jam for the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions and was held at Lakes Ranch in the beautiful Rotorua. The whole idea of the Jam revolves around youth teaching youth. Students from intermediate through to high school participated in the Jam, focusing on environmental and sustainability issues.
An awesome group of students and teachers arrived on Friday night to kick off the two and a half day Jam. After welcomes and introductions, initial nerves were gone and the energy levels everywhere were buzzing. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by people who were so passionate about the environment and the environmental actions they were undertaking. From riparian planting of the local streams to building outdoor garden classrooms, the students from each school were all involved in incredible initiatives to improve the environment around them. The wealth of knowledge that each individual had was shared through many brainstorms, discussions and presentations in which schools explained details of their environmental actions. We also had guest speakers who presented on many topical issues. Will from Global Education taught us about the effect of consumerism and advertising on the environment and opened our eyes to a whole new world of thought. He helped us to see beyond the face value of the 4,000 plus ads flashed before us everyday and realise the intense effect they have on our actions.
The weekend was rounded off by taking all we had learned and putting it into action by taking measures to make Lakes Ranch more sustainable. My group worked on the staff garden, learning how to make the soil suitable for planting, making a compost heap and using only the resources found in the nearby native forest. Other actions involved pest eradication, tree tagging, indigenous food forests, worm farms and amongst others. A very motivated and happy group of people left Lakes Ranch on Sunday afternoon, all determined to make a difference.
For me, my time at Youth Jam was a mountain top experience. I really believe in the effectiveness of youth teaching youth. It didn’t matter about your age or your experience, there was always something to be learned or something you could teach. Being a part of the Tuakana team to run the Jam was amazing. The opportunity to lead our Atua group and the Youth Jam in various activities taught me so much about myself and gave me confidence in my skills as a facilitator. Thank you to the amazing people that taught the Tuakana team for giving us the skills and the confidence to lead our teams through the Youth Jam journey. Thank you to all the people who were involved in organising the Jam. Never have I been so motivated and energised. I learned that I am one person, standing alongside others and together we can all make a difference.
Jade Li George (Tuakana | Student Group Leader)
