MORE THAN 260 students from schools around Mornington Peninsula had a say on solutions for global challenges during an environmental youth leadership program last week at Point Nepean National Park.
The day was part of the national Kids Teaching Kids Week from 5-9 September, where more than 10,000 students explore locally relevant environmental issues.
Primary and secondary students prepared for months to present to their peers on a range of issues such as protecting endangered marine and terrestrial wildlife, creative recycling, carbon impacts and climate change.
Using the outdoor environment and historic buildings of the quarantine station as a base, students used use a range of tools to share their learnings, such as craft, quizzes, experiments, story-telling, music and games.
Parks Victoria’s area chief ranger for Southern Peninsula, Kris Rowe, said the program provided a tangible link for young people to their local environment, and helped “the next generation understand how global issues impact special places like our national parks”.
“We’ve seen dynamic community partnerships and mentoring programs emerge in the lead up to Kids Teaching Kids like the Port Phillip and Western Port Catchment Authority partnering with eager young environmentalists from Padua College to learn about wetlands and Parks Victoria Rangers sharing information with schools around threats to local marine systems,” he said.
The Point Nepean day also featured a series of interactive walk and talks with peninsula experts.
