A model for engaging youth in Environmental Activism

There are plenty of activities for children outside of school hours in sport and art but very few, if any offering young people interested in science and environmental activism the opportunity to get involved. In the Dandenong Ranges of Victoria, a new extra-curricular program has emerged, The Platypus Education Group (or PEG, as it is affectionately known). The program is designed to inspire and educate children and the broader community to know how to support and maintain a healthy habitat for platypus.

The young ambassadors are taught different aspects of environmental care including tree planting, litter collection, information about native animals, and climate change. Ambassadors not only learn how to inspire others to take action to protect their local environment, they are expected to become environmental leaders in their community.

The PEG program was founded in 2016 by local environmentalists Jen Ellison, Jess Lazarus and Annette Anderson, who due to time constraints, is taking a break. Jen, is passionate about teaching young people about flora and fauna and is a keen environmental educator with 30+yrs experience in environmental education. Together Jen and Jess love mentoring and sharing experiences with their budding environmental ambassadors.

The program has now seen over 100 children attend. “Some children have been with us from the beginning, some have only stayed for a year and some stayed for a few years in-between. It has been fantastic having so many children join us on our ambassador program,” said Jen.

One key outcome of the program, has been the children’s contribution to the banning of opera house nets here in Victoria. Opera house nets are used to catch yabbies, but unfortunately, they often catch and kill platypus too. Ambassadors wrote letters and drew pictures to send to the Federal Environment Minister, collected signatures for a petition, and educated the wider community on the issue of platypus needlessly dying in our waterways. When the campaign was won, the children celebrated the banning of opera house nets in 2018 with an event attended by The Honourable James Merlino MP. Jen said, “It was an excellent example to show young people that they can make a difference and have an impact on the future.”

Building a sustainable business model that is heavily reliant on funding from grants is incredibly challenging and after running out of funding options, the PEG Coordinators decided to review their operating model and implement a user pays fee. The program prides itself on paying external expert speakers for their time and expertise so the fee of $100 per year per child was implemented in the hope of building increased financial independence. Even with such a low participant fee (in comparison to other extra curricular activities) today PEG proudly operates independent of any external funding and to ensure no one misses out, PEG have devised a scholarship program to sit alongside the fee structure and create access for families who may be experiencing financial hardship.

The ambassador’s program aimed at 8–12-year-olds runs once a month, generally on the last Sunday of the month from February to November. Many children return year after year and now that a couple of the children are in their teen’s, they tend to take on more of leadership role within the group.  While the older children form an important part of the mentoring process, the program would love to have the resources to include a program specifically for older children and teens. Jess and Jen have thought about developing a program for teens as they would love to see more teenagers being a part of our group or have a separate group for them but it hasn’t yet eventuated due to volunteer time constraints.  

The unique Platypus Education Group model could be easily replicated by other organisations and community groups wanting to engage young people in their mission. “I’m really proud of what we’ve created and I think it’d be wonderful to see it expand and grow. We’d love for the PEG model to be implemented in other areas of Victoria, or even Australia” remarked Jen. “A lot of focus is often on bigger issues such as climate change, and, while that’s an incredibly important topic, we can’t forget the needs and impact of keeping it local.” Replicated models wouldn’t have to focus on platypus, instead it could have a more general conservation focus, or it could be about protecting an endangered species local to that area. “We picked platypus because it’s a creature that so few people know much about, and because we have a small population here in the Dandenong Ranges that needs our support and protection” said Jen. 

When asked if there was anything Jess and Jen would like to add, they said, “We’d like to add how much we enjoy the program. It really is a highlight of our month. They are such passionate young people, and we are proud of the ambassadors. We love hearing about their activities and seeing what they are up to now.”

Jess and Jen are excited to continue building the ambassadors program and invite those who are interested to support the program’s growth to get in touch. “We always need volunteers! It would be lovely to have other people who have a passion and knowledge of the environment, who have experience or want experience of working with young people and or understand young people and their potential.” 

If you would like to learn more head to: https://www.platypuseducation.com/

- Written by Jacinda Erich