A few months ago we had a chance to connect with Noah Jay, a young legend from the Gold Coast. He and his fellow students at Somerset College are incredibly passionate about the environment and want to turn a degraded creek at their school into an important wildlife corridor. Together, they are leading the Somerset Creek Conservation Project, which will involve students and community members working together to transform a damaged ecosystem into something incredible for future generations to admire.
The idea was pretty simple: work out what needs to happen and then find people to make it happen. The school quickly responded to the students’ call to action by engaging a professional ecological restoration company and providing all necessary resources and support. Within six months they had a plan to restore approximately 2.6 hectares of land over 5 years!
To kick-start the process of regeneration and engage the whole community in the project, Noah decided to organise a tree planting day. Through our step-by-step co-design guide, in about an hour he had canvassed the entire event. That was easy! Now he just needed to make it happen.
Having access to networks was the first hurdle, however, connecting with his local Landcare group, Noah found more people eager to support the event. He has also reached out to his local councillor, the local council, the ecological restoration company engaged by the school and community members who share his passion for restoring natural areas. The rest has happened through being in action, sharing his story, and the help of resourceful networks.
The destruction and fragmentation of wildlife habitat is an ongoing challenge worldwide. A global extinction report published this week tells a scary future where 1 million species are at risk of extinction.Most young people care about this but feel it is outside their control. This can be overwhelming and lead to a sense of hopelessness. Noah hopes that by helping to restore wildlife habitats, young people will be empowered to understand they can be part of the solution to a more sustainable future. His peers and teachers agree.
“Young people who are involved in such a project will be able to compare the ‘before’ and ‘after’ and truly understand how regeneration can have a positive impact on the environment on a local, national and international scale. This type of project may also influence young people to become involved in larger scale projects that could ultimately benefit all global citizens.”
Somerset Community Tree Planting Day will be held on Saturday 11th May 2019, 9am–11am at Somerset College (Gold Coast). Register your interest via Eventbrite.
For more information see the following link – Noah’s passion project.
