Empowerment through Environmental Articles

The EcoMarines Ambassadors at St. Monica’s College in Cairns have found, through articles, an efficient way to spark new conversations and increase participation in eco-initiatives at their school.

Sustainability ideas and field experiences are turned into articles and then shared with the rest of the students in the hope of “recruiting more peers to the environmental cause.”

Recently, the Ambassadors attended the EcoMarines Adventure Day at Green Island, taking back tons of notes to the school for a new article. Kaya, Abby, Poppy, and Hannah are willing to get more people to join the science and environmental group at the school and work on what needs to be improved.

“The other students need to know what we are doing as Ambassadors and the benefits. That’s why we share our articles with them,” they say.

During the expedition to Green Island, the group emphasized the value of repeated exposure to environmental topics, highlighting that each encounter adds to the Ambassadors’ indispensable knowledge. All the learnings, they explain, are shared with primary school students, aiming at the long-term impact of their education.

“I did a lot of environmental work in primary school, and what really struck me was the places I saw when I was younger, like the reefs. They all started to get bleached, and the animals were hurt, and it was really sad. I didn’t like that, and I felt powerless to do anything about it. That’s why I joined EcoMarines, to make a change,” says Kaya.

The Ambassadors are passionate about the resources offered within the program and excited about how easy it is to meet field specialists to talk about the environment. Facing a busy schedule until the end of the year, they have an ongoing project with Containers for Change, aiming to increase awareness and participation within their school.

“We’re also going to do a fast fashion event. So everyone brings old clothes that they don’t wear. We will encourage students to donate old clothes, which were well-received last year. We collected donations last year and donated the leftover items to a local organisation. It is a busy year for all of us,” says Poppy.