Are secondary
school environmental groups an effective vehicle for 'youth voice'?
This was the topic of research for Sara Bray, a final year Bachelor of
Environmental Studies student from the University of Adelaide, who did
an internship with Waterwatch Central Adelaide from September-November
2007. Sara's involvement as a member, and now mentor, of the
River Murray Youth Council demonstrates her passion for the empowerment
of young people to have their opinions heard and valued, and to be able
to take an active role in what happens around them.
Through focus groups
and surveys, she has begun building a picture of how high school
environmental groups function and the characteristics and structures of
those that have successful youth voice.
She found that the
successful groups have:
- A background
knowledge in the environment, developed either through a field trip or
an intensive learning activity held at the school early in the year or
at the group's inception
- A body of power to
report to
- A teacher or another
adult in a facilitation role
- An organisational
culture that allows all students to feel comfortable expressing their
opinions
- A recruitment scheme
to ensure the group is sustainable
- A system of
hierarchy amongst the students for administration purposes, which
acknowledges that for timing reasons, Yr 12 students aren't always the
most appropriate for leadership roles
- A set of goals that
are regularly re-evaluated
- A reflection session
at the end of each year.
We warmly thank all the
students and teachers involved in the research, as their input was
invaluable. If you would like more information or a copy of
Sara's report, please contact Amy Blaylock, Waterwatch Central Adelaide
on 8234 7255 or amy_b@kesab.asn.au.
