YEC Sharing and Celebration Forum 2025
On Thursday 6 November, keen members of the Youth Environment Council of South Australia (YEC) gathered at the Adelaide Botanic Garden for the final event of this year’s program, celebrating and showcasing their year-long projects with friends, family and invited guests.
Members had the opportunity to spend time outdoors connecting with nature and with each other. They chose from a range of activities including planning for a YEC Alumni network; contributing their environmental concerns and action to an annual report to be sent to the Green Adelaide Board; sculpting birds and other wildlife from clay; creating a newspaper pot and planting native seeds; going on a nature scavenger hunt; and undertaking a nature art activity.
A big highlight for many students was the inclusion of a new celebration, where YEC members who’ve been a part of the council for 3 or more years were presented with certificates and posters to recognise their efforts. Their fellow members particularly enjoyed seeing the profile photos that highlighted just how much some of those students had grown over the years. Unfortunately, that also meant farewelling the students who will be too old to be involved next year. We wish them well and look forward to hearing how their lives unfold further down the track.
The day also included a visit from a panel of past YEC members who shared their experiences since participating in the YEC. Of particular interest to many was hearing from Gemma, who now works at Adelaide Zoo, talking about her experiences caring for threatened species such as the Giant Pandas, and Amy, discussing her career as a Ministerial Adviser and speech writer in the South Australian Parliament.
But, as always, the focus of the day was to celebrate the different action projects that the members undertook. Over the year, they each developed an environmental project that focused on creating positive change within their school or local community. Some of the many amazing projects they’d worked on this year included: building an air brick to monitor air quality that also purifies the air; creating food and biodiversity gardens; creating jewellery from recycled objects; producing a photographic essay of a local ecosystem; making a 3D art piece showing what happens to all the waste in the oceans where whales feed and how it affects them; weeding and habitat restoration; developing a fun video game about the Hooded Plover, highlighting threats they face in the environment; starting school environment groups; and creating enrichment toys out of discarded clothing for rescued dogs and cats.
Members had the opportunity to spend time outdoors connecting with nature and with each other. They chose from a range of activities including planning for a YEC Alumni network; contributing their environmental concerns and action to an annual report to be sent to the Green Adelaide Board; sculpting birds and other wildlife from clay; creating a newspaper pot and planting native seeds; going on a nature scavenger hunt; and undertaking a nature art activity.
A big highlight for many students was the inclusion of a new celebration, where YEC members who’ve been a part of the council for 3 or more years were presented with certificates and posters to recognise their efforts. Their fellow members particularly enjoyed seeing the profile photos that highlighted just how much some of those students had grown over the years. Unfortunately, that also meant farewelling the students who will be too old to be involved next year. We wish them well and look forward to hearing how their lives unfold further down the track.
The day also included a visit from a panel of past YEC members who shared their experiences since participating in the YEC. Of particular interest to many was hearing from Gemma, who now works at Adelaide Zoo, talking about her experiences caring for threatened species such as the Giant Pandas, and Amy, discussing her career as a Ministerial Adviser and speech writer in the South Australian Parliament.
But, as always, the focus of the day was to celebrate the different action projects that the members undertook. Over the year, they each developed an environmental project that focused on creating positive change within their school or local community. Some of the many amazing projects they’d worked on this year included: building an air brick to monitor air quality that also purifies the air; creating food and biodiversity gardens; creating jewellery from recycled objects; producing a photographic essay of a local ecosystem; making a 3D art piece showing what happens to all the waste in the oceans where whales feed and how it affects them; weeding and habitat restoration; developing a fun video game about the Hooded Plover, highlighting threats they face in the environment; starting school environment groups; and creating enrichment toys out of discarded clothing for rescued dogs and cats.
