Hope is our Superpower

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India, our Melbourne based MK member, had the honour to meet and shake hands with Dr Goodall, at the Melbourne Museum showcase as part of Janes Goodall’s Roots and Shoots Australian tour. India talked about who MK is, what we do, and about our Agents of Climate Change program and then did a 5 presentation to other invited stakeholders!

Goodall introduced herself, not in English, but in chimpanzee! This was a fantastic start to the event. Dr Goodall gave us a beautiful and inspiring speech about hope; as the event we were at was part of her worldwide tour “Reasons for Hope”. Dr Goodall explained to us her life story about how , like many of us, was in love with animals and nature at a young age. She said that despite being told it wasn’t possible, it was too dangerous, and that she was “just a girl”, she ventured to Africa to pursue her goals of learning and researching about chimpanzees. Importantly, she noted that the only reason she left the beautiful forests of Africa was seeing how those forests, home to such unique and beautiful flora & fauna, were being destroyed. Dr Goodall felt a responsibility to help our planet. A responsibility that was felt deeply across the room.

She talked about how hope is the force which guides us young people into acting towards a future of healing, tangible action, and of reconnecting to Mother Nature. Dr Goodall and the Roots & Shoots mission is quite similar to ours at Millennium Kids; working with young people to strive for a better future.

 India talked about Siddharth’s postcard project, and how young people are the key to the future we need! She was also lucky enough to listen in to everyone else’s projects and presentations and felt very inspired seeing all the things kids and young people were doing in their communities to make a difference.

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Lightscape, Kings Park Launch

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Lightscape is a series of artistic installations carefully constructed through special effect lights, sounds, and motion devices which capture your gaze and appreciation for your senses. Its purpose is to reconnect people with nature—particularly when Perth people are known to hibernate in their homes over winter. Without a star in the sky, it was quite the un-picturesque evening on the 6th of June when the 2nd Kings Park installation was launched for 2024 by City of Perth Lord Mayor, Basil Zempilas, and Minister for the Environment, Hon. Reece Whitby MLA.

Falling in love with trees…again!

Sheltered from the torrential downpour, the formal part of the launch took place at Aspire in Kings Park. It involved some networking and speeches from significant supporters and sponsors. I broke the ice with a series of mostly older local councillors from the City of Perth, private industry operators such as nursery owners, and other organizational representatives like the Bold Park Authority. I introduced myself, Millennium Kids, our programs, locations, and what we’ve been up to recently.

Basil Zempilas noted in his speech that Lightscape is just what Perth needed to attract tourism and highlight the importance of utilizing our natural spaces, such as Kings Park, a unique blend of bush and parkland located in a metropolis.

Having the Hon. Reece Whitby in sight, I caught up with him to introduce myself. He mentioned that he had seen the work Millennium Kids was doing and praised the great work we’ve done in the past and continue to do. I spoke to the Minister specifically about the goal of our Lake Claremont GreenLab and our efforts to get kids to fall in love with nature. He was rushed off all too quickly, but not before I managed to get a snap with him!

Braving the weather, I explored the 1.8km trail exhibit, which was vibrant and captivating. The ongoing rain enhanced the outdoor immersion—see some photos attached. This event sold out last year and I’m sure it will again. However, that shouldn’t hinder your ability to get outside and appreciate nature in your local community park or bushland. The art already exists in nature; it’s just that it’s now been highlighted by colorful lights and sound effects at Lightscape.

Overall, there was great interest from the other event participants I spoke to, many of whom knew about Millennium Kids. Some were particularly interested in the potential for Millennium Kids to run events and workshops in their local areas. I encouraged them to get in contact via our website for further discussions. I’m very thankful to Millennium Kids for providing me with this opportunity and experience to attend the event. There are so many more people out there with the same mission and vision if we just connect at events like this.

Josh Plummer
MK Youth Board Member

 

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Introduction: Greetings from a Global Nomad

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Hello fellow Climate Activists, my name is Miranda. I’m currently working remotely and traveling full-time around the world. I am writing to you from a travel stop in Canmore, Alberta, just half an hour away from the stunning Canadian Rockies in Banff National Park.

Taken from my run along the Bow River Trail in Canmore.

After a year nomading and living out of my suitcase, I’ve begun traveling with more purpose. Starting with my recent trip to Australia in March, I’ve been seeking a place that feels like “home,” and Australia has quickly become a top contender.

Cycling with Purpose: Why I Chose this path?

During my travels, having never clipped into a road bike before, I embarked on a memorable 8-day bikepacking trip along the coast of Portugal. This trip helped me discover my passion for adventures that challenge my body, stimulate my mind, and feed my soul. As I grew more aware of my passions and values, I committed to activities that align with them. That ride inspired me to blend personal challenge with adventure, travel, and making a tangible difference in the world.

Upon deciding to visit Australia, I was yearning to plan another physically demanding adventure. The Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia was an obvious choice, and supporting a youth-led organization focused on climate change became my cause for fundraising and awareness.

I was determined to make this idea a reality, dedicating hours to researching safe, yet challenging routes, coming up with fundraising strategies, and searching for the right organization to support. Wanting to share the experience, I invited friends from around the world who I met in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica and Lisbon, Portugal. A special shoutout to Kirk (@kirkkappelhoff) and Alicia (@leishf) for trusting me and joining this purpose-driven journey, fueling charitable causes, and fostering a global community of change-makers.

The 12 Apostles on the 3rd Day!

Warnie Station: our last stop!

 

 

Click the respective links to see Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and the full 300 km journey.

Choosing Millennium Kids: A Partnership for Change

Choosing a local organization to support was crucial. I explored several Australian youth-led climate organizations and reached out to a few. Catrina, the CEO and Co-Founder of Millennium Kids, responded, and we immediately connected over our shared passion for climate change and personal adventure—she had just completed an 8-week, 700 km trek in Spain! Absolutely inspiring.

What truly drew me to Millennium Kids was their core philosophy: they believe passionately that kids are the change-makers of our future and our planet. They empower these young people to express themselves and take on challenges in their communities. As adults, our role is to support, mentor, provide resources, and ignite their potential!

I’m excited to announce that I will continue to help out Millennium Kids’ fundraising efforts behind the scenes!

Pursuing Passion and Purpose: A Call to Action

We are all on a journey to discover who we are and what we can become. This process requires time and intention. It’s normal to feel confused at times, but it’s through these uncomfortable moments that we can push through barriers and discover new possibilities. Stay true to yourself and express that part of your identity.

Fundraising Success: The Impact We Made

I’m thrilled to announce that we raised $510 in just two short weeks.

A huge thank you and shoutout to the kind hearts that donated and cheered us on: Adam, Christopher, Jana, Marie, Nasrin, Steffen, and to those who wanted to stay anonymous.

I eagerly anticipate my next impact-led adventure. With everything I’ve learned this time, I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Who’s ready to join me?

Click here to join the Whatsapp Community to stay in the loop for our next adventure or scan the QR code below:

Together, we can make all the difference!

Contact Information

Instagram: @miranda_ysl

Whatsapp: (604) 379 – 4111

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Lendlease Family Day Fun

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It was a fabulous day at Perth Zoo as part of Lendlease Family Day on Sunday 19th May. Various stallholders set up on the grass so families could participate in activities that showcased the SDG’s in action, before they set off to explore the zoo. It was great to see Green World Revolution showcasing innovation around bottle cap reuse and OzHarvest teaching kids about how food can be collected and redistributed instead of ending up in landfill.

Millennium Kids focussed on our GreenLAB initiative with children drawing their favourite birds and helping create an ” I love trees” bunting and mandala. The bunting was wrapped abound a tree at the end of event so people could read the messages from the kids. Butterflies, red tail cockatoos and even a unicorn made it onto the bunting – reminding everyone to care for our precious biodiversity.

Big thanks to Ava, a young participant, who helped Cat, CEO of Millennium Kids, at the microphone during the welcome and introduction to the SDG’s. Ava shared her passion for trees, birds and encouraged everyone to do the right thing to help the environment. Exactly what Millennium Kids is about.

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Introducing Josh – A GreenLAB Youth lead

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Josh spoke recently at the Western Australian Multicultural Lions Club Bollywood Dinner Dance to talk about his role at GreenLAB.

The first time I encountered Millennium Kids was meeting Cat at the October 2021 Night Chat with Friends of Lake Claremont. Like many people I thought she was ludicrous to want to put a bunch of kids in charge of running activities, to pursue their passions, and to facilitate their missions by being the boss of adults. However, it now seems that I was hypocritical of the Millennium Kids structure as I stepped up to become a member of the youth board myself in 2023.

My involvement in the eco-space branches out from my involvement in:
– Monthly volunteering at the Friends of Lake Claremont’s busy bee;
– Constructing artificial cockatoo hollows supported by Shenton College, which were featured on the ABC; and
– Interviewing local, state, and federal politicians on how effective their position is on a range of complexities: urban greening, density infill, sustainable means of transport, and so on.

It makes me curious to find out more about what the climate change and environmental strategies are going forward now I am of a voting age.
There’s clearly no better time to be active in this space than now.

Attention from the public (is clear through the prioritisation of climate issues on the political agenda), in addition to attention to common law judicial decisions (such as one which recognised the federal government to have “duty of care to protect younger people against future harm from climate change”).

Anyways I’m here to talk about GreenLAB. Not politics.

• GreenLAB is a program initiated by Millennium Kids to use education, community planting, and monitoring programs to contribute to a cooler, diverse, conserved, and protected habitat for native birds and animals.

Specifically at Lake Claremont our works’ focus has been prioritised to achieve a greater reach of younger youth and broader public engagement at the lake site, recognising the significance that such an asset plays in the community, providing mental, social, and physical benefits.

• Our GreenLAB workshops in conjunction with the Friends of Lake Claremont – notably run by young people like Preston and Layla have initiated community awareness to the presence of the Millennium Kids organisation in which we’ll strive to increase going forward. We’re aiming to provide a place for kids to immerse themselves in nature and allow them to entrust themselves that they can make a difference.
• Our first workshop we constructed native bee hotels to be installed later this year, where we brought in Dr Kit Prendergast (her PhD on the impact of European honeybees on native bees and pollination networks) to educate the kids on the native bee and plant population.
• Our second workshop brought awareness through mindful practices in nature to our present state and senses, in addition to accessing our visual and poetic creativity through works of Mandela art.
Currently, we are composing a song, accompanied by Junkadelic – a junk percussion group, which is to be performed on the 5th of May at Lake Claremont.

I encourage anyone interested to attend the performance.
• This is the type of active learning, involvement, and participation by kids, or more broadly anyone that ignites curiosity and sparks creativity – a vital superpower I think.
• It’s not only the kids at the end of the day who benefit from the running of GreenLABs, but importantly the youth leaders who gain confidence and public speaking skills, the ability to meet other like-minded people, and the ability to give back to the community.
• So, I’ll finish with my favourite thing about Millennium Kids. ‘Our triple bottom line’.
Have fun. Eat chocolate. Care for the environment!

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 Kwinana Leadership Fun Day Holiday Program – One Thousand Actions for Planet

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On Wednesday 10 April Youth Board member, Eva, represented Millennium Kids as the youth leader at the One Thousand Actions for Planet Kwinana workshop accompanying MK Workshop Leader, Cathy.
Children from across the Kwinana area came to play, do team work and critical thinking games to develop future visions for their community. We asked the children  what they like and don’t like about their communities, to create a sense of ownership and individuality which we hoped they would carry through to the final stage of the workshop when they built their improved community models, which they made from a variety of rubbish. Their parents were highly engaged in their models and the City of Kwinana is keen to provide opportunities to hear more ideas from children in the future.
Eva’s reflections: It was a rewarding and wholesome experience being able to work with passionate and engaging kids. I hope to have planted a seed of conservation in their minds. I learnt a lot from Cathy who has much experience with working with children, especially observing her communicate at the same level as the kids to hold their attention, posing questions about their community’s future which required critical thinking and a vivid imagination. The kids were challenged, developing teamwork skills in building a tower, purely from bottle tops and by the end of the workshop we were all good friends.
I showed them a short presentation of ‘Operation Carnababy’, a black cockatoo breeding project I initiated in 2020 and it was lovely to see that I had sparked their interest, as almost all of the kids incorporated the Carnaby’s black cockatoo artificial hollows I had talked about into their ideal community models.
I hope to cement a spark of inspiration in the younger generation’s minds when I present my project to them and  motivate them to run their own projects, knowing that this is a possibility for any kid.
Thanks City of Kwinana for the opportunity.
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Watching them Grow

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We met Sarah and Geoff from Carrah Farm in 2010 when we worked on an environmental conference with kids from the Wheatbelt. The conference saw hundreds of local students learn about the local issues. Sarah had children visit the farm to learn about their rehabilitation efforts. Sarah and Geoff had a farm in Victoria Plains and had been planting swathes of trees along the fence line at the entrance to their farm.

After the conference an invitation to join the next planting season at Carrah Farm was extended to Millennium Kids and was greeted with great enthusiasm.

From 2011 to 2015 an annual planting day at the farm included morning tea, farm tours and a barbecue bringing hundreds of children from Perth to the farm for a day of activity.

In 2024 I revisited the farm to do some photo monitoring.

My favourite photo is from Site 2 with support from the Moore Catchment Council.

From 2011 to 2015 we helped plant over 26,000 trees.

Cat, CEO Millennium Kids Inc

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Aelwen Speaks Up at WFUF2023 in Washington DC

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Millennium Kids (MK), is an environmental youth organisation based in Australia.  We have been championing youth empowerment and environmental advocacy since 1996, inspiring youth-led initiatives and leaving an indelible mark on the environment, individuals and communities globally. MK have provided opportunities to thousands of young minds to upskill through advocacy, education, innovation, and community action.

Uniquely, a Youth Board of 15 kids aged 10-24 years, steers the organisation, ensuring MK achieves its mission and values. An Adult Council oversees legal obligations and governance, and a small staff deliver core business and programs. That this structure puts the power in the hands of youth is evident in all the work we undertake, from ensuring that we have ethically sourced, value aligned funding and partnerships, to the types of projects we support and deliver. Our project-based learning programs are guided by adult mentors, indigenous knowledge holders, and subject matter experts who move beyond the confines of traditional education to provide alternative pathways for youth to engage in environmental action.

In 2018 MK surveyed over 500 young people, seeking their perspectives on pressing environmental issues. The response was overwhelming – they were deeply concerned about climate change, and championed the role of trees in combating the rising temperatures in our cities. This resulted in the creation of Green Lab, to increase, protect, and monitor the tree canopy in our city. The vision of tree-lined streets and vibrant green spaces is not just a dream for youth – it’s a mission we’re passionately pursuing. We envision cities where wildlife thrives, and bushland is genuinely safeguarded for future generations.

Green Lab is a multifaceted approach recognizing the diverse strengths and passions of youth and their capacity to develop and implement real-world solutions. We become architects of change, crafting innovative responses to the most pressing challenges of our time. Despite setbacks at my own project sites, I have been involved in planting hundreds of trees and love to see the years of plantings change over time.  Some of the trees I planted a much taller than me now. When I share my story, especially with those who have the power to do better I have a mixture of feelings. Pride for having achieved so much, yet frustration at the politics that have constrained my vision. MK supports kids like me by amplifying our voices and seeks out opportunities for us to share our perspectives. This led me, as a 16-year-old, to speak about my project to vegetate drainage basins in Perth, at this year’s World Forum on Urban Forests.

Historically youth have been excluded from decision-making in planning processes, robbing society of critical perspectives that are deeply informed by the realities of the present and aspirations for the future. Young people have a genuine understanding of the challenges that lie ahead and are uniquely positioned to offer fresh insights, and innovative solutions. Ignoring their voices diminishes the richness of our collective wisdom and stifles the potential for truly sustainable and inclusive solutions.

Recently I was able to present the story of our Green Lab program to U.S. Special Envoy for Global Youth, Abby Finkenaur at a special MK event in Kings park, WA.

Thanks to Multicultural Lions Club on Western Australia and Millennium Kids for their support in getting me there.

Photo: Heather Johnstone. MK Urban Forest Expert Advisor, Aelwen Johnstone, MK Youth Board,U.S. Special Envoy for Global Youth, Abby Finkenaur and Jack Collard, Noongar/Poet/Educator

Photo Courtesy: Naga Srinvas Photographer

 

 

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MK at the Scribblers Family Festival

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Millennium Kids played an important role in the recent Scribblers Festival held in the St George Cathedral Precinct in the City of Perth by providing information and games to spread our Waste Free Movement messages.

When the organisers of the Scribblers Festival contacted Millennium Kids to ask for help to spread a “sustainability” message waste was the main issue they were thinking about.

Think before you throw was the message we agreed on. Cathy, representing MK, joined Local Author Daisy Jo Bear to provide activities. Our Think before you throw activities included a dress up corner full of second hand clothes and activities using plastic bottle lids. Our leaderboard recorded the tallest bottle top towers built each day. Recycle Right provided games about regifting things that you no longer need rather than throwing them in the bin. Kids to wrote their messages for a healthy planet on coloured leaves and added them to our sustainability tree.

Hannah and Isabelle shared their projects and talked about MK when they were interviewed in the Conservation Caravan.  Their interview will be shared on the Scribbler’s 2023 podcast soon.

Photo credit

FORM Building a State of Creativity’s Scribblers Family Festival 2023. Photos by Dan MacBride, courtesy of FORM.

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Sharing ‘The Power of Postive Pranking’

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When Millennium Kids met Nat Amoore author of The Power of Positive Pranking, during book week, it was clear that she belonged in Millennium Kids and we wanted to share her approach to environmental activism. Three people at the session won a  copy of the book with the instruction to read it and then pass it on to someone else so that we can encourage people to think about how they can take action, to help the  planet, in fun ways just like the “Green Peas” do in Nat’s book

Jenny, one of the winners of the book, has come up with a way to share her copy of the book. She read a report about random acts of kindness  sharing the story of an author who shares books by leaving them on park benches. So on Sunday, while they were at the Scribblers Festival, Isabelle and Hannah started Jenny‘s copy of the book on its journey for sharing by leaving it in a bag on the seat in Supreme Court, Gardens for someone else to pick it up, read the instructions and continue the reading and sharing process.

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