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

 

 

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.

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.

The Milyu reserve is a significant site for migrating shore birds and our favourite site along the river. Millennium Kids has a long history of planting on the foreshore. We observed the growth of plants from previous planting days and learnt why certain species are selected for this area.

The City of South Perth provided the plants and equipment along with  us a planting demonstration at Milyu Nature Reserve.

Erosion is a major issue at this site with tidal changes in the water levels and waves so a variety of engineering solutions including sand bagging, building a wall have been tried with mixed success. One of the best solutions seems to be putting in plants to hold the soil. Different plants are needed in areas close to the river than those closer to the path. Paul from the City of South Perth showed us some special techniques to help give the plants an extra chance of survival including planting deep so they don’t get easily washed out by the waves and angling them away from the river.

Our young participants said they enjoyed being out near the river doing this activity with their Mums and Dads and collecting sticks and other treasures, watching fish jumping and seeing the swans around where the fresh water drains into the river.

The team of nine kids and 6 adults planted 1200 plants. Fantastic effort and well deserving of a lovely morning tea … with chocolate to finish off.

Monday 5th June is World Environment Day and the theme for 2023 is Beat Plastic Pollution.  

Millennium Kids say we want the colours that we see in nature to be animals not litter. Groups who participate in Green Lab  experience activities with  no single use items including food packaging, workshop materials and games and activities. Millennium Kids know that litter harms animals so they have been creating the animals that they see in their Green Lab nature spaces using plastic litter from clean-up activities to spread the message “stop plastic rubbish to Save our animals.

The world is being inundated by plastic. More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10 per cent is recycled. An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas. 

To find out more visit the UN Website https://www.worldenvironmentday.global 

#BeatPlasticPollution

Our activities have no single use items including food packaging, workshop materials and games and activities. Millennium Kids

Article by: Cathy Levett, Green Lab Coordinator

On Sunday 28 May 25 young people aged 12 – 15 from the Qaswa education community participated in a day of fun, nature and thinking about the future they want for their community. 

MK Youth Board member Chris introduced the theme for the day:

 “ How can we collectively tackle Climate Change while supporting our places to thrive?” 

The group considered what qualities their community has that they value and Lifestyle and Nature factors were at the top of the list.

​​As they explored the land with Cathy and Chris and kayaked on the Canning River with Jacob and the Eco Wildlife Kayaking team, they considered the history of the area and how Indigenous people and the first settlers in the area would have lived on and used the land. We walked back in time through a Sheoak grove to imagine life before settlement and observed the wildlife on and around the river during our walks and Kayaking experiences.

Taking these experiences into the afternoon session discussions focused on the Big Question:

 “What are the Climate Issues Facing your community, school and local environment.

Each group identified and prioritised one key issue.

This is what the young people said:  

Public transport Better off peak service and  frequency, better service coverage, more railways, better feeder bus system,, integration, smooth integration of  the parts, 

Kent Street Weir keep the weir bridge because it separates the freshwater and salt, water quality

Vehicle emissions less cars on the road, slower speeds, facilitates motorcyclist, e-bikes / scooters  and pedestrians safety

Trees trying to stop deforestation with every tree cut down. You need to grow a new one 

Renewable energy more sources so that we don’t need to clear the trees to get the coal more renewable energy facilities. 

Drinkable water water is scarce and finite and only one percent of the earths water is safe to drink so maybe we can waste less more drink of water so people can experience how cool it is to drink water from a river

Youth Voice  more workshops like this one, people can get together and have fun experiencing the nature and the community and get together to take action on climate change issues

“ We were thrilled when Israa from the City of Canning reached out to us at Qaswa House, asking if we’d like to take part in the Agent of Climate Change Leadership program organised by the City of Canning and Millennium Kids. This amazing initiative aims to empower the next generation of leaders who not only care for the environment but actively work to make it better!

At Qaswa, we teach our students about the three responsibilities of being a good Muslim: 1. To make ourselves good, 2. To help others be good, and 3. To make the environment clean and beautiful. When we learnt about this program, we knew it perfectly aligned with our teachings, so we eagerly jumped on board,” said Azizi from Qaswa House. 

” We are immensely grateful to Israa, the City of Canning, and Millennium Kids for providing us with this extraordinary opportunity. Together, we are shaping future leaders who will make a positive impact on our planet”

Thanks to the City of Canning for this fabulous opportunity to work with a range of young people as part of their ambitious Climate Change and Energy Transformation Strategy.

The world’s resources are finite, so we aim to implement a section of the circular economy – regenerating our natural system.

The City of Stirling has an Urban Forest Plan which aims to increase canopy coverage to 18% by 2040. Perth College’s current canopy coverage is 5.03 %, we aim to regenerate a small section of our nature and plant some endemic trees and plants to increase the canopy coverage.

This project aims to improve the canopy coverage and the sustainability of Perth College by installing a garden near the Uniform Shop. Currently the Uniform Shop is a drop off and pick up point for Senior School students. The garden in front of the shop includes minimal plants and a large section of synthetic lawn. Synthetic lawn has a large carbon footprint as it is manufactured from petroleum products, increases the temperature of the microclimate creating urban heat sinks, adds microplastics to the environment and decreases biodiversity. We propose to remove the synthetic lawn, purchase soil suitable for growing endemic plants (including two trees) and make a seat that will allow students to sit under a tree while waiting for pick up.

The long term effect of planting the garden would be to decrease the temperature of the microclimate and reduce the reliance of air conditioning in the Uniform Shop, increase the canopy coverage of the school, increase biodiversity, improve health as interacting with nature has shown to have positive mental and physical health benefits and improve the aesthetics of the area.

SPARC Team 2023, Perth College

Earlier this year we were lucky enough to work alongside Indigenous artist Marli at an event in Lake Claremont, as part of the WA Tree Festival, to create artworks representing the fauna in the area. That day, all the young people present chose to draw different animals, and we decide to paint snake-necked (oblonga) turtles, which are a near-threatened species found in Lake Claremont. Marli brought all our ideas together, and added the creatures we all drew that day into her beautiful large piece of artwork that represented the wetland area. On 21st May we attended the Town of Claremont’s ‘Celebrate the Foreshore’ event, where we got to display our artwork alongside Marli’s, and we also went on stage to tell people about Millennium Kids Green Lab, and what we hoped the future of Perth might look like. Although it can be nerve-wracking speaking in front of lots of people, we also felt really proud of what we had achieved, and grateful that we’d had Marli to mentor us.

By Hannah and Isabelle

This is a story about the kids involved in the Deliberative Democracy workshop in the Shire of Mundaring on Monday 27 March 2023. This is also a story of how I, as a youth leader, saw the hard work of the trained facilitators pay off as the kids’ big ideas unfolded showcasing how we can make a difference to the environment using Deliberative Democracy principles.

I wish you could have been there to see how a small ice breaker turned into two teams receiving $1000 to fund the development of their brilliant idea. Students from Treetops Montessori and Parkerville Steiner Schools will work with The Shire to progress these projects.

The morning started off with big picture thinking on how climate change can be tackled. Then through a funnel like method the facilitators got them to think about the small changes they could make in their everyday life and then what they could do as a community. The youth facilitators created the building blocks to then have the kids come up with their own ideas for the Shire of Mundaring to protect the beautiful biodiversity they have.

While my job was relatively simple in ensuring the kids stayed on task and asking them the “how’s” and “whys”, I got to see the kids’ ideas turn into tangible projects that Millennium Kids could support.

When it came to guiding understanding about biodiversity Andrew Wallace was a great resource. Andrew is a local youth with extensive experience in observing and researching local native animals of many types and their habitats. He was able to help some groups to design projects using authentic parameters. For example he explained that while nest boxes can be valuable habitat it is critical that they are designed and placed to suit real animal needs.

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief in these young leaders having big ideas to help the future of our planet and better yet, providing the kids with a sense of confidence that their ideas are being heard. This was most important of all.

We often disregard the big ideas of kids which I think is the most dangerous thing we can do as a society. Possibilities are endless, and even if a kids’ idea sounds far-fetched, there can often be an amazing project underneath it.

The Deputy Shire President, Paige McNeill and Councillor Amy Collins were there all day to listen to the kids and outline the role of local government and state government.

A special visit by US Consul General Perth, Siriana Nair, to explain why they supported the Agents of Climate Change cemented the idea that the kids were being heard.

It is important to note that if you listen carefully every “ridiculous” idea, is an idea that could help our planet. To give you an example, one kid had said “robot dogs” and while he may have been trying to make a joke, I just asked him “and how would that help the planet”, he looked at me and said, “pick up rubbish ha-ha”. What may have been a joke, turned into him thinking about how his idea could help the planet and I hope he will feel encouraged to think of more. This happened often throughout the day, I saw ideas of kids who said them to me as a “joke”, turn into something that they felt proud about and would ask me “would this really work, this would be so cool”. I want to provide kids with the opportunity to feel heard and turn their ideas into real projects and I am so grateful to be a part of an organisation that does exactly that.

I encourage you to take a moment and listen. We are often too busy with our own thoughts and feelings that we forget to listen. Take a moment with your children to give them confidence that their ideas will be heard and are special, keep an open mind and encourage them to keep thinking big. This is the key to protecting our planet.

Now we will type up the reports for Council and government leaders and then get back to the teams and help them make their projects real.

Maria, Youth Board Member and Agents of Climate Change Facilitator

Recently I met with Mayor Patrick Hall, the Mayor of the City of Canning, to take photos for a Women’s Day interview. I felt proud to talk about my climate postcard project with Mayor Hall to tell him that my work was being covered by the Women’s Day. The Mayor liked my idea to have 10 simple climate change actions everyone can do translated into Punjabi and Mandarin, because not everyone has English as their first language where I live.

Now I want many kids coming up with other great climate change ideas because I found the process at City of Canning acknowledged my ideas and and actions and  meeting with the  Mayor  and other people  who made it all real with funding and support. This process helps young people understand they are helping, and how much they are appreciated by influential people.

The postcard has 10 simple ideas  and I hope lots of kids try to do the activities to help reduce their carbon footprint. All the actions done by young people should improve the place they will live in, and help create a safe environment.

Did you know?

The top causes of CO2 Emissions in City of

Canning are:

ELECTRICITY

GAS

TRANSPORT

WASTE

We can all do our bit to reduce our Carbon Footprint

1. Educate yourself about climate change

2. Use public transport. Walk, ride, scoot, catch a bus

3. Eat locally grown, organic foods

4. Reduce energy. Turn off unused lights and appliances

5. Plant trees. Join City of Canning in the community plantings

6. Reduce plastic

7. Save water and plant a water-wise garden

8. Install Solar Panels

9. Limit eating meat and dairy products

10. Get active and vote. Communicate with decision makers

Send a picture of an action you have done

in your community to reduce your carbon footprint to

siddharth@millenniumkids.com.au

to be in the draw for a copy of “The Power of Positive Pranking” by Nat Amoore