Hi Millennium Kids.

My mum and I went Malleefowl monitoring with the Malleefowl Preservation Group on the 3rd October , 2020 at Merriden. It was amazing because we saw 2 Malleefowl’s that were near their nest, they were screeching to try and scare us away from their nest. We saw 3 active mounds that were in use by Malleefowl’s we visited in total 15!!!!!!

On the  mounds I saw fox  scats ,Malleefowl eggshells and scratchings and the COOLESt mystery ant that had an abdomen like a bee. It also had a red head with black eyes and wings. We also found a trap door spider nest.

Have a great week, Phoenix. MK Youth Board Member

If you have a great nature story to tell please send your article and photo to info@millenniumkids.com.au

 

And a GREAT big thank you to our Donors.

A super big thank you to all our donors big and small. Your donations help us fund the programs and ideas developed by our young members.

Thanks a million to the crew from Sunburnt Films who have donated $5000 worth of their time to help us make a 90 sec film about our work. The Kids have decided to make a film about their Citizens Assembly 2021. With an additional donation from our good buddy John and Sheryl we are on our way to raising funds to make this youth led, deliberative democracy process happen in 2021. Watch this space.

Thanks a million to Denise, Joanne, Gill, Rena and Mary. Your donations are going towards a t- shirt for the Kids on Country crew so they can show off their art skills and look smart when they lead their on country tours.

A big thank you to Heather for doing her art fundraiser. Your donation will support a young person with a Green Lab pitch to protect, monitor and increase canopy in the Perth metropolitan area.

A million thanks to long term donor Josie. We have a new waste project in the pipeline and we look forward to sharing more news soon.

If you are interested in donating or providing inkind support to Millennium Kids check out our donation link  here

or email catrina@millenniumkids.com.au

We are so excited to be able to employ Parna Media in the Goldfields. Brandon and Jaz want to give young indigenous people an opportunity to share their stories, giving voice to their aspirations and goals. Over the weekend we introduced the Kids on Country mob to Brandon and Jaz on Country. Thanks to a donation from Kylie McGinn MLC, the team have state of the art recording equipment that came out on Country to the kids. Brandon and Jaz set up the equipment by Rowles Lagoon and introduced the Kids to the equipment and the idea of sharing story on Country.

The Kids on Country team want to get their driver’s licenses so they can lead tours and share their knowledge with others. Lots of laws to learn. Lots of new skills on the agenda.

Lore/Law is brought to you through a Law Society of Western Australia collaboration with Millennium Kids Inc, Media on Mars, Periscope Pictures and Parna Media with funding from Department of Justice’s Criminal Confiscation Grants Program and Lotterywest.

Check out www.millenniumkids.com.au for the full story.

 

The Great Tin Can Bee Hunt

Going on a bee hunt,

Gonna get a big one,

I’m not scared.

Our Kids on Country crew want to be tour guides, to share the stories of their beautiful country in the Great Western Woodland.

Last weekend the team visited Karlkurla Park, in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, and went on a bee hunt, learning about native bees as they took a walk through the beautiful park.

The team of Kids looked for recycled tin can bee art around the park and checked out the clues to learn about the different types of bees found in Australia.

“Did you know Australia has over 1700 species of native bees and the majority are solitary, meaning that unlike the introduced European Honey Bee, our bees don’t form swarms or hives.”

Thanks KBULG – we had fun with your bee activity. We found 11 and for every clue our team where rewarded with chocolate.

FUN FACT: The Ngadju word for honey is jarun.

BIG QUESTION: Do any of the native bees in the Great Western Woodland produce honey?

Send your answer to info@millenniumkids.com.au for some chocolate fun.

Have fun.

Eat chocolate

Care for the Environment.

 

 

This week we feature a young person who is a member of Millennium Kids Inc (MK), a not-for-profit, environmental youth organisation based in Perth, that empowers young people with a ‘skills for life’ approach so they can become leaders and change-agents in their communities.

“My name is Bella Poll and I am 17 years old.

I first joined MK when I was ten years old. After pitching my ideas to a panel, I was selected to participate in some of the organisation’s projects. MK interested me because of the way that they respected and listened to the voices of young people. I knew that the organisation would give me the opportunity to action and find solutions to the issues I cared most about; single use plastic consumption; waste in the ocean and youth empowerment. MK has taught me more than I could have ever imagined and I am very grateful and proud to represent the organisation and what it stands for.”

What do you believe is the most important environmental issue that will impact your future?

“I believe that unsustainable consumption of not only single use plastic but also fossil fuels, food and other non-reusable materials is the most important environmental issue that will impact our future.”

What are you and the MK team doing about it?

“Currently, the MK team and myself are planning a first in the world, youth-led, climate Citizens Assembly. In October 2021 we are going to bring together a group of 150 randomly sampled kids. They will be presented with multiple perspectives on the issues we are currently facing and their goal will be to recommend short term action and big agenda items which reduce our carbon footprint.”

#chrelights #socialjustice #humanrights #allbeings

Photo used with permission from Millennium Kids.

L-R: Bella; Amelia; Cat (MK CEO).

 

Over the last few months; the team at Millennium Kids consisting of Youth Board members, staff, education providers and volunteers have worked collaboratively to pull together a fun, accessible and portable online offering that is sure to inspire any student in upper primary or middle school.

It’s been an amazingly fun and supportive environment which is evident in the modules on offer. The development of the Green Lab Challenge has allowed the Youth Board and us older Millennium Kids too, the opportunity to showcase Millennium Kids passion for the environment in new way.

We were so excited to launch Green Lab Challenge in the time of COVID social distancing restrictions , but how? Usually our events are filled with dancing, music and lots of people. This time it was going to be a little different. We planned in the same way we always do, together. Instead of meeting face to face we moved to Webex meetings. We worked to make sure that everyone could be involved in a way that suited them whether they were dialling into the launch or attending in person.

The launch was held at The Platform in Perth. As attendees entered they visited a sample of workshops on offer in the online hub. Youth Board members Patrick showcased his amazing art work and collection of feathers as part of his ‘Birds in my Backyard’ project and Aelwen shared ‘Hidden Gems’ an exploration into urban green spaces in Victoria Park. Everyone decorated their rooms for maximum fun, all whilst ensuring social distancing and hygiene measures were followed. Aelwen even made a game by marking the floor with tape to encourage our guests to jump, hop and spin past images of green spaces in Vic Park.

There were also Citizen scientist workshops from MK mentors,too.  Wayne showed us how to spot birds in ‘Bird Survey 101’, Cathy showed us how to make bee hotels  through her ‘Nature’s Hotel’, Jos, from DBCA, gave us a tour around bushland with her ‘My Patch Virtual Tour’ and I showed how to map tree canopy to make a case to plant trees to keep your city cool with ‘Urban Canopy’.

Bella B, another Youth Board member, came online and opened the event from her home office in the South West. She started with an acknowledgement to country and Professor Lyn Beazley, our Green Lab Patron officially launched Green Lab Challenge. We had students from Rostrata Primary School dial in to ask Wayne, our MK Citizen Science Coordinator,  how to progress their citizen science project.

We were excited to have in attendance representatives from a wide range of institutions including Asha Stabback,Curtin University, who toured Prof David Gibson’s floating head through the space through a device utilising the Cisco Webex Teams platform. We were also joined by Howard Flinders, Department of Education, Amy Warner, City of Melville, Danielle Giles, Scitech, Maree Whiteley, Independent Schools Association and Dr Jane Chambers, Murdoch University.

To find out more and register for the Green Lab Challenge please email info@millenniumkids.com.au

Green Lab is a Millennium Kids Citizen Science program, funded by the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program and supported by Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and Trillion Trees.

It’s World Environment Day and the kids think the planet needs a lot of loving so we are thrilled to launch our new online program where  you and you students  are invited to explore Green Lab Challenge, an online experience to inspire your students to explore the outside world.

Green Lab – where the natural world is your laboratory and where Kids ask the Big Questions:

  • Can increasing our canopy cool our city?
  • Why isn’t bush forever, forever?
  • What does that bird eat?
  • Is this plant important?
  • What was here before?

This online version – the Green Lab Challenge was developed to get you connected to your Green Lab space, learn some new skills and think about putting your Green Lab project into action at your school, local bushland or in your own backyard.

The online tools provide a pathway for students to learn about their local bushland through Citizen Science and HASS activities. Students can work through the modules, each having deliverables that need to be completed. Simply upload completed work to the Challenge site. Students are awarded Green Lab Micro Credentials when they complete activities.

At the end of the online program your students will be ready to start work on their own Green Lab project at your school or local bushland.

The Green Lab Challenge includes access to online teacher professional learning, online tutorials for your classroom from our Citizen Scientists and HASS presenters, log on instructions for students and parent permission forms.

Green Lab is a Millennium Kids Citizen Science program, funded by the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program and supported by Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and Trillion Trees.

Millennium Kids Inc is a member of the Sustainable Schools WA alliance and the Green Lab project will provide significant opportunities for collaboration to strengthen resources for schools. Find out more Final About Green Lab Challenge

To register your school for more information email catrina@millenniumkids.com.au or call 0418 923 968.

 

If you don’t believe Climate Change is real, then you must have been living under a rock! We need to stop or slow down the rate at which climate change is happening!

Climate change refers to changes in the Earth’s climate from the gradual rise in temperature caused by high levels of Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Climate change is caused by the enhanced Greenhouse effect.  The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap the Sun’s heat.

660 thousand tonnes of plastic waste every year are created by Australians. 85% of soft plastics from bags and packaging ends up in landfill. The problem with plastic ending up in landfill is that it emits Methane and Carbon Dioxide. These are both potent greenhouse gases that contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect.

Solutions that are being implemented

Proposed solutions to the problem of plastic is using reusable bags, packaging, plates, bowls and cutlery! Buying consumables, clothing, essentials, anything for that matter that have minimal packaging. Using your reusable water bottles rather than buying plastic water bottles.

A solution that is mostly used today for companies that do takeaway food and drink is bio packaging. It keeps your food warm and is made from plants which “biodegrade”. But is bio packaging really an effective solution?  Does this “biodegradable” packaging create more problems than it solves?

Indonesia and the production of bioplastics

Bio packaging is made using plants like, corn, cassava, sugar cane or beets which are then put through a milling process to extract the glucose (starch). The most widely used plant for bio packaging is corn.

Indonesia is used to plant the raw material such as corn used to produce the bioplastics. The big companies can easily find desperate people in need of work in developing countries and they can pay them low amounts to source the raw materials.

The soils of Indonesia are also very fertile. In Surabaya the capital of the Indonesian Jawa Timur province (East Java), a company that makes the bioplastics has paid people an inadequate amount of money to clear their land and farm corn.

Catrina Aniere is the CEO of Millennium Kids. Which is a not for profit environmental organisation run by kids. She has been to Indonesia and seen the clearing of land first-hand.

“I am really worried that in many poor communities in parts of Indonesia are growing corn in areas recently protected as forest.” Catrina said. “The land is cleared, and corn is grown in its place. Not only are the communities losing important forest and biodiversity these areas which were once protected are now adversely affected by floods which impact the area, soil is washed into rivers and crop areas become barren zones with impoverished landscapes unable to sustain new crops of corn and certainly won’t be able to be revegetated.”

Impact on the Environment

The clearing of the land by cutting down of trees has a massive impact on the environment. It greatly reduces the amount of carbon dioxide that is taken in from the atmosphere through photosynthesis by plants.

This results in more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Which leads to more heat being trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere. Which has a knock-on effect on climate change.

It also causes soil degradation and erosion which occurs because there are no deep-rooted plants to keep the soil in place. When trees are removed and crops like corn are planted which are shallow root plants it means that the soil can more easily erode

There is less soil which means there is less between the surface and the water table which is salty. This will raise the pH levels of the soil and decreases its fertility.

“Poor people can only afford the land repayments if the crop is successful. With poor crop yields and erosion from flooding farmers will become indebted and be unable to repay the costs of land.” Catrina said. “The resulting treadmill of the need to buy fertiliser and biocides, and reduced production of their own food, coupled with highly volatile prices for inputs and the export crops, and inevitably declining soil fertility has been devastating for both small land holders and the environment, further entrenching the poverty.”

Deforestation also reduces the area where endangered animals on the island can live. Like the Javan Blue-banded Kingfisher which is critically endangered. There are only between 50-249 Javan Blue-banded King fisher’s left.

Is Bio Packaging Really Compostable?

There is a worrying misconception of public that bio packaging can be composted or recycled.  The bio packaging can’t be composted by normal home composting. Currently a commercial composter to compost bio packaging is required.

Australia-wide there are only 9 industrial composters that can take the bio packaging from this particular company.

Some people put it in the normal bin hoping that it will be sorted and then be taken away to an industrial composting facility where it will be composted. This is not the case, as soon as you put it in the general waste bin it goes straight to landfill. It takes at least 40 years for the bio packaging to biodegrade in landfill and during the process it releases methane and carbon dioxide – so we’re back to a similar position as with normal plastic!

Some people also put the bio packaging in the recycling bin. However, Australia has no facilities to recycle the bio packaging and in fact putting bio packaging in the recycling bin could mean that recycling is “contaminated” and then all the recycling also ends up in landfill!

What Can We Do?

First and foremost, we should push for the company to get the building blocks of their bio packaging from sustainable sources and not to entice vulnerable people  anywhere to clear their land. Developing countries have already cleared plenty of land to make room for crops with disastrous effects.

We should also push for the Australian Government to get recycling facilities that can recycle the bio packaging. Another idea is that there are special bins for bio packaging so it can be taken to the commercial composting facilities that can compost the bio packaging.

We should also support companies researching and developing bio packaging that is produced sustainably and is able to be composted in our normal composters that we have at home.

Catrina is “not convinced that any throw away items are a solution – the very fact that all the energy used to grow the plants, manufacture the product and them throw them away does cost us the Earth.” Catrina’s preference is to have “products that are good for people and the Earth and promote a circular economy model. I will take my own cup to the shop if I need a takeaway.”

What do you think?

Article written by Jacob.

Bibliography:

Collins Dictionary2018, Collins Dictionary, viewed 6 March 2020, <https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/climate-change>.

Green, M 2013, Climate Change, viewed 7 March 2020, <https://www.mrgscience.com/44-climate-change.html>.

Mannix, L 2017, The compostable cup you can’t compost, and the trouble with our recycling system, The Sydney Morning Herald, viewed 13 March 2020, <https://www.smh.com.au/environment/the-compostable-cup-you-cant-compost-and-the-trouble-with-our-recycling-system-20170701-gx2kpu.html>.

Yeung, K 2018, Top 10 Indonesian Endangered Species, Indonesia Expat, viewed 13 March 2020, <https://indonesiaexpat.biz/lifestyle/top-10-indonesian-endangered-species/>.

 

A Story from Adi in Sumbawa

Covid-19 has effected many sectors of humanity in the entire world. Many people are losing their job, businesses, and even lost members of their family, friends and colleagues.

The situation is the same on my island Sumbawa. Before covid-19 has come, the situation was very normal which is all the community still working in the office, rice farm, selling vegetables and fish. But now it is becoming different where all people mostly can not go out from the home and village just because of covid-19. The number of positive covid-19 people is increasing day by day.

In our island it is very different from Australia, where many many people can not get money without doing some work each day. They can not feed their kids and their family without outdoor activity.

We SAVE needed to think how we can help these people through these times. Through our leadership experience we decided giving is the way out of this, with a strong connection between collaboration with the government and community to fight against the covid-19.

Some help is always helpful, no matter if it is small or big.  All we know it is very valuable to help the community. We worked together to donate masks, rice, vegetables, sugar, coffee, soap and cooking spices for the kitchens of the very needy community.

We have very strong reason why we need to drop these food parcels off.  The island is 90% Muslim and covid-19 is happening when all Muslim are doing Ramadhan ceremony. Through our contribution we are helping the government to make the community stay home.

For our first project we dropped some parcels of food to the village where Covid-19 has started.  We will continue to help the villages that need it.

Stay home, stay healthy and stay happy! We are always saying these words. We hope we can walk past this hard time to freedom to walk the streets again.

Our motto “spread the goodness and share the happiness”

Adi WE SAVE Member, Dompu, Sumbawa and MK Leadership Graduate

Thanks a trillion to the Rotary Club of Perth City East for helping our Lore Law crew out with recycled phones. Our young team in Coolgardie haven’t had face to face contact with Millennium Kids since the outbreak of COVID. Thanks to Instagram MK has been in contact with Jasmin, one of our leadership members in Coolgardie  who worked out a plan to keep in contact with the local Kids using mobile phones and social media. Thanks a million to Dr Lee Partridge who stepped up and involved her Rotary crew in collecting old phones for our Kids. With a donation of 12 phones we will be physically distanced but socially connected with our Coolgardie crew during this time of COVID.