Young people are the most passionate and creative people on the planet, with the ideas and energy of the youth throughout the ages making generational changes in our culture. OzGreen’s YOUth LEADing the World (YLTW) free event enables young people to find their own voice, connect with like-minded people and become active leaders in creating positive futures.
Over 30 years ago, local teachers Col and Sue Lennox saw this potential in youth. Following a devastating fish kill in Curl Curl Lagoon in 1989, Sue, a Freshwater High School teacher, worked with her Year 9 class to identify ways to prevent an event like this happening again. Her students implemented 4 ideas: Beginning a water quality monitoring program of Greendale Creek catchment; Continuing the regeneration of the riparian zone along the creek; Raising pollution awareness by interviewing businesses in the Brookvale industrial area; Making a video about what they were doing.
During the process of implementing these youth driven plans, Sue realised young people are very effective community motivators and educators. She also witnessed the young people involved step up as confident leaders. OzGREEN was then conceived on the banks of Brookvale’s Greendale Creek, with the Greendale Creek Project resulting in Freshwater High School being designated as a Centre of Excellence in Environmental Education.
In 1992 Sue and Col were invited to travel to India by the Sankat Mochan Foundation to help their Clean Ganges campaign, a life-changing journey. Seeing the beauty of River Ganga firsthand and measuring the actual pollution levels broke their hearts. They realised the power of their work had a global application. They left their work as teachers the following year, sold their home, and set up OzGREEN as a charity working as two volunteers out of Colin’s mothers’ garage in Dee Why.
In 2009 they began training people to run YOUth LEADing the World. Sue ran the idea past trusted friends, including Vanessa Moskal, in year 12 at Manly High School at the time. 2009’s first ever YLTW Congress was a huge success, inspiring Vanessa to contribute to her community, running in the 2012 local council elections. With the support of Your Warringah team, at 21 Vanessa became the youngest councillor on the Northern Beaches, serving 5 years in local government, and now works at Origin as Carbon Integration Manager, supporting activities that help reduce carbon emissions. Vanessa has been co-facilitating YLTW for over 15 years and will be again this July.
There are many more stories of young people around the world who are making a meaningful difference to the environment and their communities who attribute their beginnings to the YLTW program. The Focus, Vision, Change, Action leadership program takes participants on a fun and inspiring journey, resourcing them to deal with climate and environmental challenges whilst sustaining their own wellbeing and connecting with the community.
Over the past 30 years OzGREEN’s progams have involved over 1 million people from over 1600 regions worldwide. They have been recognised by the Eureka Prize, Banksia Awards, and UN Media Peace Awards and in 2020 Co-Founder Sue Lennox AM was awarded NSW Senior Australian of the Year.
OzGreen’s 2024 YOUth LEADing the World (YLTW) Congress runs 20-21 July at the Coastal Environment Centre, Narrabeen. 12–20-year-olds register now at ozgreen.org/yltwnb
All welcome to the Community Forum, Sunday 28 July at CEC, Narrabeen to hear and support the young people’s creative action plans. RSVP at ozgreen.org/events