Young Reporters - Expressions of interest now open for 2017

PRESS RELEASE
Friday 9th December 2016

Expressions of interest now open for 2017.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) is excited to announce it has been appointed as the national operator of an internationally accredited programme for young reporters.

The programme is known as the “Young Reporters For The Environment” (YRE) and was established by “The Foundation for Environmental Education” (FEE) in 1994. Over the past 20+ years FEE has established a portfolio of core environmental programmes across the world such as Learning About Forests, Green Key, Blue Flag and the Young Reporters For The Environment.

In its 22nd year YRE is a youth-led environmental programme found in over 30 countries with more than 77,000 young reporters.

To enter, students need to investigate an issue, research a solution and then report on it using film, photography or writing. They then need to disseminate their piece via available channels. This could be via their school newsletter, in a class presentation or by contacting local media.

There will be one winner selected per category and age group. All of which, KNZB will put forward to be considered for the international competition.

WRITING

See Handbook

PHOTOGRAPHY

See Handbook

FILM

See Handbook

Keep New Zealand Beautiful CEO Heather Saunderson said when she discovered FEE and the YRE programme she instantly knew she needed to introduce it in New Zealand. “We had identified a need to extend our programming in the youth sector and with YRE’s main focus being to empower young people to take a stand on environmental issues the fit was perfect.”

Ms Saunderson said they partnered with Wrigley’s who was an international partner of FEE, and a member of KNZB, to bring the programme to New Zealand.

Open to all schools that teach 11-18 year olds, Education Manager Christine White said they ran a pilot programme in 2016 and were very impressed with the high calibre of submissions they received.

Ms White said they have reviewed the pilot programme and based on their review have made some very exciting updates for 2017. “In 2017 we are going to be evolving the programme to focus on the major issue of litter, by adopting the Litter Less Campaign.”

She said through the Litter Less Campaign they will pair schools with a partner country to enable students to discuss their projects, talk about challenges and share knowledge with students from other parts of the world.

“Litter is a great theme to start working on environmental issues with students. It is visible and it is easy to see the improvements. Like the YRE programme, the YRE Litter Less Campaign aims to find and then report solutions through articles, photographs and videos.”

It aims to engage and educate children and young people on the issue of litter, and encourage them to make positive choices.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful are now taking expressions of interest from schools who would like to find out more about taking part in the Young Reporters For The Environment, Litter Less Campaign. Entries open in Term 1, 2017 and close in July 2017.

If you are interested in finding out more about the programme contact:
Christine White
Education Manager
info@knzb.org.nz

Key information about Litter Less Campaign

Why should schools take part in the programme?
Participating schools will give their students the opportunity to be part of the solution to the problem of environmental litter and waste by producing creative and engaging environmental journalism. YRE aims to empower young people to take a stand on environmental issues they feel strongly about and to give them a platform to articulate these issues through the media of writing, photography or video.

YRE promotes active involvement by encouraging students to organise a Community Action Day where participants will activate other students and/or the wider community to take action and raise awareness of a litter problem.

What can schools expect as a participant?
The YRE Programme runs from March to July. KNZB will provide schools with guides, worksheets and resources to help implement the programme into their class lessons. As students work on their projects they will have the opportunity to connect with other schools globally as part of the International Collaboration component of the programme.

In July students will then be invited to submit their completed projects to the National YRE competition for a chance to win some great prizes. All national winners will have an automatic entry into the International YRE competition.

What are the categories?
In total there are 3 categories and 6 prizes as outlined below.

Film
• 11-14
• 15-18
Photo
• 11-14
• 15-18
Writing
• 11-14
• 15-18
How can schools get involved?
Schools can simply go to www.yre.org.nz and complete the YRE Expression of Interest form on the website. KNZB will then make contact and send through a registration form and information about the programme.

Winners of Young Reporters for
the Environment 2016

WRITING (11-14)
Sabine Lapointe
"Ban The Plastic Bag"

WRITING (15-18)
Joanna Tao
"Dumpster Diving"

FILM (11-14)
Ana Hoonhout
"Littering? You can do better!” Don’t let Pokemon Go distract you from looking after our environment"

FILM( 15-18)
Eamon Walsh, David Harrison and Joshua Richardson
"Whatungarongaro Te Tangata Toitu Te Whenua"

To view our 2016 winning entries click here.

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