Student’s goal to save the planet progresses
Students from across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands put their heads together to discuss environmental issues at a youth forum in April.
The Sir Peter Blake Youth EnviroLeader Forum (YELF) is run in partnership with the Ministry for the Environment and was held in Auckland.
One of our five Waikato representatives was Hamilton student KaiserMarie Hall.
Hall has been environmentsavvy since primary school, and it was her first experience with YELF.
‘‘It was nerve-racking at first, but as soon as I got there I saw all of these smiley faces and realised these people are here because they love what I love.’’
The Fraser High School student encourages her peers to pick up rubbish, and admits people think her passion is bit weird.
She said efforts to preserve the environment were made half-heartedly.
‘‘I tell them that if it wasn’t for our environment, we’d be screwed. We need to take care of it. We don’t appreciate it as much as we should.
‘‘I looked forward to being around people that knew what I was talking about and could carry on a conversation about it.’’
The focus of this year’s forum was oceans; with an emphasis on marine pollution, ocean biodiversity, marine protected areas and ocean health.
Hall has participated in waka ama for six years and said it was good to expand her knowledge on an aspect of the environment close to her heart.
‘‘I’m out on the water a lot and I never realised how big of an impact we have on the water and how much the ocean affects us,’’ she said.
The delegates were challenged to develop leadership skills and strategies to address environmental issues within their schools and communities.
Hall’s favourite part of the forum was being put in real-life scenarios to try and problemsolve. She has long-term goals of being on the ground to help save habitats and preserve the environment.
For now, she wants to start at school.
‘‘My school goal is to make it more of a mainstream thing to care about the environment.
‘‘Next year is my last year and I want to leave knowing that I did my best.’’