Awesome Teens #1

From time to time I meet some pretty awesome teens who are making a positive impact on the environmental status of our planet or who are still in touch with nature and its beauty. Teens with Passion, Innovation, Creativity and Compassion, or as I call them, PICC Teens. I hope that sharing their positive attitude will inspire others...

Meet the first Awesome Teens: Brittany and Femke.

Brittany and Femke are two Wellingtonian teenagers, sixteen and seventeen years old. They spend part of their summer holidays studying global warming and are setting up an enviro-club at their school. Their goal is to make their school an award winning Enviroschool. As part of their enviro-club work they have written and created a powerful informative slideshow about global warming, a report for school council and a handbook for club members to help and guide them into being a more environmentally friendly citizen of the earth.

Brittany and Femke are launching their enviro-club this month with a video they created. You can watch their video "Wake up America, CSJ Enviroclub Promotion Music Video" on YouTube.

The two girls hope that members of the enviro-club will influence their friends and classmates to become a more caring citizen of the earth. Their message: The earth is our home, therefore we should respect it, and teach others to protect it.

They believe that their school's students need to understand and take responsibility for the beauty of the land and health of our ecosystems. They are on a mission to make their school a bronze member of the Enviroschools programme by the end of this year.

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Eyesonnature asks ...

You girls gave up several beautiful summer days to research global warming, what triggered that?
Brittany: We are very passionate about it. We thought about it last year. As year 13 we want to do something that we can give back to the school and the community and that is interactive with the students.
Femke: We actually got really annoyed how people leave on the lights at the school, which triggered the thought to create an enviro-club.

You spend several days researching global warming, what are some of the most concerning issues you discovered?
Femke: That the earth temperature has risen by 0.74 c in the last century. And about 4 million sq km arctic ice have already melted.
Brittany: 2005 was the hottest year on record. Lots of animals are becoming extinct as their habitats are being effected by global warming.

How did your friends react when you told them about your enviro plans?
Brittany: They thought it was cool and wondered why they didn't think of it.
Femke: Their enthusiasm shows they will support us.

Why do you think your school needs an enviro club?
Brittany: We need to get the ball rolling.
Femke: Chilton (Chilton Saint James School) talks about growing tall poppies, well we should really show them we can make a difference and we are able students.

What is Enviroschools?
Brittany: A collaborative programme run by the Enviroschools Foundation and it equips students with the knowledge of the effects of global warming and it helps schools become more environmentally friendly.

How do you think Enviroschools will benefit your school?
Femke: It gives us more publicity and we can get an award. The students will be better equipped with more environmentally friendly life skills.

Now you have the approval of the principal, what is your next step?
Femke: A meeting with school council followed with the official launch at school of the enviro-club, followed by first meeting.
Brittany: We want to attract members.

Brittany and Femke, good luck with the launch of your enviro-club.
Brittany & Femke: Thank you.