Six teenagers were invited to tackle a problem and research how to get young people enthusiastic about the Citizen Science program.
Youth Take Over (YTO) is part of a broader initiative led by North Central LLEN in partnership with Campaspe Cohuna LLEN, Central Ranges LLEN and Goldfields LLEN.
North Central CMA’s Citizen Science co-ordinator Tania MacLeod, who was part of the project, spoke of the challenges of attracting a younger demographic.
“The program is critical to our nature conservation efforts, but we struggle to attract young people. The average age of our volunteers is about 65,” Mrs MacLeod said.
“We recognise the limited engagement from young people is due to a lack of youth input into the design and implementation of our Citizen Science programs, so we asked a group of young people to review our programs and make recommendations for how they can be more inclusive and engaging to young people.”
The young interns participated in a group-based work experience program delivered by the Campaspe Cohuna LLEN, meeting weekly for eight weeks, learning about Citizen Science, collecting data on youth volunteering, and making recommendations for change to the North Central CMA.
As part of the study, the group designed a survey where they aimed for a total of 100 respondents.
They received a total of 246 respondents in their first week.
The survey gauged how young people felt about volunteering for projects relating to the environment.
The results were shown at Echuca Neighbourhood House, where the broader community was invited to attend.
Agnico Eagle corporate affairs vice-president John Landmark was overwhelmed with the success of the program.
“That’s remarkable,” Mr Landmark said.
“We might invite some of them to come and help us with our marketing.”
Speaking at the launch, Mrs MacLeod said she was impressed with the quality of work produced in such a narrow period and was excited to see the recommendations in action.
“We’ve learnt a lot from this project and now have a solid evidence base of the issue and youth-led recommendations for how to design our programs into the future,” Mrs MacLeod said.
“We will continue to ensure that a youth voice is considered in future program planning and delivery,” she said.
Mitch Scurrah, 16, who was part of the survey to understand how young people view volunteering for environmental projects, gave his thoughts.
“We realised in our research that a lot of young people don’t even know what Citizen Science is, so one of our recommendations was to change the program’s name to something more meaningful to young people,” Mitch said.
Fellow intern, Kahlea Spiby, 18, spoke of her findings after the eight-week project.
“Young people want to know they’re making a difference and be recognised for their contributions,” Kahlea said.
“Volunteering is also a way for young people to enhance their skills and boost their resumes for future job opportunities, so we think promoting Citizen Science as part of a career pathway would be a good approach.”
Mrs MacLeod cited other barriers that prevent young people from taking part in similar programs, a lack of suitable transport that stop them from visiting distant locations.
“We learnt that a big barrier to young people participating in these events is transport, so we are going to run a bus from Echuca to the event site so more young people can come,” Ms MacLeod said.
“We’ll also provide some food and make sure the event is engaging for young people — something they can do with their friends.”
Funding for the project was donated from the Victorian Government’s Loddon Mallee Youth Futures Project.
Four interns will continue working with North Central CMA to implement some of their recommendations.
Project director Ryan Hale spoke of the barriers young people face when starting their careers or entering a new work environment.
“While the focus in this Take Over was research and youth engagement, participants have also improved their ability to work in a team, manage projects and communicate effectively, which all transfer to other industries, Mr Hale said.
YTO aims to bridge the disconnect between young people and employers in the Loddon Campaspe region.
Young people interested in participating in the Bat BioBlitz can register at https://bit.ly/45S9X7G