On Monday 6 June, Dr Jane Goodall officially opened the Abbotsleigh Centre for Environmental Education (ACEE) after a momentous day of engaging environmental activities at the School.

 

More than 100 students from Years 9-12 from 13 schools spent the day taking part in a youth forum focusing on environmental issues. The students heard from five inspirational and very different speakers and shared ideas with each other.

 

‘All five speakers gave their time for free – a measure of the generosity of spirit found in people passionate about leaving this planet a better place for future generations,’ Head of Environmental Education Mrs Helen Watkins said.

 

Kylee Ingham, a young documentary maker who develops videos based on sustainability issues and games that involve the players in real life environmental activities, gave the delegates a new perspective on ways to raise awareness of issues.

 

Peter Clarke from Ku-ring-gai Council talked about his role as community environmental officer and gave ideas on how students could become involved on a local level, as well as proposing some controversial ideas on pet keeping that provoked keen discussion.

 

Peter Rutherford, who is responsible for the Eco House at Kimbriki, brought the discussion back to basics and challenged the students to start making a difference in their own backyards. Fiona Simson talked about the challenges of being an activist. The fifth speaker was Chad Crittle, who currently holds his dream job of lead keeper of animal training at Cairns Zoo, despite being only 20. He got this job through years of volunteering and strong participation at Taronga Zoo.

 

‘Cecilia Oppenheimer, our Environment Prefect, is to be congratulated on her masterful presiding over the day and running the youth discussions that resulted in pledges from each delegate about their way forward in their ecological journey,’ Mrs Watkins said.

 

In the afternoon, the students joined with Years 5-12 students from Abbotsleigh to hear from the amazing Dr Jane Goodall, a world renowned naturalist and environmentalist. ‘Dr Goodall enthralled all the students with her chimpanzee greeting and wonderful, touching stories of her work with these animals,’ Mrs Watkins said.

 

‘Upon being presented with the spade to plant a tree to mark the opening of the ACEE, she said “Oh, no, we use our hands for this” and within seconds had girls, our Headmistress and herself on hands and knees putting the soil around the olive tree – a fitting symbol of peace and life. It was a very special day for Abbotsleigh.’

 

Abbotsleigh has set aside a significant area of land for the ACEE and the centre signifies part of the School’s broader commitment to sustainability and environmental education. ‘The centre contains eight areas within its boundary, including a kitchen garden, food forest, remnant area of Sydney Blue Gum High Forest, proposed wetlands area, an Ag plot and domestic animal area, an area of native bush and a small walled garden that forms the spiritual hub of the centre,’ Mrs Watkins said.

 

‘It is an exciting time for us to embed sustainability into the curriculum and help students to understand their world, their impact on it and how they can make a difference by reducing their environmental footprint.’