Connecting kids and nature

PLANET 2024 launches its educational program for children by inviting the youngest ones to become the stewards of the Earth in the coming years. Designed to inspire and educate, these interactive sessions are free and offer a playful approach to learning about the conservation and restoration of our ecosystems – forests, oceans, mountains, and rivers.

By nurturing the connection between children and nature, we are sowing the seeds of environmental protection in the hearts of future generations. Welcome to a journey where each lesson is a discovery and a wonder.

Raising awareness among children about the importance of conserving and restoring nature is a vital endeavor for the future of our planet. Children possess an innate curiosity and a receptivity to new knowledge, making them potent catalysts for transformative change. By instilling an understanding of and reverence for nature from an early age, we empower them to develop a profound respect for the environment and to adopt sustainable practices as they grow.

Furthermore, today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders and decision-makers. By educating them today, we are investing in a future generation that will be more attuned to environmental challenges and better equipped to address them. This heightened awareness can inspire children to pursue careers in environmental fields, advocate for eco-conscious policies, and embrace sustainable lifestyles.

Additionally, the impact of sensitizing children to these issues extends beyond the long term. Children can serve as remarkable agents of change within their immediate circles, influencing the attitudes and behaviors of their families, friends, and communities.

In essence, raising awareness among children about the significance of conserving and restoring nature can yield profound and enduring effects, resulting in both immediate and lasting positive impacts on our planet.

EcoLearning Together has been working on addressing the climate crisis through restoration in urban ecosystems for more than three years. We are a youth-led organization dedicated to tackling climate change inequality by keeping our cities litter free, removing harmful invasive species, and reintroducing native plants that foster biodiversity. As a youth for youth nonprofit, our chapters work all over the world to clean up these ecosystems and protect biodiversity so youth of all ages can thrive. We are all volunteer run and student run !

Our chapters, such as the Kirkland, Washington chapter, Cross River Nigeria Chapter and the San Jose, California Chapter will work with local high schools and middle schools to incorporate climate education and biodiversity into school curriculum. This will be done by using a mix of activities from the YUNGA Challenge Badge activities and EcoLearners educational activities. EcoLearners will also provide content to the YUNGA Challenge Badge activities and pitch ideas, along with work with other organizations to have hands-on field trip experiences and learn about indigenous culture from local indigenous organizations.

The goal will be to work directly with at least twenty-five schools, each at three times or more, and reach around 20,000 children across the globe. We want to influence science programs as needed to include a holistic curriculum on the climate crisis that includes hands-on activities such as working in one of our restoration sites, learning about indigenous cultures, and general educational classes on the interconnections of ecology. 

The Kenya and Nigeria chapters will be working on the 3000 tree goal with at least ten schools to teach the importance of restoration. The San Jose, California chapter will host club meetings at multiple schools to gain the interest of other students to be involved in climate action.

Project Rescue Ocean is an environmental NGO that has been modernizing the current environmental and nonprofit landscape since 2015. It offers public awareness actions by organizing waste collection operations and also conducts educational programs in schools with a universal approach to expanding internationally.

One of our primary missions is to raise awareness among children in a school environment through the Rescue Ocean Academy. Our awareness programs are free so that all children can benefit from them. They are conducted by our ambassadors or volunteer members who have been trained by Project Rescue Ocean, which offers a universal program adaptable to international contexts.

These awareness activities are fun, age-appropriate, and culminate in the presentation of an « Ocean Rescuer » Diploma at the end of each session.

Our second mission is to organize pollution clean-up actions by involving young people and the general public. Raising natural awareness is the core of their events. Today, the NGO has 45 branches worldwide, has raised awareness among over 20,000 children about eco-citizenship, and has collected more than 500 tons of litter that will no longer harm the environment.

Since 2019, the Rescue Ocean Academy has successfully raised awareness among 20,000 children, thanks to the volunteer commitment of our branches worldwide. Our awareness initiatives continue to expand internationally, reaching children of different ages, from primary school to university.

In line with our goal to maximize our educational impact, we have introduced the ‘Rescue Ocean Box.’ This box, specially designed by our awareness committee, contains all the materials needed to conduct awareness sessions in the field or in schools.

School coaches and teachers can thus use these resources to effectively educate young people, whether they are young children or university students. This innovative and flexible educational approach allows us to reach a wider audience and inspire the next generation to become engaged advocates for the protection of our planet.

In early July 2023, we organized a seminar that brought together 15 of our branches, a significant event where we strengthened the bonds between our various branches and outlined our goals for the years ahead.

For the year 2024, our ambition is to make significant strides in our mission. We plan to raise awareness among an additional 10,000 children and establish 5 new branches, both in France and internationally.

Furthermore, we are fully committed to upholding the principles of the European Charter ‘Mission and Oceans Waters by 2030.’ With this in mind, our aim is to raise awareness among 50,000 children to become true ‘ocean rescuers’ by 2030.

This initiative reflects our commitment to acting responsibly and proactively in preserving the environment, while strengthening our positive impact on attitudes and the ecosystems involved.

The NGO ‘Hirondelle de l’Avenir’ is a non-profit organization with a humanitarian focus, dedicated to improving the living conditions of vulnerable children for over 15 years. In Benin, the organization actively engages in more than ten significant projects, aiming to contribute to the development of the local economy.

Benin’s socio-economic context is marked by significant challenges, including a young and rapidly growing population, considerable disparities in access to education and professional opportunities, and improvements needed in terms of sanitation. In this context, the NGO ‘Hirondelle de l’Avenir’ has set its mission to promote the development of leadership among children, create opportunities for guidance and professional integration in the digital sector, and support sanitation initiatives.

The organization’s actions are based on the principle of ‘working together,’ which involves close partnerships with various local organizations and structures such as schools, orphanages, and clinics. This collaborative approach enables the mobilization of the necessary resources and skills to implement sustainable and effective projects and enhance the ability of local populations to take action.

The NGO also extends its efforts to other regions of the world, including the Middle East and Europe, with the aim of improving living conditions in these areas while promoting social cohesion. This international dimension enhances the reach and impact of the initiatives, facilitating the exchange of best practices and drawing inspiration from diverse cultures and contexts.

Our initiative aims to raise awareness about biodiversity preservation among 2000 sponsored children in Benin through our NGO Hirondelle de l’Avenir. Recurrent thematic workshops will be established in partnership with local stakeholders from civil society, including orphanages, schools, parents, administrators, and teachers… Our primary goal is to provide children with a foundational knowledge of the rich local biodiversity, enabling them to understand that preservation is important and  allow them to actively participate in concrete and straightforward actions( ex : individual small plots of land to cultivate, tree plantings, botanical gardens according the regions and organizations involved). By encouraging children to become ambassadors for biodiversity preservation, we aim to establish a sustainable and enduring effort that will have positive long-term impacts on the local ecosystem they live within it and their communities.