Building Castles in the Air and Foundations Underneath Them: The Inspirational and the Practical in Engaging Youth for Environmental Advocacy

The Inspirational and the Practical in Engaging Youth for Environmental Advocacy •  Yamin: Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia •  Kevin Witte: Kearney, Nebraska, USA •  Tèlyse Masaoay: Springfield, Missouri, USA •  Ella Rasp: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

April 24, 2015

� Finding Joe (2011)

� �  Yamin

�  Environmental Education Practitioner/FOCIL Indonesia Foundation �  Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

�  Kevin Witte �  Social Studies Teacher/Malaika Global Educator/AP World History

Consultant �  Kearney High School, Kearney, Nebraska, USA

�  Tèlyse Masaoay �  Student/AYLP 2014 Singapore/Malaysia Participant �  Springfield, Missouri, USA

�  Ella Rasp �  Student/AYLP 2014 Singapore/Malaysia Participant �  Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Guides on the Hero’s Journey

� � Establishing the Epic Quest---Becoming the Hero of

One’s Own Story � Models of Project Development � Small and Large Group Discussion � Next Steps, Action Planning, and Conclusion

Workshop Session Plan

� � “No one can tell you how to live or what

cause to serve, but everyone needs some cause larger than his or her own profit. Apathy has no adventures. Cynicism leaves no monuments. And a person who is not responsible for others is a person who is truly alone.” � President George W. Bush, Commencement Address at

Ohio State University, June 14, 2002

Establishing the Epic Quest

� � “If you have built castles in the air, your

work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.” � Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Establishing the Epic Quest

What is a Hero’s Journey?

� Universality of the Epic Hero


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Universality of the Epic Hero


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Becoming the Hero in Our Own Story

Cultural Vistas staff members served as our Call to Adventure.

We each found the American Youth Leadership

Program in a different way--through parents, online,from a previous participant.

Why were we attracted to the program?

The Call to Adventure

Traditionally during this phase the hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey. As we met up in LA, our teacher advisors and experts (Nancy Bruce, Kate Hoof, Kevin Witte, and Nilam Patel) helped us put together our knowledge of Singapore & Malaysia from our virtual exercises. We did group activities, environmental seminars, and learned what-to-do and what-not-to-do while traveling.

Meeting with the Mentor

For many of us it was our first time outside of our home country. We encountered many new experiences! Along the way our friendships grew deeper - rooted in our common interests and contrasting backgrounds. As we were learning, we had to rely on each other for inspiration and support.

Crossing the Threshold

� � How can the inspirational drive the practical? � How can we use the framework of the Hero’s

Journey to inspire young people? � How can we use this framework to build a

partnership between people and our planet?

Inspiring Youth

� � Yamin � Ella � Tèlyse

Models of Project Development

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From Hero to Heroes ! � What is the most obvious hero’s characteristic according

to you?

Mr. Amar Ma’ruf, Environemntal Education

Activist, Founder of FOCIL.

Ld. Wahidin, Former Leader

Yamin

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12333

Friend of Coastal Region of Small Island of Indonesia A small group of coastal children to a big urban and coastal children. The area of work:

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Models of Project Development: Advocating the Implementation of Environmental Education as part of the Local Schools Curriculum.

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Why Environmental Education?

q  “A slow moving but powerful force“

(Senator J. William Fulbright) q  The more educated people are, the more aware

they are, the bigger chance to make difference! (………..)

q  To prevent Vs to cure; q  Schools are Children’s Second Home; q  Passion ! Do what you like, Like what you do !

�

Simplify The Plan

Environmental Education Advocacy

Problems & Ideas

Partners and

supports

Meetings Implementation

Reflection and

Evaluation

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What happen during the execution....! �  Problems and Ideas �  Looking for partners, and support �  Socialization �  Meetings, FGD. Seminars, Workshops �  Piloting �  Seminars �  Teacher Training �  Legal Letter/Government Decrees �  Modules �  Implementation �  Monitoring �  Evaluation

Kendari&Wakatobi The Journey ...

Ensuring Sustainability and Engagement !

The Journey ... Kendari&Wakatobi

Focus Group Discussion with Passionate Teachers: Addressing some issue on environmental Education

Workshop on Environmental Education Curriculum Development

Teachers participation and engagement are among the keys

Kendari&Wakatobi

Pre Piloting Meeting with the Education Board, Selected Schools Principles. Result: Legal Letter to pilot the subject in selected both in Wakatobi and in Kendari.

The Journey ...

Doors to doors Visit. Teachers’ Working Group !

Kendari&Wakatobi

Pre Piloting Meeting with the Education Board, Selected Schools Principles. Result: Legal Letter to pilot the subject in selected both in Wakatobi and in Kendari.

The Journey ...

Engage and Partner with Bureaucrats

Perjalanan PKPLH Kendari&Wakatobi

KENDARI MAYOR DECREE on Legalizing the Environmental Education subject called PKPLH (Pendidikan Keterampilan Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup) Kendari Municipal.

Perjalanan PKPLH Kota Kendari

Stand at this point, : Looking back the journey, what have we achieved ??? 1. Two of fourteen regions in the province now have their

mayor decrees to of the implementation of EE local content.

2. Hundred schools in both region have implemented and learnt the EE as part of their curriculum. - Wakatobi: Mulok Kelautan. - Kendari : Mulok PKPLH

3. Thousand students have experienced the outdoor learning activities as part of the Environmental Education activities, and design their own project and activities.

4. New heroes are being born and shaped !

The journey..

Coral Identification

Wall News Creation

Students and Teachers

Local Forest Identification

Extra: Journalistic Training

Trash identification Small Recycling Project


Manggrove Planting

Turtle Rescue and Release

Coastal Clean Up Students –local Governmenent Discussion (City Maintenance

Board)

Greening the City Compost Making


Students Recycling Expo

Students Solidarity in Supporting Greener City

Pengamatan Terumbu Karang

Wall News Competition

Teacher Training for Developing the Subject.


Global Warming Campaign


Students are involved to green the city along with the

bireaucrat


Blend them with nature

Unite them with the nature

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Youth Engagement ! “Give me 1000 adults, I will pull out the mountain. I will give me 10 youths, I will shake the world !” (Ir. Sukarno, Indonesia First President)

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Continued Share Your Skill

Create any memorable moments

� Reward them….!

1.  Send them to workshop, training, etc. 2.  .

3.  Support them to sharpen their professional and academic career !

4.  Incentive !

Conclusions: 1.  Plan your project.

You fail to plan your project, you plan too fail 2.  Participation.

Ensure the participation others. Respect heir idea, involve, bear them responsibility.

3. Partnership. In our Formal Environmental Education, teachers, government, NGO, are playing important roles to ensure the successfulness and the sustainability of the project.

4.  Engage your friends. Create an emotional bind. Share skills among you, and provide reward;

5.  Hero will always bear other heroes.

Singapore and Malaysia had a lot to teach us about sustainability.

Throughout the program we were developing

projects to bring back to our home community that included our learning about culture and sustainability.

Ella - gardenUp: a vertical garden movement Telyse - environate: youth research non-profit

Post-program projects

Sharing the vision - engaging people

Making a plan

Following through - the challenges faced

The Road Back - Ella

Sharing the vision - engaging people

Making a plan

Following through - the challenges faced

Finding new direction

The Road Back - Telyse

Looking back at the journey

Where we are now - what we’ve gained

The journey ahead

Impact and the continuing path

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� Group formed to bring water trail and whitewater to the flatlands of Nebraska

� Environmental cleanup and awareness are key components

�  Started with a few individuals, now 2000+ Facebook likes and 100+ official members

� Obstacles and aspects of the Hero’s Journey

Models of Project Development: Kearney Whitewater Association

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From Kearney to Singapore and Back

From exhibit at Marina Barage or NEWater in Singapore

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Scope of the Project

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Project Objectives

• Provide safe ingress/egress landings to the water in numerous areas

•  Provide areas for viewing and other streamside activities

•  Promote the development of safe paddling skills through instruction, training and participation in canoeing and kayaking events

• Clear the Tailrace and Turkey Creek of trash and potential hazards

•  Install whitewater features on the Kearney Hydro tailrace

•  Beautify and stabilize the banks

•  Restore native plant species and control invasives

•  Promote conservation of local water resources

•  Enhance the City of Kearney and UNK by making the entire stream corridor a community park

Mobilization and

Partnerships

Clean Up Efforts

� �  Youth Division of Rotary

International �  Search Rotary, Interact (12-18), or

Rotaract (18-30) �  KHS group started by student in

2006 �  Student-planned projects have

included: �  Cleanup of a dryland river walk

classroom �  Highway cleanup �  Awareness and fundraising

through sale of Yuda Bands and Charity Water Project

�  Sending students through Rotary International to Haiti to repair wells

Models of Project Development: Kearney High School Interact Club

� �  Who is a hero in your life? What qualities you can learn from him or her? �  How would you describe your “Hero’s Journey” past, present, and future? What

are the challenges, opportunities, and dreams of this epic story? �  How have you navigated these challenges in the past and how will you in the

future? �  What common ground is there between each participant’s “Hero’s Journey”?

What is different? �  How can you make environmental advocacy and youth engagement a part of

your story? �  What best practices, partnerships, skills, and tools will you use to achieve your

project goals and dreams? �  What opportunities are there for youth engagement in your country? �  How do the cultures of individual ASEAN countries shape the way these projects

and environmental advocacy efforts might take shape? �  How can your individual understanding of local culture help your environmental

advocacy efforts be more successful? �  How can this YSEALI Generation Earth Workshop, participants, and leader

mentors assist you in your journey?

Discussion Questions

Go out and build castles in the air…

and put foundations under them!