Green Lab – kids speaking for the trees

Since 1991 trees have been on the Millennium Kids agenda. Kids get it. Trees keep the planet cool, provide habitat for wildlife and are good for our health. In 1991 a project was established at a primary school in Western Australia that put a local piece of bushland at the centre of the curriculum. Over the next 20 years students planted trees there, monitored their progress, and worked with stakeholders to identify issues and challenges with the aim of integrating ongoing educational and land care opportunities into a long-term framework for the school. By 2005 many schools in the same local government area had adopted bushland and were actively caring for country but staff changes, other priorities, and a shift in the political landscape brought new challenges to environmental education. Through formal surveys and informally young people repeatedly called for greater tree protection and environmental care. In 2020 as young people were clamouring for change, to address their concerns about climate change and deforestation Millennium Kids launched a new program based on learnings from the previous decades. Green Lab was formed. Green Lab is a citizen science and action program designed by young people to increase, protect and monitor tree canopy within the Greater Perth area. This presentation explores a pathway to change, with the Millennium Kids at the helm, envisioning their 2071 and their ambition for 30% canopy cover across the Greater Perth metropolitan area.