The Botanic Gardens of Sydney’s Youth Community Greening (YCG) program is a diverse environmental education outreach initiative tailored for young people aged 2 to 25 throughout New South Wales. Focused on working with less privileged youth, YCG collaborates with early learning centres, schools, youth justice centres, and similar organisations.
YCG has worked to connect the often-overlooked ties that Aboriginal youth have with their schools, communities, and Country. Supported by Federal “Safer Communities” funding, the ‘Greener on the Outside’ program strives to reveal that life beyond troubled pathways can flourish in healthy ways.
Walk with the team as we travel through the program detailing its path to success. At the heart of the program is its hands-on, garden-based approach. At-risk First Nations high school students are trained to both garden and care for Country. Across 16 high schools along the NSW coast, from Bega to Coffs Harbour, students have embarked on the exciting journey of designing, creating, and celebrating their own cultural spaces.
These outdoor projects range from cultural trails marked by interpretative signage and yarning circles to bush tucker plant nurseries. The initiative isn’t merely a garden program, it’s an immersive experience that transforms spaces into living legacies of heritage and positively transforms the students in the process.
An evaluation by the Ngarruwan Ngadju First People’s Health and Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Wollongong confirmed the program’s profound impact.
These links highlight the success of the program at Bega, Taree & Albion Park High Schools.
https://vimeo.com/888949271/3366222d91
https://vimeo.com/891233417/27f26a287e
https://vimeo.com/912175387/9ad90c58cd