The Children in The Wilderness' Youth Environmental Stewardship (YES) Programme focuses on children with commitment and potential who have been identified in Eco-Clubs and on annual Camps through showing a particular interest in conservation.
The programme is an extension of concepts introduced in EcoClubs and during camp, with a greater focus on career guidance, communication, leadership, teamwork and further environmental education.
These camps are usually smaller, with fewer children attending, allowing for focused work groups and increased participation of all children. The YES programme also allows the opportunity for EcoMentors to spend more time with the children and identify candidates for the scholarship and internship programme. YES Clubs have been running in Botswana since 2008, where 582 children have been hosted to date. As our programme grows in each region, YES Clubs and Camps are introduced, allowing the programme to grow with the children, and continue to provide them with environmental education and support. The programme also aims to inspire them to develop conservation methods that can sustain their lives and those of the future generations.
On our YES camps, we focus primarily on the following:
- Team work
- More advanced environmental education
- Leadership
- Careers: in tourism, hospitality, conservation and many others
- Children making a positive impact or change in their community
- and Children initiating environmental and/or social projects at school or village level.
The main objectives of the YES programme include:
- Growing and developing leaders with an understanding of the environment
- Enabling children to work productively and positively in teams as well as on their own
- Developing and enhancing communication skills
- Enabling children to make informed choices for their future careers
- Increasing environmental awareness
- and Enabling us to identify potential tertiary scholarship and internship candidates.
In the end, the YES programme envisages taking children to the next level, preparing them as leaders and for careers in environmental conservation, ecotourism, hospitality and other exciting careers.
Read more inspirational stories from Children in the Wilderness in their latest issue of Eco-Stars magazine here.
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