On a mission for the kids

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Sunday, March 27, 2011

JET, RISE partner to deliver 'green' programme to urban kids

THE Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) and RISE Life Management Services have joined forces to embark on a programme to expose children living in Kingston to experiences in nature.

Funded by the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica, the project was launched in October under the name 'Building Appreciation for Nature in Children at Risk' and is geared toward enhancing awareness of and appreciation for nature in children living in urban environments.

JET will deliver environmentally themed workshops to 120 participants in the RISE Kidz Club's after-school programme in three downtown Kingston communities -- Parade Gardens, Fletcher's Land and Allman Town.

Children ranging from ages nine to 14 years will participate in the workshops, and will be taken on field trips to expose them to Jamaica's natural environment. Youth development officers who work with the Kidz Club are also being trained in environmental topics to ensure the long-term sustainability of the programme.

The Jamaica Environment Trust has been delivering environmental education programmes for over a decade. Its flagship environmental education project -- the Schools' Environment Programme -- has been delivered in more than 350 Jamaican schools in its 14-year run.

"As successful as SEP has been over the years, we always seem to find it challenging to impact schools and students in inner-city areas," said Tamoy Singh, project co-ordinator at JET. "This project with RISE has now given us an opportunity to reach those who may have been missing out."

RISE Life Management, established in 1990 as Addiction Alert, shifted its focus in 2005 to address the needs of vulnerable populations in Jamaica, particularly at-risk adolescents living in inner-city communities.

"This project with JET is a tremendous opportunity for us to, through partnership, expand our programme offerings to the most vulnerable in our population," said Shawn McGregor, programme manager at RISE. "Increased appreciation for the preservation of our environment is only achievable through educating our children about its importance."

The project was launched on October 21 last year, with 55 children from Parade Gardens attending a JET workshop during RISE's Kidz Club meeting. It was followed by a field trip on October 23 to the Hollywell Recreational area in the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park.

"Hollywell was fun and a cool area. I enjoyed the journey," said nine-year-old Shadimond Francis, who is among the programme's participants. "We walked from Hollywell to Portland."

Field trips were also taken to the Palisadoes wetlands with the Port Royal Marine Lab, and the youths were given the opportunity to go bird watching in Hope Gardens with representatives from the Jamaica Conservation Development Trust and Birdlife Jamaica.

Since October last year, JET has replicated the project in the Allman Town and Fletcher's Land Kidz Clubs with a further 85 children. An open day will be hosted on May 7 to showcase the work of the participants in the project and photographs of the activities.

PARROTS JET cap:

A representative from Jamaica Conservation Development Trust points to a flock of Yellow Billed parrots during a bird watching exercise with participants from RISE Kidz Club in Hope Gardens.