Aims
EYE aims to…
connect youth with the bush and the wider natural environment.
We welcome youth from our local area and from further afield to the four Youth2Nature Camps we run during the year. The EYE Bushwalking Group goes bush four times or more each year as well, both on Day Bushwalks around town, and on more challenging Overnight Bushwalks in the wider world. And we hug as many trees as we can.
EYE aims to…
empower youth by giving them leadership skills, a voice in the community, and meaningful activities to engage in.
Forty youth attend our EYE Leadership Camp every January, during which our Leadership Group (LeG) is elected. The LeG receives ongoing Leadership Training throughout their terms of office.
We have built an amazing model of youth leadership, and we are able to share this by sending EYE delegates to relevant conferences and events – to teach as well as to learn! Our ongoing partnership with Taronga Zoo’s YATZ (Youth at the Zoo) group allows us to share our passion with our friends in Sydney and beyond.
EYE aims to…
raise awareness of environmental issues amongst youth and in the wider community.
We hold fortnightly meetings with guest speakers, and events to learn about current environmental issues. Our annual awareness raising concert, “The EYEball”, is a highlight on the local calendar. Our current campaign for a “Plastic Bag Free Bellingen” is gaining steam and moving state-wide. We are BUSY!
EYE aims to…
make our community a more sustainable and environmentally beautiful place to live.
EYE’s partnership with Bellingen Urban Landcare sees us out getting dirty at monthly Working Bees. Our EYEfood Project has seen the blossoming of a partnership between EYE, our local high school, and the Community Gardens Association – with many students learning to grow and prepare their own organic food.
EYE aims to…
create a strong and sustainable infrastructure.
The EYE community includes youth, mentors, parents, community groups, local businesses and our local council. EYE youth work hand in hand with staff and mentors to plan and lead our camps, meetings, projects and campaigns. This new paradigm of youth and adults working together means that there is a constant learning throughout our community….. and that things get done.
We have an awesome website (much of it created by a Senior EYE member), and we put out weekly emails and quarterly newsletters so that everyone is aware of all we have to offer. Finally, it is our goal to maintain a large scholarship fund so that our camps and programs are available to all youth, no matter what their financial situation.
