“You don’t need to be a grown up to make a difference” – Celebrating our #NextGenRainforestRescuers

If you follow us on social media or receive our eNewsletters it’s likely you’ve heard the term #NextGenRainforestRescuers before.

So, what are #NextGenRainforestRescuers? They are a vibrant community of young conservation troopers who are making waves in the conservation of our natural world. From fundraising to tree plantings, making documentaries to educating peers, and much more, these young champions of the environment are creating change in diverse, impactful, and creative ways.

Celebrating our #NextGenRainforestRescuers

In celebration of our 25th year, we wanted to take a walk down memory lane and touch base with some of the incredible kids we’ve featured throughout the years.

Flynn

The OG #NextGenRainforestRescuer, Flynn contacted us back in 2019 to share his Year 11 report on Cassowaries with us. Click here to read the article.

Flynn’s passion for Cassowaries and desire to be an advocate for these incredible animals is what inspired us to start encouraging our younger supporters to get in touch to let us know how they were being the change they wanted to see. We wanted to use our platform to share their stories in hopes it would inspire more little change makers.

Fast forward to 2024, 5 years on, and Flynn is undertaking his Paramedic Internship with SA Ambulance after graduating with a Bachelor of Paramedicine. Flynn is still hugely active in his local community, still an active member of Scouts, still ready to lend a helping hand wherever is needed, and, you guessed it, he still loves cassowaries! In celebration of World Cassowary Day in 2022, Flynn ran an event at Gorge Wildlife Park to raise funds for his favourite birds through the sale of cassowary themed badges and a sausage sizzle.

“I continue to visit Gorge Wildlife Park each year for my birthday and to visit their cassowaries, always the best thing to brighten my day!”

— Flynn, #NextGenRainforestRescuer

Amber and Penny

We first introduced this dynamic duo in early 2021 in our blog titled “The Future is in Good Hands” – find it here. This blog featured a small selection of little legends making a big difference, including sisters Amber and Penny who were making positive changes in their local community and educating people on the importance of cassowaries and rainforests.

During 2021 and 2022, we featured these powerhouses a few times – when the girls installed a cassowary themed community library (read more here), when they organised and manned a cassowary awareness and education stall to raise funds for Rainforest Rescue and Amber created a stop-mo video (check it out here), and when they were both awarded Junior Citizen of the Year by their local council (click here to read more).

Amber, now 13, is thriving in high school with big plans for the future! Amber’s mum, Sharon, tells us that “she still loves cassowaries (and always will!)”. Amber wanted to share her cassowary diamond art creation that she completed. It is framed and it took about a year to finish – painstaking work! It is now proudly displayed in her rainforest themed room.

Penny is 11 and currently in her final year of primary school. Penny recently learnt about how devastating Yellow Crazy Ants can be for the rainforests through the families learnings about cassowaries, so Penny went about incorporating this new knowledge into a recent school project. The ant itself is made from styrofoam, pool noodle foam, wire and air dried clay. It is built upon a turntable so it can spin around to view the ant from different angles. You won’t be surprised to hear that Penny received top marks for her incredible efforts!

“You don’t need to be a grown-up to make a difference, and you’re unique and special the way you are”

— Amber, #NextGenRainforestRescuer

Tilly

Tilly was another superstar introduced in our 2021 blog “The Future is in Good Hands” . Another cassowary lover, Tilly had “adopted” a plush cassowary during a trip to the Daintree and made some donations to us to ensure the cassowaries had a safe place to live and plenty of food sources.

Tilly, now 12, had this to share:

“I’m in grade 6 and am the sustainability leader at my school. This means I help our school to become more sustainable. Such as introducing nude food term and completing the self assessment to become a sustainable school. I still like to donate to rainforest rescue to help the cassowaries and I’m saving up right now!”

— Tilly, #NextGenRainforestRescuer

Jonathan

When Jonathan turned 9, he chose to donate part of his birthday money to support our work, so we celebrated him and his incredible generosity in our blog “The Future is in Good Hands” in early 2021.

Jonathan, now 12, gave us a quick update recently:

“A few years ago I donated to Rainforest Rescue for my birthday. Since then I have donated to a few other charities and have helped my mum with her climate work.”

— Jonathan, #NextGenRainforestRescuer

Oliver

When Oliver was 12 years old he learnt about deforestation and, as part of a school project, Oliver wrote a poem and drew beautiful illustrations which, with the help of his dad, he turned into a wonderful video educating people on the impact cutting our trees down has on wildlife. Watch it on our Instagram.

2 years later, Oliver is now 14, in Year 9, and is currently undertaking a term-long place-based learning program for school, in Jervis Bay, south of Sydney NSW. Jervis Bay is a haven for bottle nose dolphins, fur seals, little penguins and sea dragons. The program sees student interact with the natural and built local environments.

Oliver is loving the Environmental Studies unit, where he is conducting an extended research project in the field by exploring the unique salt marsh ecosystem. He will deepen his understanding of natural filtration systems that produce the crystal clear waters of the Jervis Bay.

So, whilst it’s not the Daintree and is approximately 2,700km south of it, it’s another Australian area of high biodiversity value. Oliver’s passion for preserving and protecting the environment is still as strong as ever.

Plastic Free Boy

We also got in touch with Arlian, a.k.a Plastic Free Boy, a long term friend of Rainforest Rescue and an ambassador for our natural world since the age of 11, to ask about what he’s up to at the moment (spoiler alert: he’s currently touring internationally, visiting schools across Europe with his ‘Gen Now’ Young Change Maker presentations). Learn more in this video or visit the Plastic Free Boy YouTube channel for more!

“I believe my generation is the key to change. Students are the new leaders of tomorrow. I love inspiring students with my story to become changemakers themselves, empowering them to create innovative solution-based projects. No one is too young to make a difference.”

— Arlian AKA Plastic Free Boy

 

Now it’s your turn to Get Involved! Crafty Rainforest Critter Masks

Here’s a fun activity for kids of all ages. Pick from four characterful critters found in and around the Daintree Rainforest and craft your own colourful mask!

Each mask design features interesting facts about the animal species, its Eastern Kuku Yalanji name and a striking design for colouring in and cutting out to create a mask.

Choose from the mighty Saltwater Crocodile, the secretive Southern Cassowary, the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle or the beautiful Cairns Birdwing. Or why not craft all four?!

With the masks you can tell a story about the different creatures that appear in the Daintree Rainforest. Cassowaries and Cairns Birdwings can be found when exploring the rainforest on foot; the creeks, rivers and estuaries are home to the Saltwater Crocodile; and the amazing coral reef that meets the rainforest is where the Hawksbill Turtle likes to feed and live.

Saltwater Crocodile	Southern Cassowary	Hawksbill Turtle	Cairns Birdwing Butterfly

How to make your Crafty Rainforest Critter Mask

To print a mask, click on the links above then choose to either download or print from your web browser.

Each mask template is sized to A4 paper and will print in black and white. We recommend using thicker paper or thin card for the best results with your mask.

Always ask a grown-up to help with cutting out the mask. All mask files are PDFs, under 150kb in size.

 

Bonus activity! ‘My Poo Grows Trees’ Cassowary Colouring Sheet. 

We love Southern Cassowaries! We love cassowary poo too! Why not show your love for the most precious poo in the rainforest and colour in a Cassowary (and its poo!) to show off to your friends and family.

A fun activity with an important message – cassowaries are a vital part of creating healthy rainforests, let’s keep it that way by protecting and connecting their habitat in the Daintree Rainforest.

Download your copy here. Colouring sheet is a PDF file, under 150kb in size.

 

Do you know a #NextGenRainforestRescuer that you’d like to see featured?

If you know a #NextGenRainforestRescuer that you think we should celebrate send us an email today – info@rainforestrescue.org.au

“I have learned you are never too small to make a difference.”

— Greta Thunberg, Environmental Activist

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