“Stop Talking, Start Planting” Photo taken at the end of the session by the author

On December 28th, I was invited to the awareness program hosted by the Girl Guides and little friends of Yoshida Shokanji International school as a member of the global board and an ambassador based in Sri Lanka.This was the second collaboration with Little Friends of Sri Lanka Girl Guides to organise the “Academy” in Sri Lanka. The purpose of my presence there was to speak a few words regarding the program, and to comment on the status of Plant-For-The-Planet membership.

The first section of this training include a speech from the coordinator of the organization Chiori Higashi, and an hour-long presentation by Udara Hettiarachchi on educational material for the teenage audiences. The second section then started with my own introduction and comments on potential projects that can be conducted in Sri Lanka, which was followed by Q&A sessions of the audiences and a final closing speech. In my speech, I mainly reflected on my five years of progress in PFTP, from a trainee in the first academy in 2017 to an ambassador, who then became confident in hosting my own academies, and was later qualified for the Vice President in global board of this Youth Organization.

I pointed out some of my strength for the audiences, such as demonstrating leadership skills, planning each session well-throughout, and being able to engage audiences in my speech. I then analyzed some of the major projects of the organization around the world, such as the Forest PlanBe research, Yucatan Restoration Project in Mexico, Plant for Ghana Proposal, etc, in order to draw connection with the potential impacts we can make in Sri Lanka. Personally, I think that this meeting gave me an opportunity to reflect on the growth of me, as well as my capabilities in my environment protection career. PFTP gave me the chance to connect with amazing people in UNEP, which therefore made me realized the impact I have on the global community by advocating and campaigning on platforms. It is a learning process for both me and my audiences, as I gain more and more realization of my own strengths and impacts, while my audiences increase their awareness of what’s happening on earth.

Learning Outcomes:

LO1: Identify their own strengths and develop areas for personal growth

LO3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance