25 Jun 2004

Sir Peter Blake Trust sending three students to the UNEP Children's Conference next month

With the assistance of the Sir Peter Blake Trust, the Tasman District Council and the Ministry for the Environment, the three delegates - two boys from Nelson and one from Whangarei - will be sent to the conference in New London, Connecticut from July 19 – 23.

It is the fifth UNEP Children’s Conference, an event which is designed to provide a platform for children aged 10 – 13 to lean about environmental issues and voice their concerns on the state of our eco-system.

In 2001, Sir Peter was made a UNEP Envoy and was a strong supporter of the UNEP Children’s Conferences. He presented to the United Nations on his journey to the Antarctic Peninsula to study the state of our southern oceans. In the spirit of the vision for the Sir Peter Blake Trust, it is particularly appropriate that the children attending this year’s conference are known as his ambassadors.

The three students who will join approximately 600 other students from around the world are: Sean Farrell of Whangarei, Jarrod Coutts of Nelson and Timo Stoffregen of Takaka, sponsored by the Tasman District Council.

The children will enjoy a week of environmental education with the goal to develop generational ambassadors for the environment who will lead their peers, teach their communities, and work together as a globally connected network for change. It is expected the conference will develop a position on the state of the environment for world leaders and an action plan to further involve children and schools in sustainable development.

The Sir Peter Blake Ambassadors will use their experiences at the conference to further their own and their individual schools’ environmental projects