The 2003 YHA Young Conservationist Awards, a joint project between the Youth Hostel Association New Zealand (YHA NZ) and the Department of Conservation (DOC) is a perfect opportunity for teachers to use current student-centred projects in conservation to fulfil the key dimensions of environmental education.

This year YHA New Zealand and Department of Conservation (DOC) are looking for innovative projects that include a hands-on/action component related to some aspect of conservation.

If you know of, are involved in or are planning a project that might be eligible, let us know! Projects can be located anywhere - at school, on a marae, by a river, on the coast, in a local reserve, or in entrants' own backyards.

Categories
There are 4 award categories:

* Click on each icon to find out about each species*
Tui Award - Primary Individual Award

Wheke Award - Primary Group Award

Harakeke Award - Secondary Individual Award

Tuatara Award - Secondary Group Award

Each category is named after a native animal or plant with a significant relationship to conservation and New Zealand's biodiversity.

Entries
The YHA Young Conservationist Awards are open to any school, youth or marae-based group under the age of 18. It is very important that you (students) do the work including the entry outline brief. We understand that some adult input may be necessary but essentially we want to know what you are doing. If there is adult input it must be specified in the project brief. In the case of research projects, it is important to show how the research can be or has been applied to benefit the environment. Click here to read about some examples of previous entries. Entry forms for 2003 can be downloaded at the base of this page.

What we need from you?
Well, we are glad you asked! We receive lots of entries and to make it easier for our judges we request entrants to provide a clearly written outline of the project no longer than six (6) pages long, explaining:

 The aims of the project
 The people involved
 What was done
 What was achieved
 How they see the project developing in the future.

The project outline can include relevant photos, illustrations and other supporting material e.g. video, however if students have a display board - please send through photographs only. YHA NZ and DOC will keep the original entry outline brief for our records. Only additional supporting material (e.g. video) will be returned to entrants.

We would like to be fair to all entrants, which means that if a project has won a YHA Young Conservationist Award Prize in the past, it will not be eligible for an award in this year's competition. However if previous winners have started any new projects we would love to see them!

Hint: The judges are especially interested in on-going projects that show a large degree of voluntary effort by young people, and a long-term commitment to the issue.

Timeline
Entries will close at 5pm on 19 September 2003. This will give you two terms to complete your entry. Winners will be announced on 10 October 2003 and it is hoped all presentation of prizes will be complete by the end of October.

What's in it for entrants?
All entrants under the age of 18 receive a certificate and a free one-year membership to YHA New Zealand. YHA and DOC believe it is important to congratulate and recognise everyone who is making an effort for the good of their environment. And we know that many YHA NZ and DOC staff would be interested in hearing about what is happening in your area.

Prize winners will receive:

Group Awards:
$1000 cash to support your ongoing conservation project (or a future project)

Individual Awards:

Please send entries to:
The 2003 YHA Young Conservationist Awards
PO Box 436
CHRISTCHURCH

For more information please contact:

2003 ENTRY FORM
Download an entry form here in PDF format. To view the PDF documents you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed.

Forms may also be collected directly from YHAs or from any Department of Conservation office or visit www.doc.govt.nz