Keep New Zealand Beautiful are excited to announce that three New Zealand students have won awards at the 2020 Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) International competition.

These three students were all winners from the national New Zealand Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) 2019 competition and were put forward to compete in the 2020 YRE International competition. All three of the students received their awards in the Litter Less Campaign category, which is for entries related to the topic of litter and waste.

Year 9 Whangaparaoa College student Ariana Hunt won second place (shared) in the Article 11-14 Years category for her article 'To waste our life'. Claudia O'Shannessey from Rangi Ruru Girls’ School won second place in the Photography 15-18 Years category for her photo titled 'Sustainable Surfer Seeks Waste at Sumner'. And Whangaparaoa College student Kano Sugawara placed second in the Video 11-14 Years category for her film 'Not Just a Dream'.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful is the national operator for this internationally accredited competition which is run under the Foundation for Environmental Education banner (FEE).

YRE is a youth-led environmental programme found in over 45 countries with more than 360,000 young reporters. The YRE Litter Less Campaign category of the competition is sponsored internationally by the Mars Wrigley Foundation and encourages students to focus on environmental issues relating to litter. YRE gives young people the opportunity to be part of the solution by producing creative and engaging environmental journalism.

To enter, students were asked to investigate an issue relating to litter, research a solution and then report on it using film, photography or writing. They were then required to disseminate their piece via available channels and their entry was judged by an international jury.

YRE International Jury Member and UNEP Siiri Mäkelä says: "YRE gives youths a great platform to tackle global environmental challenges in innovative ways through photos, videos and articles. I was very inspired by the submissions and pleased to see complex environmental issues addressed as well as clear connections to Sustainable Development Goals."

Keep New Zealand Beautiful CEO Heather Saunderson says: “It’s such a great result to see young New Zealanders not only taking an interest in the environment but developing their journalism skills and critical thinking. YRE gives students the ability to take a stand on environmental issues, and to see these three entries win awards in the international competition speaks wonders of the calibre of our New Zealand youth on the world stage”.

For more information about the New Zealand YRE competition please visit www.yre.org.nz.

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