AROUND THE COLLEGE & BEYOND

Cairns High Schools Unite Hoping for Better Youth Representation

By College Captain Dyson Nelder

Did you see close to 30 high school students picking up rubbish along the Esplanade recently? Don’t worry, we weren't on detention, but it did feel punishing to see how much rubbish is left around our home.

Earlier in the year, Cairns State High School Captain, Kostia Volkov, reached out to the school leaders of Cairns and formed an interschool council. Holding meetings once every few weeks, representatives from different high schools pitched in to collaboratively make our schools, and Cairns, a better place. Setting goals to clean the environment and encourage student involvement in our schools, we were committed to making change. Ultimately, we collectively agreed that the youth representation in Cairns has declined over the years. As the young leaders of Cairns, we wish to improve the youth representation and prove that there is a lot of good in our generation, as opposed to what might otherwise be presented at times.

As a stepping stone of what we wish to be a campaign that continues for years, St Augustine’s and St Monica’s captains came together to organise a “Captain’s Cleanup.” Uniting our interschool council, we swept the Cairns Esplanade on Friday 16 June from 4.15 to 6.15pm, picking up as many pieces of rubbish and bottles as we could. Despite a busy Esplanade with markets and people flooding the area, we began our emu parade from Hemingway’s Brewery, working our way to the Pirate Ship on the opposite end of the Esplanade. A job well done!

After loading many full bags of rubbish, we certainly felt as though we had accomplished our first goal! While our initial effort to effect change was modest, we firmly believe that collective collaboration will empower us to take bigger strides, undertaking more extensive projects in the future. Although our first step for making a difference was quite small, we are confident that by working together as a group we can take larger steps by doing more projects at a larger scale. In saying that, we are asking for support from the Cairns community. 

As we were picking up rubbish along the Esplanade, many people not only encouraged us to continue our work but joined in to help with tidying the area. In future, we plan to hold larger events where we will ask for the support of schools, parents, families, and hopefully, the wider Cairns Community.