– June 1 launch to promote healthier lifestyles

In observance of World Environmental Day, Policy Forum Guyana (PFG) will be launching the ‘1.5 Influencer Kit’ on June 1, as a means of promoting a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle.
Consequently, PFG has made contact with 10 prominent influencers nationwide, seeking their assistance in promoting the kit across their respective platforms.

Project Coordinator Benita Davis told Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday that this kit is similar to the one they developed last year August called the ‘1.5 Crew Training Kit’ which includes a comprehensive manual and practical tools such as locally made board games, videos and power point presentations to foster environmental awareness and action among students.

Davis developed the two board games in the kit called Earth Helper and Eco-Snake and Ladder. Explaining what they are like, she said: “It’s really to get the players to understand how negative choices can impact their environment. For example, they have not turned off the lights so they get eaten by the snake and have to go down, or they have planted trees and started a kitchen garden and they get to go up the ladder.”

The initiative all started when the head prefect at St. Roses High reached out to PFG and said the school was interested in starting an environmental club. PFG developed the kit and ‘Roses’ was the first school to have benefitted from it. “We went to schools that didn’t have an active environmental club. Students had fun playing the games and they found it very easy to use.”

Recognising that Climate Change poses a dire threat, exacerbated by human activities; jeopardising vital resources like food and clean water, Davis said from November to April 2024, PFG visited schools across various regions, reaching approximately 700 students.

Schools visited included St. Joseph’s High, St. Rose’s High, Santa Rosa Secondary, Tapakuma Lake Primary, West Demerara Secondary, Marian Academy, C-Field Primary, Queen’s College, Graham’s Hall Primary, Eccles Primary, and others, spanning Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Five and 10.
According to Davis, any school wishing to be in possession of the kit can reach out to PFG. Once it’s a school, it will be given for free.

“The objectives of the initiative are multi-faceted, aiming to raise awareness, promote behavioral change, engage communities, instill stewardship values, and create long-term impacts among students, empowering them to champion environmental conservation,” Davis stated.

“The kit embodies a tangible step towards a sustainable future, aligning with the 1.5 Degrees Celsius Lifestyle and emphasising youth empowerment. Recognising the need for substantial change, Policy Forum Guyana developed the kit to catalyze reforms in government policies, economic systems, and societal norms,” she continued.
Just recently, the ‘1.5 Crew Training Kit’ initiative gained significant support with major environmental organisation Recover Guyana purchasing three kits for their SHOUT competition slated for June 5.