FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 22 September 2006
Creating A New Generation of Sustainable Consumers
A recent survey highlights the fact that 70% of young people have no understanding or appreciation of what happens on a farm. Consequently, modern youth are disconnected from the impacts of their consumption.
The learning process for a more discerning youth is set to begin with the launch of a new interactive educational game for middle-school students, which teaches them about the environmental, economic and social consequences of everything they eat, drink, use and wear.
The ground-breaking CD, Ollie’s Island, will be launched at the Melbourne Showgrounds on Friday 22 September. The program has been developed with broad government and industry support and produced by Australia’s innovative leader in environmental education, Sustain Ability International. The Ollie’s Island CD-ROM is third in a series that includes Ollie Recycles and Ollie Saves the Planet.
Jane Stewart, the director of Sustain Ability International, says that many adults, let alone children, find it difficult to come to grips with the concept of sustainable consumption and are unsure how to achieve it. “We can’t achieve sustainable consumption if we don’t understand or appreciate what we are consuming. Our aim is to teach kids about the broader issues so that they can become more astute consumers,” says Ms Stewart.
“At the same time, we also showcase how many Australian industries lead the world when it comes to sustainable production, but rarely do they get the opportunity to tell that story,” she says.
The new CD allows students to discover that everything they eat, drink, use and wear comes from a natural resource in some form. They learn where different products come from, their role in the production chain as consumers and how, by reducing, reusing, recycling and making wise consumer choices, they can make a real difference.
Through video clips, fun, interactive challenges and the CD’s “e-book”, students are able to access a wide range of information about natural resources and innovations in Australian farming and resource management. Additionally they will learn about a wide range of primary industries including dairy, fibre, field crops, fisheries, forestry, horticulture, meat & livestock and minerals.
Ollie’s Island incorporates the hard work and efforts of innovative thinkers, educators, industry and community representatives, as well as experts in multimedia to develop a state-of-the-art program that is exciting, challenging and up-to-date.
Every primary and secondary school in Australia and a number of community groups will receive a free copy of Ollie’s Island thanks to the generosity of the program’s government and industry supporters. The CD-ROM is networkable, which means that it has the potential to be used on every computer in every school if the technology is available.
Supporters of the Ollie’s Island Program
- ACT Government
- Animal Health Alliance (Australia)
- Australian Coal Association
- Australian Wool Education Trust
- Australian Wool Innovation Limited
- Australian Water Association
- CropLife Australia
- Dairy Australia
- Department of Sustainability & Environment – Victoria
- Forest & Wood Products Research and Development Corporation
- Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
- Geoffrey Gardiner Dairy Foundation
- Horticulture Australia Limited
- International Fibre Centre
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Murray Darling Basin Commission
- National Association of Forest Industries
- Publishers National Environment Bureau
- Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria
- Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
Who is Sustain Ability International?
Established in 1997, Sustain Ability International is a Melbourne-based sustainability education IT company that has produced programs for Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Middle East.
In each market, programs are funded by local organisations, including governments, industry groups and corporations. This allows programs to be targeted to the specific circumstances, curricula and cultural and religious sensitivities of each and every market in which they are launched. Feedback from children, teachers and parents is used to continually improve the program. Funds also pay for one free copy of the CD-ROM to be distributed to schools.
Who is Jane Stewart?
Jane Stewart is a founding director of Sustain Ability International. She grew up understanding that good environmental practice is good business by watching and later working with her late father, Noel Stewart, a director of Recyclers of Australia, the major glass recycler in Australia and New Zealand. After a wide-ranging business career, Jane formed her own company and used her industry experience to develop state-of-the-art interactive education programs, which she has taken to the world.
Jane is a global thinker, businesswoman and a working mother with a wide experience in all areas of business. She is a qualified Japanese Interpreter and has a Masters of Environment from Melbourne University. She has also been chosen to participate in the current Australian Rural Leadership Program.
For more information about the Ollie’s Island Program contact Jane Stewart on:
03 9817 7722 or Contact Ollie's World
