Young leaders: Mary Jade P. Gabanes, Philippines

© Bayer-M. Pediapco

The Bayer Young Environmental Leaders competition, judged at the Leverkusen study week, looks for original projects with the potential to change or save lives, be scaled up, and which are environmentally sustainable. During the week, 18 projects, one per country, were presented to a panel of judges representing Bayer and UNEP. Four projects won support worth up to $1,400. Mary Jade’s was one of them.

‘It occurred to me as a special education teacher that no one ever thinks to educate disabled children about the environment, much less include their voices in the Green Brigade – yet they, too, can be an active part of the solution. I decided to change this by first teaching them basic environmental ideas, accommodating their level of understanding. “This tree, this plant, you and me, the soil we’re standing on, we’re all part of the environment. If we don’t take care of it, it all may be gone tomorrow.”

‘We began art therapy sessions, making crafts with recycled materials. This improves the children’s fine motor skills and hand/eye coordination. We also produced an environment-themed musical variety show for the victims of the Japan tsunami, in which a blind child sang, deaf and mute children performed in sign language, and a mentally disabled child performed a ballet. This show was attended by 700 people and covered by TV networks and print media. Imagine how many hearts we touched!

‘Finally, I mounted a photo exhibition at the largest shopping centre in our city, so that I could show the thousands of people who go to the mall every day what these special children are doing, hoping they’ll also be inspired to act.

‘Why special children? They’re the perfect partners in getting the environmental message across. If people like you and me see them going out of their way – despite their limitations and disabilities – to make a stand for Mother Earth, then wouldn’t we ask ourselves “What more can I do?”’