Young environmentalists show gratitude to ministers Dogley and Morgan |25 June 2018

A group of young primary school environmentalists, the Eco-Warriors, joined hands with the Environment Education section in the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (MEECC), to thank the former environment ministers -- Didier Dogley and Joel Morgan -- for their support for the environment and for also supporting them as young group.

In a small ceremony held at the Botanical Gardens on Friday afternoon, the young Eco-warriors presented Minister Dogley, who is now the new Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine and former Minister Morgan, whose last portfolio responsibility was that of Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, each with a painting and a wooden clock as a show of gratitude for their contribution to the environment in Seychelles.

Present at the ceremony were the principal secretary for environment, Alain De Commarmond, other MEECC officials, the warriors and parents.

The small ceremony was punctuated with dedicated songs to the ministers by the Eco-Warriors’ Eva Lawen from Anse Boileau primary school, Michella Barbier from Plaisance secondary school and Georgia Ernesta from Pointe Larue secondary school.

Upon accepting the tokens, former Minister Morgan said he was very encouraged to see that young people are still engaged in the protection of the environment and noted that with the destruction and pollution of the environment, Seychelles and the world need young people like them to act as ambassadors for the environment.

He urged them to continue with their environmental practices and thanked them deeply for their surprised tokens.

Mr Morgan was the Minister for Environment from July 2007 to April 2012.

For his part, Minister Dogley, who worked at the environment ministry for 28 years and held the ministerial portfolio from February 2015 to April 2018, said he was also deeply touched by the young Eco-warriors’ gesture as the tokens would remind him of the many years he had devoted to environment causes.

He told them to stay passionate about the environment and to pass the message of best practices in the environment.

Delivering the vote of thanks, Eco-Warrior Alvania Lawen said that the collective efforts of two ministers have resulted in a number of environment education opportunities. One of them being the popular holiday camp that have seen over 50 new environmentally aware eco-warriors become young environment ambassadors.

She thanked the two ministers for their dedication to the environment and for having helped to keep the group active. 

The Eco-Warriors go on environment learning expeditions during the school’s holidays where they do research and conservation activities on Mahé and on the outer islands. They also get to meet and interact with environment enthusiasts like Minister Dogley and former Minister Morgan. The Eco-Warriors come from the different school’s eco-clubs.

The young environmentalists are seen as the catalyst for change of attitudes towards the protection and well being of the environment which includes educating their parents or other adults to divert from certain practices such as eating turtle meat for example.