Western Australian Emma Stokes is only in her last year at the Georgiana Molloy Anglican School, but when she attended a climate change forum at the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, she was immediately inspired to get up and take action. After some communication with Oxfam, Emma successfully managed to help pull together the climate change ‘Land is Life’ exhibition at her school in Busselton, a neighbouring coastal town of her home in Nannup.Oxfam has been working with ‘Women on Farms’, a partner organization, to help increase opportunities for women who are most at risk of food security issues in South Africa, including climate change. In the ‘Land is Life’ exhibition, these women’s stories are relayed, both in words and in the amazing pictures of applauded photographer Matthew Wilman. Steve Treloar, Head of Senior School at Georgiana Molloy Anglican School, assisted in organizing the exhibition and utilized the Wilman’s pictures as teaching aids when discussing environmental and sustainable issues.
“I saw this and thought it could make people aware”, Emma claimed, “Using pictures is an effective way to communicate the pressing need for sustainability”
Of course, Emma’s mother, Louise Stokes, who is the Community Development Officer in Nannup, was absolutely thrilled when she learnt of her daughter’s awesome work.
“I always knew that Emma had great empathy and concern for the environment and global issues. It is a great feeling to know she is prepared to do something about it” Louise went ahead and organised another ‘Land is Life’ exhibition in Nannup, explaining, “I thought the ‘Land is Life’ exhibition would be a great opportunity to showcase the message on climate change and food security in Nannup, as well as in Africa”.
And it’s a good thing that Emma and Louise have banded together to bring ‘Land is Life’ to Nannup, as a joint Bureau of Meterology and the CSIRO report out this week warns that the south-west of WA, where Nannup is situated, is warming and drying faster than anywhere else in the country.
Talk about a formidable family! The Stokes have done a remarkable job in spreading the message on climate change and food security. If you’re passionate about climate issues then check out Climate Of Change on the Oxfam website for more amazing stories, or learn more about Climate Change and Oxfam's aims.
