The ‘Fab Four’ from HRS take the issue of fracking in the NT to the world
Four Haileybury Rendall School (HRS) students have opened the eyes of young people around the world to the complex issue of fracking in the Northern Territory.
The four students were part of a global conference that gave young people an opportunity to voice their thoughts and concerns about some of the globe’s biggest sustainability issues.
Organised by Haileybury UK, the Haileybury Youth Sustainability Conference brought together teams from Darwin, Melbourne, Bangladesh, China, Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan, Malta and the UK.
During the all-day conference, held via Microsoft Teams, students showcased key challenges and potential solutions to help make the world a greener, healthier place.
The HRS team of Felix (Year 11), Sam (Year 10), Isaac (Year 10) and Olympia (Year 11) presented a powerful overview on the complications, benefits and impacts of fracking in the Northern Territory.
Fracking is a technique used to enable the extraction of natural gas or oil from the earth. It involves drilling into the earth and then injecting a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals to release the gas or oil inside.
It can be a technique that attracts controversy and criticism from environmentalists who are concerned about fracking’s impacts on the land. The students chose to highlight fracking because of its far-reaching effects on economic development, climate change and on the Northern Territory landscape.
“While fracking as an industry has multiple environmental, health and cultural drawbacks, it’s still a large part of the Northern Territory’s economy and will continue to play a major role in Territory politics for many years”Felix (Year 11)
“But if recommendations from various studies are considered and more widespread research is completed, there’s a possibility that the process could become safer for everyone involved.”
“As a team, we generally viewed fracking as a negative thing, but we strove to deliver an unbiased and open presentation that explored all the major stakeholders affected by the production of gas,” adds Isaac.
Kylie Mobilia, Head of Senior School at HRS, said the team wanted to present on a topic that was impacting the Northern Territory and that they could speak to as locals.
“They recognised that fracking is a significant issue that is negatively and positively impacting the community,” she says.
“The team was made up of students who were already proactive within the school and who could be potential leaders of the future. They are passionate about the environment and have a clearly established social conscience. Our Fab Four were an obvious choice for the conference because of their eloquence, integrity and work ethic”Kylie Mobilia, HRS Head of Senior School
Sam says the team has a deep interest in sustainability and were excited to present their topic to a worldwide audience of young people who are equally concerned about environmental issues.
“The conference audience was very attentive and students from schools around the world asked us a lot of questions. It was also a great opportunity to learn more about other sustainability issues from the other teams and to ask them questions to broaden our knowledge,” says Sam.
The conference has only increased the Fab Four’s interest in continuing to focus on raising awareness of the importance of building a sustainable future in the Northern Territory.
“The implementation of sustainable practices enables a safe future for us and our evolving planet. To us, sustainability is the mindset of caring and respecting the beautiful oceans, deserts and sacred sites that surround us here in Darwin, and that exist throughout the world.”Olympia (Year 11)
