Since leaving high school Saskia Gerhardy has developed and implemented an environmental youth group called YACCA (Youth And Community in Conservation Action) that encourages young people to become involved with local environmental projects. She also works with local primary school children through the Envirokids program, coordinates the Willunga Trees for Life group and has been appointed the inaugural Young Landcare Ambassador, to assist the group in engaging young people with their projects.

Saskia won both the Flinders Port’s Environment Award at the Channel 9 Young Achiever Awards and the 2019 Austcover Young Leader Award at the South Australian Landcare Awards. Since completing her honours in Evolution and Ecology, Saskia was nominated for local council and ran a campaign based on environmental change and positive environmental action.

Ngalan Gilbert is a proud young Wiradjuri man who has demonstrated his excellence in his commitment to cultural education, caring for country and cultural burning practices.

Ngalan has positively contributed to the growth of cultural education in Canberra schools through participation in Landcare activities, Aboriginal student dance groups, establishing bush tucker gardens in schools, leading Aboriginal focused Ranger guided activities, his position as a seasonal firefighter in 2018 and 2019 and his current position at Birrigai outdoor school as the Aboriginal Facilities and Land Management Officer.

Ngalan is currently completing his studies in a Certificate III in Conservation Land Management through TAFE NSW. His aspirations for the years ahead are to restore the landscape to its natural beauty out at Birrigai and develop programs to get more youth out on country to help with these works.

Katchmirr Russell is a proud Dtjilmamidtung woman of the Ya-idt’midtung nations in north-east Victoria, the western slopes of the Kosciusko ranges in New South Wales and Gundungurra woman from south-eastern New South Wales around the Southern Highlands. She’s currently in her second year of studying Political Science and Environment and Sustainability. She volunteers for Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network who are building a movement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people fighting for climate justice with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. She has grown up with a deep respect and passion for looking after our lands, waters and ecology which has resulted in her current role in fighting for climate justice which encapsulates environmental justice, social justice and thus First Nations justice.

Kareem El-Ansary is currently serving as Australia’s 21st Youth Representative to the United Nations. First established in 1999, it is the only role of its kind in Australia. 

In 2019, Kareem and his team conducted the nation’s largest face-to-face consultation of young Australians to better understand the views of young people and the issues that are impacting them across the country. Over a 7-month period, Kareem travelled over 100,000km, visited 56 towns and cities in every state and territory and listened to over 10,000 young Australians

Prior to his role with the UN, Kareem was the CEO of the Asia-Pacific Youth Organisation (APYO) and in 2018, Kareem was named a ‘Global Shaper’ by the World Economic Forum and is currently one of four young board members of the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic).