Cultivating Environmental Change with Eco Kids
Yulu facilitating activities at the National Gathering 2024.
Agents Max and Mark are joined by Yulu, a steering group member and the creator of Eco Kids — an environmental movement aimed towards the youth.
Tune in as Yulu shares how she found her desire to care for environment, art, and people, as well as finding her bravery to make a difference at a young age.
The time is now!
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Max
We are the agency, an entrepreneurship team for 15 to 25 year olds to join as our agents and change their communities. I'm agent Max, and my co host is Agent Mark. Our guest is Yulu, creator of ecokids, a cause for young people to care for their environments through fun educational activities. So who are you and what are your interests?
Yulu
Okay, so my name is Yulu, and I'm an agent alumni. So I took part of the agency in 2021, the first cohort in Southampton. And my interests are, I guess, the environment. So, yeah, environment, art, and people.
Mark
How did you find out about the agency?
Yulu
So the first encounter was the project manager at that time came to the youth club I was attending, and she was like, so is there anybody that's aged 1516 around that range? And then the youth club worker took me and said, yeah, so this is Yulu, and introduced me to her. And then she said, so this opportunity, you get paid for it to make change? And I was like, are you sure it's not the other way round? But after some research that I did when I got home, I realized that. So this is legitimate and I actually do get paid and I actually get to make change. So that's how I came across the agency.
Max
Why does your work with the agency matter to you?
Yulu
It definitely gave me a sense of direction. I was quite lost when I first encountered the agency. So at 17, I didn't really know what I wanted to do in the future. But through the agency, I found my desire and really not like, have what people expect of me, but actually have a direction that I want to go in and also be brave to follow it. And the agency has given me the creative resources as well as the skills to really think and also to really put into action the project I wanted to do. So I did an environmental project around my community since there was so much litter and so much fly tipping and nobody had any pride in where they lived. So that's what I did. But, yeah, I think I went on.
Max
A tangent, but no, that is brilliant. Thank you for that. Go crazy with the tangents that it's all welcomed here.
Mark
What were your initial insecurities when starting your project, and how did you overcome them?
Yulu
I think my insecurity was definitely my age because I did not think I was able to make a change as a young person. I thought I'd had to go through university first, and then I have to get like a PhD or whatever and then graduate and then get a job and then blah, blah, blah. But no, you can't actually just start at your first step, you know, and it just really. It relies on your bravery and you being able to step into an opportunity and actually take it. So my insecurity was definitely, like, not thinking that one was not able to do something at the age of 17.
Max
What is a specific example of a community need that you addressed through your project and.
Yulu
Yeah, yeah. So through my project, I did workshops with the youth club. We did games and also education of the environment and what's happening in the world and how we can actually be a positive impact as an individual. Because it starts small. Right. And then it grows bigger. So I did that with. Can you remind me of a question?
Max
Oh, yeah. Just a specific need that you identified and addressed through your agency project.
Yulu
Yes. So I did that. I did those workshops because, as I said, there was a lot of litter and people were just throwing stuff out of their balcony, and the estate just looked like a mess. But after I did that project, I actually saw the council putting some money into the community, making gardens in near the estate, around the blocks, and actually renewing the playground equipment. And I thought maybe I didn't make, like, a direct change because I did not have the funds that the council had, but maybe they saw how important it was that we as a community have pride. So that's maybe why they did those improvements.
Mark
How has being a part of the agency changed your perspective on your ability to create change?
Yulu
So it definitely made me realize that I don't need to be a big person like the government or something to be able to have people hear my voice, but I just have to be myself, be willing to network and be willing to take action. Action is very important. Yeah. The agency has given me this voice that I can communicate with so many different people and realize that we actually want to become a collective and make this change in our community.
Max
Yeah, I know the feeling. I have a project called wise Connections for neurodivergent young people in Chester. And, no, it is just brilliant how they give you that chance to just reach out to your community and, well, you know, just not only give them structure, but also find your voice in the process. Like, I don't know what you want to say on that, Mark.
Mark
No, I just agree with everything you said.
Max
Yeah. Okay, there we go. What are your future plans with your projects in the agency?
Yulu
So I stopped my project after the first year, and. But I'm still involved in the agency through various things. I'm part of the steering group, so we consult on things that are happening in the agency, and now I'm a junior assistant facilitator. But overall, I really do want to continue my studies in environmental science. So I'm at uni right now, and hopefully I get to progress onto that and using the agency methodology in my life and in my studies to really.
Max
Embed it, just going off script as we usually do here. What's it like being a junior assistant facilitator?
Yulu
It was my first day yesterday.
Max
Oh, really?
Yulu
Yeah. But, like, I quite enjoy it because you get to really see the agents from a bird's eye view, because I was part of the group that was sitting down together. Right. But now I get to really see the agents as a collective, working from, like, just being a team from different parts of the UK. And it's just really inspiring to see their stories as well and how they, like, overcame their life bound, like, overcame their life obstacles and really persevered and dedicated themselves to the project that they have created.
Mark
What advice would you give to someone struggling to identify their passion or community needs?
Yulu
I would definitely say be open minded, because you never know unless you try. So it's definitely important that you take your first step and just follow the process. Follow the crazy dances, crazy art, crazy workshops. The agency gives you trust the process. Yes, trust the process. And that's how you start to really identify what you want from your heart.
Max
What would you like to see more of from the agency in the future?
Yulu
Definitely expanding the agency throughout the UK, because there are so many areas in need of the agency. The most important thing from the agency is that they come to the territory and not the young people going to them, because that's not going to change anything. But the agency being in that territory means that they want to listen to the people and want to work with the people, rather than, oh, we give you this and you can work with it, you know, but we join in and participate, .
Max
Have more of an active role. Yes, but no, in all seriousness. Thank you for doing this. And is there anything left you want to say?
Yulu
No worries. Good luck with the podcast.
Max
No, good luck with what you're doing. Yes. And now all I have to say is, get out.
Yulu
Get out.
Max
Wanna know more about Yulu's agency branch? Type in wearetheagency.co/southampton. I mean, this one is going places.
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