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Sustainability

Sustainability education programmes

Yachting New Zealand have expanded their sustainability education programme with a series of teaching resources aimed at young sailors.

The sustainability education programme resources, which have been developed in conjunction with World Sailing, are free to use and are broken down into six topics, each comprising of a booklet, trainer's guide and worksheet for age groups 6-8, 8-10 and 10-12.

Yachting New Zealand are just one of a number of member national authorities (MNA) who are using these resources and class associations like the International Optimist Dinghy Association are also adopting them.

The resources are valuable teaching tools for junior coaches and yacht clubs and cover six main topics which will be released over the next few weeks.

  1. Race with World Sailing, learn about different kinds of events and boats
  2. Resources and climate change 
  3. Navigating wildlife and biodiversity 
  4. Reducing waste 
  5. Oil and fuel 
  6. Boat cleaning and maintenance 

The first resource is available now and can be found below.

Sustainability eductation programme 1 - Booklet

Sustainability eductation programme 1 - Trainers guide

Sustainability eductation programme 1 - Worksheets

"It's a really neat resource that clubs can use to add value to their junior training programmes or club days and it also fits really well with our environmental philosophy," Yachting New Zealand national sport development director Raynor Haagh said. "We know some clubs have started working in this space and hopefully this tool can compliment what they have already been doing."

The sustainability education programme materials were developed with The Ocean Race, in partnership with the World Sailing Trust and 11th Hour Racing, capitalising on the success of their own programme in the 2017-2018 edition of the race. 

World Sailing have developed Sustainability Agenda 2030 which describes changes within
sailing that will help achieve 12 of the United Nations' sustainable development goals and maximise the positive effect that sailors can have on the environment.

Yachting New Zealand have also developed an environmental sustainability strategy which targets five key areas: clean yacht clubs, a strong network of organisations who work together, lowering the impact events have on the environment, a focus on technology and greater education and awareness.