An environmental forum of Tauranga high school students are working together to devise strategies that will assist in the preservation of the region's environment.
Young people from five different high schools along with teachers and representatives from environmental groups met at the inaugural Tauranga forum last week.

The forum members working on ideas to protect the environment in Tauranga.

The Environment BOP run, interactive session, included 'Skyping' a Nelson based student who attended the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.
The students also saw first-hand the work that student Tauranga Boys' College student Marcus Richards is doing with grey faced petrels on Mauao.
The group discussed topical environmental issues and decided water, waste and wildlife were the most important local priorities, which they determined were all connected.
The students brainstormed practical solutions to these issues and will develop action plans at their next meeting.
Environment BOP's Tauranga education officer Stephanie Twaddle says the group intends to meet again in a few weeks, and the students are keen to hear from any youth in the Western Bay area who would also like to become involved.
Environment BOP also supports an environmental youth forum in Rotorua that was established in 2008.