Melbourne teen Aarin Dang turns wildlife passion into a push for change

A 15-year-old Melbourne student is pushing for environmental science to play a greater role in Australian schools after developing a wildlife conservation project through Zoos Victoria and receiving an acknowledgement of his work from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Aarin Dang took part this year in Zoos Victoria’s Youth Conservation Leaders program, which brings together Year 9 and 10 students to develop science, leadership and conservation skills.

As part of the program, Aarin worked with other young participants on a proposed nature playscape inspired by the habitat and characteristics of the Leadbeater’s possum, Victoria’s critically endangered faunal emblem.

The concept uses elements of the possum’s habitat and behaviour to create a play space where children could learn about wildlife and conservation while playing. The proposal has been presented to Zoos Victoria stakeholders and is being considered for further development.

Aarin has also volunteered at the zoo, an experience that has given him closer exposure to conservation work and the pressures facing threatened Australian species.

Zoos Victoria says the Leadbeater’s possum was once thought extinct before being rediscovered in 1961. Its lowland population is critically endangered, with fewer than 40 animals remaining in the wild.

Aarin’s conservation work has also reached Canberra, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese personally acknowledging his ideas and initiatives concerning the protection of Australian flora and fauna, according to information provided by his family.

He is now looking beyond the zoo project and seeking support from his school and government agencies for ideas designed to give environmental science a stronger place in education.

Among them is a proposal for every Australian school to set aside one day each year for an Environmental Science Festival, with students taking part in activities focused on wildlife, biodiversity, conservation and sustainability.

Aarin also hopes to become an ambassador for environmental science and wants the subject to receive greater attention in Australian schools.

His interest in conservation extends to his own neighbourhood. On regular walks with his puppy before and after school, Aarin collects litter he finds along a local trail, sometimes returning with bags of rubbish.

His interest in wildlife has also been shaped by his grandfather, Indian wildlife photographer Rajesh Bedi, whose work with his brother Naresh Bedi has documented wildlife in India over several decades.

Rajesh Bedi’s most recent book, Elephant: The Divine Mystery, documents Asian elephants and the pressures on their habitats. Aarin was invited to speak at the book’s launch last year, where he addressed the audience about conservation.

The experience encouraged him to continue speaking publicly about environmental issues and developing his own ideas.

While artificial intelligence and new technologies are becoming an increasingly prominent part of education and young people’s lives, Aarin believes knowledge of wildlife, ecosystems and the natural environment should remain part of what students learn.

His case for starting early is straightforward: young people are more likely to take responsibility for environmental problems when they are given the knowledge and opportunity to understand them.