{"id":18373,"date":"2026-03-25T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/?p=18373"},"modified":"2026-03-18T15:47:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T04:47:31","slug":"young-leaders-kickstart-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Young leaders kickstart program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>THE Limestone Coast Landscape Board\u2019s Young Environmental Leaders Program provides students with hands on experiences, project work and leadership development and the class of 2026 has enjoyed its first session as part of the popular program.<\/p>\n<p>The cohort of primary school students recently deepened their understanding of local biodiversity through an engaging and educational session focused on the endangered southern bentwing bat.<\/p>\n<p>With the first session of the year held at Naracoorte Caves, students explored Blanche Cave and undertook an educational session in the Bat Observation Centre.<\/p>\n<p>Limestone Coast Landscape Board education coordinator Damien Bickley said students were captivated by the southern bent-wing bat appearing on the big screen in the Observation Centre.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLearning about the importance of the southern bent-wing bat and its maternity site at Naracoorte is a real highlight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStudents learned about current conservation efforts aimed at protecting critical maternity caves, as well as the importance of community awareness in ensuring the species\u2019 survival\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s inspiring to see young people take such an active interest in protecting threatened species. Students bring a new perspective each year to the program and we look forward to seeing the new initiatives this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Young Environmental Leaders Program continues to provide meaningful opportunities for students to connect with the environment, develop leadership skills, and contribute to real-world conservation outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>Each group of students will design and implement a sustainability initiative within their school community and also bring a new perspective each year to the program.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about the Young Environmental Leaders program and how your school can become involved visit <a href=\"http:\/\/lc.landscape.sa.gov.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lc.landscape.sa.gov.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THE Limestone Coast Landscape Board\u2019s Young Environmental Leaders Program provides students with hands on experiences, project work and leadership development and the class of 2026 has enjoyed its first session as part of the popular program. The cohort of primary school students recently deepened their understanding of local biodiversity through an engaging and educational session [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":18378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-18373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Young leaders kickstart program - Mt Gambier Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Young Environmental Leaders program kicks off for 2026. Students explore Naracoorte Caves to help protect endangered bats.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Young leaders kickstart program - Mt Gambier Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Young Environmental Leaders program kicks off for 2026. Students explore Naracoorte Caves to help protect endangered bats.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mt Gambier Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2026\/03\/KU-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Times News Group\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Times News Group\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Times News Group\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795\"},\"headline\":\"Young leaders kickstart program\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-24T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":274,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/26\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/KU-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/\",\"name\":\"Young leaders kickstart program - Mt Gambier Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/26\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/KU-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-24T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Young Environmental Leaders program kicks off for 2026. Students explore Naracoorte Caves to help protect endangered bats.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/26\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/KU-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/26\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/KU-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"2026 YELP group at Naracoorte Caves\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/news\\\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Young leaders kickstart program\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mt Gambier Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Mt Gambier Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/26\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/cropped-Mount-Gambier-With-Tag-900-\u00d7-250px-900-\u00d7-200px.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/26\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/cropped-Mount-Gambier-With-Tag-900-\u00d7-250px-900-\u00d7-200px.png\",\"width\":680,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"Mt Gambier Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795\",\"name\":\"Times News Group\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/725ae9e23e3dcf00f2823c56f38aef4148bd47b1daae532b34be176aa707f20b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/725ae9e23e3dcf00f2823c56f38aef4148bd47b1daae532b34be176aa707f20b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/725ae9e23e3dcf00f2823c56f38aef4148bd47b1daae532b34be176aa707f20b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Times News Group\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/mtgambiertimes\\\/author\\\/warick\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Young leaders kickstart program - Mt Gambier Times","description":"The Young Environmental Leaders program kicks off for 2026. Students explore Naracoorte Caves to help protect endangered bats.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Young leaders kickstart program - Mt Gambier Times","og_description":"The Young Environmental Leaders program kicks off for 2026. Students explore Naracoorte Caves to help protect endangered bats.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/","og_site_name":"Mt Gambier Times","article_published_time":"2026-03-24T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2026\/03\/KU-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Times News Group","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Times News Group","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/"},"author":{"name":"Times News Group","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/#\/schema\/person\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795"},"headline":"Young leaders kickstart program","datePublished":"2026-03-24T17:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/"},"wordCount":274,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2026\/03\/KU-1.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/","name":"Young leaders kickstart program - Mt Gambier Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2026\/03\/KU-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-24T17:00:00+00:00","description":"The Young Environmental Leaders program kicks off for 2026. Students explore Naracoorte Caves to help protect endangered bats.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2026\/03\/KU-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2026\/03\/KU-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"2026 YELP group at Naracoorte Caves"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/news\/young-leaders-kickstart-program\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Young leaders kickstart program"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/","name":"Mt Gambier Times","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/#organization","name":"Mt Gambier Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/08\/cropped-Mount-Gambier-With-Tag-900-\u00d7-250px-900-\u00d7-200px.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/08\/cropped-Mount-Gambier-With-Tag-900-\u00d7-250px-900-\u00d7-200px.png","width":680,"height":150,"caption":"Mt Gambier Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/#\/schema\/person\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795","name":"Times News Group","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/725ae9e23e3dcf00f2823c56f38aef4148bd47b1daae532b34be176aa707f20b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/725ae9e23e3dcf00f2823c56f38aef4148bd47b1daae532b34be176aa707f20b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/725ae9e23e3dcf00f2823c56f38aef4148bd47b1daae532b34be176aa707f20b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Times News Group"},"url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/author\/warick\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18373"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mtgambiertimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=18373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}