You don't often hear a 12-year-old kid telling others roughly his age that "you're never too small to make a difference".
It's even more rare that the children will pay much attention.
But the 100 plus students at St Paul's Catholic Parish Primary School, Albion Park on Friday certainly took in what Jack Berne had to say.
After all, it is not every day they get to hear from a kid who has raised almost $2 million for drought affected farmers.
In 2018 Jack Berne came up with the Fiver for a Farmer initiative.
"Right at the start my goal was $20,000. We hit that in just 14 hours, which is crazy," Jack said.
"Right now we stand at about $1.8 million, just about to hit $1.9 million, which is absolutely unbelievable."
The youngster from Sydney's northern beaches jumped at the chance to speak at the special environmental day organised by the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW).
The St Augustine College, Brookvale year 7 student spoke in front of more than 100 students from 30 schools across the Illawarra, Shoalhaven, Southern Highlands and Macarthur.
The event was part of a long-held commitment by CEDoW to caring for the earth through its Wollongong Environment Network program.
CEDoW environmental advocacy professional officer Beth Riolo said the program was the largest systemic school environment program in NSW.
CEDoW introduced the system-wide approach to promote ecological and sustainable practices and culture, after the 2015 release of Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si'.
Six years later, all 38 systemic Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wollongong are engaged in practical initiatives to help educate students on the importance of caring and protecting the environment.
Mrs Riolo said the approach sends a powerful message to students, parents and the wider community about the importance Catholic schools place on environmental practices and sustainability.
"Every school now has a dedicated environmental staff contact," she said.
"Together, they help coordinate all sorts of sustainability initiatives, from outdoor learning spaces and gardens, to school environment management plans, including the Vinnies Return and Earn container deposit scheme and eco-friendly infrastructure."
All students at Friday's event were commissioned as school environmental ambassadors.
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
