STTOP – Stay Tuned To Our Planet

The global climate crisis constantly headlines news media, and our teens have been bombarded with disaster messaging their entire lives. Research shows overwhelming, increasing climate anxiety, especially when many teens don’t know where to start or how to affect change. Youth mental health organisation, Orygen commissioned a survey of 1,000 young Australians (16–25 years old) to understand how climate distress is impacting the mental health and wellbeing of young people in 2023 and found: 71% of young people are worrying about the future of the planet, 70% of young people feel guilty about not taking enough climate change action, 56% reported that they have become more concerned over the past 12 months. 1 in 3 young Australians have reported that feelings about climate change had a negative impact on their daily functioning Our solution? Work with young people to create an entertaining series that speaks to teens in their language and gives them practical climate solutions.

STTOP will help turn our “eco-worriers” into eco-warriors, showing how positive actions make a difference. Ultimately our aim is to record a reduction in eco anxiety rates among teens and work with partners and allies to build an empowered community of climate-conscious changemakers.

STTOP is more than an entertaining online doco series, it is also an opportunity for educators, health professionals, teachers and parents to engage with their young people about climate change.
We are building a 12 month Impact Campaign to promote STTOP that invites partners from the climate and youth mental health sectors to work with us us, including creating an educational package to take into schools.
In addition we will create a robust impact website with info on the series, eco-warrior showcase, take action page, relevant research, resources and support links, plus additional resources that include:
Tiered Actions by Topic from simple individual actions to community projects
Individual Episode Discussion Guides mapped to curriculum
Social Media Kits including bespoke kits for partners
Educational Package for Schools including cross curricular project for Environment Day
Impact Evaluation Tool to measure educational resources impact

Delivering on YouTube and TikTok is a no brainer – it’s where teens get their news and entertainment.
We needed a great presenter that teens could relate to. Mat Mckenna is a hilarious YouTuber with a huge teen following, he personifies pop culture, is spontaneous, funny, authentic, is not afraid to ask the experts a dumb question and was looking for an opportunity to do something in the climate space.
We enlisted the help of a Teen Advisory Board. They are the key demographic we are targeting and provide advice, opinions and suggestions on the content we create and we take into account their comments and adjust our our edits accordingly.
In addition, we have partnered with youth mental health organisations to ensure that we are handling the issue of climate anxiety with sensitivity.

Each STTOP episode calls for a change in behaviour and includes between 1-3 different calls to action that correspond to each episode’s featured eco-warrior and environmental issue. From simple small actions to more significant challenges, STTOP will empower teens bringing them a sense of control and the understanding they have made a positive impact on the planet and their mental health.