Earth Savers Club
Greening Forward is an organization started by a twelve year old named Charles Orgbon who became interested in environmentalism when he noticed all of the trash littered around his school. Charles started launching local environmental projects and them decided to create an organization and guide to help other young people create similar campaigns. Greening Forward has raised over $100,000 to support young people leading environmental projects across the globe. Check out his guide, and think about how you can use it to promote your own “green” agenda in your community.
How do I get started? Check out the Greening Forward guide on how to start an Earth Savers Club and then download our PDF for more information how to launch your own local campaign.
How long will this take? It depends on the campaign, but a well executed project should take you between 25-30 hours.
How do I expand this narrative arc? There are many great projects that are feasible for a motivated teen. Building on the success of your Greening Forward campaign you should consider one or more of the many other climate-related interventions. For example:
Attend a summer program where you help design plastic-eating bugs!
If you live in a dry climate, launch a Xeri-scaping awareness campaign to promote the use of drought-resistant plants in landscaping.
If you live in an urban area (or one that has issues environmental contamination), Save the Earth with Sunflowers (which draw heavy metals from the soil).
Promote energy conservation through a campaign to paint the dark roofs of buildings white with The White Roof Project.
HOT TIP: When choosing your project think about how to create a tie-in to a larger narrative arc. This is a perfect fit for you if you have a demonstrated interest in science and environmentalism. But it can also work if you fit into one of these categories:
Social studies/politics - become an environmental advocate by convening a Youth Town Hall with local leaders to discuss environmental issues that are important to youth in your community;
Arts - launch a competition in which students in your school compete to design murals to be painted on local storm sewers to raise awareness about runoff pollution; or
English/journalism - pick an environmental issue that is important to you and start a letter-writing campaign targeting local and state leaders. Or run a writing or poetry competition in which teens are challenged to write about a selected environmental theme.