Ecolympics
Launch an environmental awareness competition to raise awareness and initiate conversations about what your community can do to reduce its environmental footprint. You can host speakers, run workshops and launch a social media campaign. Think about something measurable - plastic, food waste, or means of transportation. Then challenge your community to track and decrease consumption. Incorporate prizes!
How do I get started: Download our PDF on how to launch a community impact campaign. Do you research, and rally your friends and neighbors. Your job will be easier - and your project more successful - if you focus on a discrete, and measurable, issue (think: single-use plastic, carpooling or turning out lights).
How do I expand this narrative arc? There are so many great projects that are feasible for a motivated teen. Building on the success of your Ecolympics you should consider one or more of the many other climate-related urban interventions. For example:
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: It’s not enough to just start an environmental club at your school; you need to get out there and make an impact! Keep in mind that multiple projects are going to look a lot better than just one, and you’ll get as much out of it as you put into it.