Young people care deeply about the environment. You can see this even in young children. Ask your first grader to tell you about his or her favorite animal. They will tell you that animals like whales, elephants, wolves, butterflies, and turtles are at risk of extinction due to human activities.
Caroline Hickman conducted a study We surveyed 10,000 young people (ages 16-25) from around the world to gauge what they think about climate change. Large numbers of young people report feeling distressed, anxious and fearful about climate change. They also reported feeling betrayed by leaders who failed to take action.
Our youth expect us to take action on climate change. One way to do this is to start a green team at your child’s school.
Action is the antidote to despair.” —Joan Baez
What is a School Green Team?
Green Teams are groups of students who come together to solve environmental problems, whether during school hours or not. The green team combines learning opportunities with action and field projects. Your team needs an advisor. That is, parents, teachers, or ideally both.
The first thing you don’t know about running a green team? Don’t worry. There are numerous programs across the country to support green teams with resources and information.
For example, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) created the following program: green team“An interactive educational program that helps students and teachers help the environment by reducing, reusing, recycling, composting, saving energy and preventing pollution.” Many of their materials are available on their website.
green school There is a comprehensive list of green education programs in various states. Some even have curriculum aligned to learning standards.
How do I start a green team at my child’s school?
First things first – get other parents involved
You cannot run the Green Team program alone. You need at least two other parents in your corner. Do you know other parents who care about the environment and would like to work with you? Ask any parents you know. Use social media to gauge interest beyond your own circle.
Working with school staff
Please check with your child’s school if there are several people on the boat. Contact your school principal and ask what kind of support they can provide for your team. Ask to be contacted by a staff member. Ideally, you would want your employees to attend team meetings. This is especially important if you are trying to implement change within the school itself.
Stay focused on children’s interests
Before the first meeting, have children fill out a form explaining why they want to join the team. You will find out where your students’ interests lie. The best thing about children is that they want to fix everything without thinking about limitations. now.
As a green team leader, your job is to focus students’ energy on projects where they can become effective change agents. We’ll talk more about this in a moment.
Building a positive team culture
You need to build a positive team culture so your team can work together constructively. There are a few simple things you can do to achieve this.
- When gathering in groups, sit in a circle. Otherwise, students will focus on adults instead of on each other.
- Encourage the group to learn each other’s names. Knowing someone’s name is the first step in building a relationship.
- Set some rules that everyone can agree on. Describe how students interact with each other (i.e. being rude, being confrontational, etc.).
- After the meeting, take some time to process. Ask the group what they think of what they did. What went well? What could be better next time?
Teams with a supportive culture spend less time resolving conflict and more time on the tasks at hand.
Teach children how to set reasonable goals
We mentioned that children tend to think big. They will say things like:
- “I want to save the Earth.”
- “We must protect endangered animals.”
- “Everyone needs to stop polluting.”
That idea is great. We all want that. But this one team of students can’t achieve that.
Train your team on: smart goals — Goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Ask yourself these guiding questions:
- What steps will we take to achieve our goals?
- How do we know if we have achieved our goal?
- How will we communicate our goals to others?
- What will achieving our goals look like?
Saving polar bears from extinction is not a smart goal. It is too vague, unmeasurable, and unattainable. An example of a SMART goal is to reduce a school’s energy use by 10%.
Projects that an eco-friendly team can do
There are dozens of projects that conservation teams can undertake to protect the environment and combat climate change.
Here are some examples of measurable, specific, and achievable projects:
- Conduct a waste audit of your school. How much trash is being thrown away? Is your school recycling as much as possible? Reduce your weekly litter weight by: X Number of pounds.
- Start a school composting program. Measure how many pounds of waste your program diverts from landfills.
- introduction Challenge without a straw. Educate your school community about why plastic straws are harmful. Track the number of straws used in your restaurant before and after your educational campaign.
- Launch a school recycling collection program. You might also consider signing up trex Try or enroll in school. TerraCycle. At TerraCycle, you can also earn reward points that you can donate back to your school. Weigh your recycling and track your rewards.
- Organize a community cleanup. Record the amount of waste and report it to the community.
- Work with local businesses to reduce single-use plastic bags. Create a sign to hang in your store.
Starting a green team at your child’s school won’t end climate change, but it’s only the beginning. More importantly, it helps young people feel empowered to take action. Who knows where it will lead?
More green team projects and resources:
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on October 29, 2021, and was updated in October 2024.
