Dear EarthTalk: I’m thinking about starting an environmental club in my middle school. Can you give me some ideas about how to start? Can you connect me with other school clubs?
-- Rosemary, Andover Township, NJ
Starting an environmental club at school is a great way to get students energized about taking care of the Earth and helping their community while learning about some of the most important issues facing the world in the 21st century.
EarthTeam, a non-profit environmental network for teens, teachers and youth leaders, offers many tips on how to start an environmental club. First and foremost is to make sure there are at least a half dozen or so other students interested in forming such a club to begin with, and then also finding a teacher, community leader or parent who is willing to serve as an adult sponsor. The sponsor’s role is to provide advice along the way and to help ensure the stability of the group from year-to-year given that all of the students, even the founders of the club, will eventually graduate, or move on to other interests or endeavors.
Once the core membership and adult sponsor have been established, EarthTeam suggests all sitting down together to decide on the club’s vision (“Why are we here?”) and to brainstorm about possible activities or projects to undertake (“What do we want to accomplish?”). Once these questions have been answered, it’s time to hold the club’s first official meeting, which should be advertised as widely as possible to other students who may be interested in finding out what the group is about and how they can get involved, too.
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EarthTalk answers questions submitted by readers on a wide range of environmental topics -- from recycling to rainforests and "from the global village to your backyard"
Contact Information:
Doug Moss
28 Knight Street
Norwalk, CT 06851
earthtalkcolumn@emagazine.com
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