Teenage girls learning science in Colorado's backcountry

A New York organization called Brooklyn Boatworks conducts an after school program for students across NYC to learn STEM skills through the construction of a boat. The teaching model is built to support students who do and do not excel within a traditional school setting, and they strive to create a safe space for students to make mistakes and build self-confidence and social skills. Students also learn tangible skills like tool safety, map reading, environmental education, and project management, and the program culminates with each student setting sail in their handmade boat at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The nonprofit Coombs Outdoors runs summer and winter camps for youth to experience and learn about the outdoors. The camps are in high demand because of the affordable price made possible by donor subsidies.

Queer activists and organizers are centering their identity in the environmental justice movement. They form part of a growing movement that doesn't exclude their queer identity in the fight against climate change. Some examples of this work include "Queer Nature," a community where queer people can reconnect with nature. Another example is the "Queer Ecojustice Project," which addresses how queer perspectives were ignored by the environmental movement. This article presents several other examples of the intersection of queer identity with the environmental movement.

The nonprofit Black to the Land Coalition is working to expose more members of BIPOC communities to outdoor activities and the healthy benefits that come with being nature. They have partnered with other organizations to help alleviate costs and they’ve done activities like archery, camping, and kayaking. “We’re creating opportunities for Black and brown people to engage in natural spaces beyond the playscapes and basketball courts,” says one of the founders. “We’re taking on the outdoor world, period.”

Across Navajo Nation, young people are coming together to protect their elders through grassroots efforts and campaigns. They’ve created online campaigns, like Protect the Sacred and #NavajoStrong to help provide accurate information, collect donations, deliver medical supplies, and recruit medical professionals. They’ve come together on-the-ground, creating the Northern Dine Covid-19 Relief Effort to get clearing products, fresh food, and other supplies to households on the reservation.

Through the Achieving Sustainability Through Education and Economic Development Solutions (ASEEDS) Creek Rangers program, teens and community leaders are raising awareness of the effects of climate change in their small Mississippi town. They’ve fixed their community’s drainage system to help mitigate floods that have impacted the area for years. While some people were skeptical of their efforts, they’ve been able to work with pastors and other people to show how climate change is already impacting them.

The residents of Kikandwa, Uganda, came together to create the Kikandwa Environmental Association to implement nature-based solutions in their community. The solutions are combatting climate change and generating more income than options with a negative environmental impact. For example, many people traded cutting trees to make charcoal for selling seedlings at the local tree nursery.

In Nigeria, the Arewa Women Initiative For Climate Change Advocacy And Environmental Sustainability works to educate people on climate change and empower them to make informed, environment-friendly decisions. Through events like tree planting campaigns, the initiative spreads awareness on a variety of issues while coordinating action.

At Philadelphia’s inaugural Civics Day competition, students from high schools across the city presented their work to address issues important to their community, from countering sexual assault to improving safety on public transit and preventing gun violence. The students were part of a pilot project by Generation Citizen designed to teach youth how to actively participate in political and civic life.

Concerns and advocacy from earth science students in Detroit who conducted their own tests of water hydration stations across their school building led to an immediate administrative response. The students lobbied school, district, and city officials, advocating for increased testing and routine inspections of water fountain filters and the building’s pipe infrastructure.