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EEA RESOURCES
Environmental Clubs

Getting Started

A vision, a sponsor, and a group of students who want to make a difference in the world! What else do you need to start an environmental club? Here are thoughts and templates. 

• How to Start an Environmental Club from Scientific American
• Manual for School Environmental Clubs from Ethiopian One Planet Network
• Sample By-Laws from 4-H
• Fostering Inclusiveness and Belonging from Green 2.0
• Exclusive Club or Inclusive Organization?

Club Models

These groups provide interesting models and many of them invite chapters across the country to form, taking advantage of their organizational structure and program ideas. Consider saving time and energy by adopting or replicating one of these models  . . 

• Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots - club challenges, one-time actions, and projects
• Earth Force  - project-based focus on civic action and environmental stewardship
• Planeteer Alliance - global community working on climate action challenge​
• NWF's Earth Tomorrow  - environmental justice and conservation action
• Young Voices for the Planet - films and case studies of student-directed projects​​
• Outdoor Afro - affinity group that engages under-represented adults outdoors
• Earth Team - examples of environmental stewardship in California schools
• Environmental Storyline Projects - templates for student-directed projects

Things to Do

There is nothing more empowering than students identifying a local environmental problem, deciding how to solve it, and carrying out a project or campaign they design. But as David Sobel says, we cannot ask children to save the world before they have a chance to love it. Spending time in nature and enjoying outdoor experiences is an important and legitimate function of environmental clubs too!

• Explore, Experience and Enjoy Nature!
  • All Trails, Find A Park, SEEK app
• Collaborate with Outdoor Affinity Groups 
  • Meet Up, Outdoor Afro ATL, Latinx Hikers, Diversify Outdoors
• Survey and Map your Schoolyard Assets
  • Community Inventory,  What's Good in My Hood?,  CoOL Toolkit Audits
• Organize a Clean-Up Campaign
  • ​with Litterati,  Marine Debris Tracker, or Rivers Alive
• Collect Data and Contribute to Real Scientific Research
  • Community Science Projects​
• Slow Climate Change
  • ​Carbon Gardening and Tree Planting
• Become Zero Waste Heroes
  • ​Host a Trashion Show,  Reduce Food Waste, Compost Fruit & Veggie Scraps
• Observe and Protect Wildlife; Restore Habitat 
  • ​Install Bird Gardens or Feeders and ID Species with Merlin Bird ID Wizard
• Take on Activities and Short-Term Projects  
  • Bite-sized Eco-Activities, Challenges and One-Time Activities
• Adopt a Stream 
• Grow a Garden
• Solve a Local Environmental Problem
• Try Handprinter: Challenge Students to Increase their Positive Impact