Connect with green organizations and like-minded youth, and make your environmental
dream a reality. by Jennifer Hattam
Get Active:
Organizations, training programs, and more
Bay Area Action
265 Moffett Blvd., Mountain View, CA 94043, (650) 625-8732, info@BAAction.org; www.baaction.org/schools/. Get ideas for your
own local efforts from this San Francisco Bay Area-based operation, which trains high
school activists and helps them organize habitat-restoration projects, demonstrations
against eco-unfriendly corporations, and other campaigns.
Campus Ecology
c/o National Wildlife Federation, 8925 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22184, (703) 790-4100, campus@nwf.org; www.nwf.org/campus/.
Improve (or introduce) your campus's use of composting, recycling, ecological building
design, renewable energy, and organic foods with help from this organization.
Center for Campus Organizing
165 Friend St., M/S #1, Boston, MA 02114, (617) 725-2886, cco@igc.org. This national organization helps students
build progressive movements for environmental and social justice on their college
campuses.
Center for Environmental Citizenship
1611 Connecticut Ave. N.W. #3-B, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 234-5990, cec@envirocitizen.org; www.envirocitizen.org. CEC offers networking
resources for student leaders, including Campus Green Vote trainings on how to register
and educate voters.
Cool the Planet
c/o Ozone Action, 1700 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Third Floor, Washington, DC 20009, (888)
363-9197, mconklin@ozone.org; http://cool.policy.net/. This student-run campaign
works to end global warming by lobbying politicians and corporations that pollute.
Earth Force
2120 w. 33rd Ave. Denver, CO 80211, (303) 433-0016 x 6, earthforce@earthforce.org; www.earthforce.org. Get sample petitions, action
plans, and other tools to monitor and protect local rivers and promote bicycle-friendly
communities.
Earth Team 2000
P.O. Box 4686, Walnut Creek, CA 94596, (925) 274-3669, info@earthteam.net; www.earthteam.net. This environmental network offers
projects, Web pages, and networking opportunities for high school clubs, classes, and
youth groups.
European Youth Forest Action
Postbox 94115, GH 1090, Amsterdam, Netherlands, +31 20 665 7743, eyfa@eyfa.org.
EYFA organizes Ecotopia, an annual international gathering for young activists involved in
social and environmental issues.
Fall Creek Treesit
c/o Cascadia Forest Defenders, P.O. Box 11122, Eugene, OR 97440, (541) 684-8977, redcloud@efn.org; www.ecoecho.org.
Potential tree-sitters (and their supporters) can get involved with the forest-activist
community in Eugene, Oregon.
Free the Planet!
218 D St. S.E., Washington, DC 20003, (202) 547-3656, freetheplanet@essential.org; www.freetheplanet.org. Help hold polluters and
politicians accountable with Free the Planet!'s organizing tips, action items,
environmental alerts, and other tools for educating and activating your campus.
International Youth Week
c/o Youth Action Network, 761 Queen St. W., Suite 315, Toronto, Ontario, M6J1G1, Canada,
(416) 368-2277, youthweek@youthweek.org; www.youthactionnetwork.org. Young activists
from around the world organize fun and educational local activities in their own hometowns
as part of this annual event. If you want to plan your own event, the Youth Action Network
offers a host of ideas.
Kids! Renew America
1200 18th St. N.W., Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 721-1545, renewamerica@counterpart.org; www.crest.org/renew_america/mainkids2.htm.
Kids of all ages-from elementary through high school-can network with other youth working
for a sustainable future and get tips on starting their own environmental projects.
People and Planet
51 Union St., Oxford OX4 1JP, UK, +44 (0)1865 245678, people@peopleandplanet.org; www.peopleandplanet.org. This British student
network works to alleviate world poverty, defend human rights, and protect the
environment.
Public Interest Research Groups
c/o CALPIRG, 11965 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066, (310) 397-5270, adelattre@aol.com; www.pirg.org/student/. Student chapters of the
PIRGs encourage environmental advocacy, free speech, voting, and other types of campus
activism.
Ruckus Society
2054 University Ave., #204, Berkeley, CA 94704, (510) 848-9565, ruckus@ruckus.org; www.ruckus.org.
Students and others learn the skills of nonviolent civil disobedience at the Ruckus
Society's training programs, including an Alternative Spring Break Camp for college
activists.
Second Nature
44 Bromfield St., 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02108, (617) 292-7771, info@secondnature.org; www.secondnature.org. Second Nature provides
training programs and works with schools to incorporate environmental awareness into
college life.
Sierra Student Coalition
P.O. Box 2402, Providence, RI 02906, (888) JOIN-SSC, ssc-info@ssc.org;
www.ssc.org.
The student-run arm of the Sierra Club has 12,000 members at high schools and colleges
around the United States who work on local and national conservation campaigns. Each year,
the SSC offers week-long summer training sessions (and weekend school-year programs) that
teach the ABCs of campus organizing.
Sierra Youth Coalition Suite 1200-1 Nicholas St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 7B7, Canada, (888) 790-7393, sierrayc@web.net; www.sierrayouthcoalition.org. Through their
Sustainable Campuses Project, the members of the Sierra Club of Canada's Sierra Youth
Coalition are helping students make their campuses more environmentally responsible.
Student Environmental Action Coalition
P.O. Box 31909, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (215) 222-4711, seac@seac.org;
www.seac.org. Each summer, this national network of high
school and college activists trains advocates for environmental and social change.
World Voices
21 Lonsdale Road, London NW6 6RA, UK, +44 (0)20 7372 7117, uk@worldvoices.org; www.worldvoices.org. World Voices is an
international group of young environmental and social-justice activists working toward a
sustainable future. Projects include an annual conference/festival, a book, an e-mail
alert list, and ideas for ethical careers. (See "Inside Sierra,")
Youth for Environmental Sanity (YES!)
420 Bronco Rd., Soquel, CA 95073, (877) 293-7226, camps@yesworld.org;
www.yesworld.org. This youth-run organization leads
presentations at schools and holds Action Camp trainings for activists ages 15 to 25. Its
online offerings include primers on key environmental issues and the Green Schools Manual.
