| Who We Are |
| Why Envirolution |
| The Team |
| The Story |
| Council of Advisors |
| Collaborators |
| Press |
| Educate. Unite. Action |
| Collaborative Platforms |
| Website |
| Programs & Projects |
| Events |
| Clubs |
| Campaigns |
| The Call |
| Join Envirolution Network |
| Take The Challenge |
| Start a Club |
| Green Job Zone |
| Ideas & Collaboration |
| Donate |
| The Issues |
| The Movement |
| Our Future |
| Three Spheres |
Programs and Projects - Open Platform
Envirolution encourages the members of our community to look at their schools and neighborhoods, evaluate the main issues, assess their own skills and interests, and then create projects and programs that address these issues. Our platform is for anyone to use their specific talents to develop programs that help advance sustainability. Anyone can create a program or a project and open it up to the community. All members are encouraged to participate and organize action around issues they are passionate about.
We provide a diverse "menu" of established and proven programs that our organization or community has created. Envirolution recognizes that many awesome opportunities exist with other organizations and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. We develop partnerships with these local organizations and promote their opportunities to all of our community members. We seek ultimately to increase activity in this arena, whether with Envirolution or not.
Participants in this platform benefit from learning the process of taking an idea from design, through development, to execution. This platform empowers the participants by allowing them the freedom and creativity to act on topics they’re passionate about, to do it in a way that interests them, and to tangibly see the differences they have made.
Examples of projects are:
Elementary After-School Program Curriculum: Youth Educating Youth
What is it? This program is a sustainability education curriculum developed by Envirolution for elementary school students. Envirolution high school members will be educated on the curriculum and standard teaching practices and they in turn will teach the elementary school students. College students may also participate in the teaching and coordination of the program.
Why it’s needed: In order for sustainability to truly take hold, we need to engage and educate our youngest students on the fundamentals of these concepts. In our current elementary education system, most curriculums do not incorporate the interrelatedness of the environment, society and the economy. We see a true need to focus on programs that target this elementary school age group and that actively engage them in sustainable processes.
Why is it effective and unique? Envirolution believes in the effectiveness and impact of youth educating youth. Many studies show that people retain information much better when they are required to teach it. The unique aspect of this after-school program is that it connects and engages college, high school, and elementary school students in one platform. College and university level students will head a group of high school students interested in reaching out and educating their younger peers. The high school students will be educated on the sustainability curriculum as well as on effective teaching strategies. They will then be prepared to go into the elementary schools and become teachers. The university students will oversee and administer the program for possible class credit or internship experience.
Status? This program will be ready for implementation in several schools in Reno, NV, Truckee, CA, and New York City, NY this upcoming fall. Currently the curriculum is designed for grades 4-6, however we plan to expand it to all elementary grade levels, 1-6.
Field Trips: Students Experiencing Sustainability in Action
What is it? Students Experiencing Sustainability in Action (SESA) is a program that aligns students with individuals, businesses, organizations, and public service agencies to provide an array of opportunities for youth to experience sustainability in the real world. Through these Field Trip opportunities, the students will be educated on a variety of sustainable industries like renewable energy, green building, green business, clean transportation and fuels, as well as organic food and local agriculture.
Why it’s needed: For too many of our youth and community members, sustainability is a vague concept that they can't seem to put their finger on. A huge part of the problem is that they are not receiving the proper education, and in addition, they are not being actively shown how sustainability works in practice. Since they aren't getting educated on it and they don't know what it looks like in the real world, they obviously aren't very interested or see it as being relevant to them.
Why is it effective and unique? Through SESA, youth see sustainable practices in action in their own communities. Through this experience they will begin to understand how logical and effective sustainable technologies really are. Many people learn best by doing, and since the idea of sustainability is somewhat new to many people, hands-on experience is required to provide effective education. In addition, Envirolution establishes partnerships with some of these businesses and organizations on the field trip in order to put together an internship program for the students. This program will initially be targeted at our high school and college members.
Status? Envirolution is in the process of rolling out the first version of this program in the Reno, NV-Lake Tahoe region. We anticipate the first field trip to be in the fall of 2008.
Internships: Real World Opportunities
What is it? Through Envirolution’s network of businesses and organizations, we establish internship opportunities for members of our community. These internships are for students and local citizens to get hands-on experience in advancing sustainability and contributing to the change process. Our internships will be in all fields of the green economy and will include industries such as green finance, green building, renewable energy, farming and permaculture, green business, energy efficiency, and any other industry that falls within our mission.
Our internship program works in three ways. First, we offer students the opportunity to be interns within Envirolution’s organization to assist in our operations and development. We work to tailor the internships to our interns’ specific skills and interests, from graphic design to engineering to journalism to event planning. Second, we establish internships through partner organizations or businesses in communities we are located. Lastly, we are building a database of connections with many of the already existing internship programs that are available in the field of sustainability. As always, no need to recreate the wheel, we simply want our students to get involved in any manner that suits their interests.
Why it’s needed: As our economy continues to develop into a more environmentally and socially responsible driven market, the demand for skilled green workers will constantly rise. The American Solar Energy Society estimates that the number of green jobs could rise to 40 million by 2030. The future and its abundant opportunities lie in the green economy and to be appropriately prepared there need to be training and internship opportunities in place now. This internship program seeks to create more opportunities and connect interested individuals to the already existing opportunities.
Why is it effective and unique? This hands-on approach is completely empowering for the participants, who gain real world experience and education. It’s an internship like those that already exist, but it includes the green angle. It is practically beneficial for students as they will receive classroom credit or volunteer hours for their participation in these internships.
Status? Envirolution is currently developing internship positions within our organization that we intend on offering starting this summer and beyond. We are also currently working to develop the appropriate relationships to gather the other available internship opportunities that already exist. They will be released as they are organized.
“Light the Path” Program
What is it? “Light the Path” is a community outreach initiative that will distribute CFL light bulbs as well as other health and environmental informational materials to lower income neighborhoods. The program works by exchanging incandescent light bulbs with the more energy efficient CFL light bulbs. The purpose of the program is to:
- Reduce the environmental impact of a neighborhood’s energy usage through more energy efficient lighting.
- Target an under-served/a community in need and assist them in the energy efficiency of their homes.
- Demonstrate the reduced savings seen over time through the use of CFL bulbs.
- Educate the individual residents of the environmental impact of their electricity and then also take it a step further and educate them on other ways to cut down on energy costs and reduce their environmental impact.
- Provide an opportunity for our members to get out in their community and make a difference. The program will be implemented through a door-to-door campaign including Envirolution Young Professional members and Envirolution High School Members.
We ultimately plan to make a model of this program so that it can be easily adopted in any community.
Why it’s needed? What makes it effective and unique? These communities often are not aware of all the economic, environmental, and social benefits of living more sustainable lifestyles. They also often cannot afford to make that switch. Therefore this program aims to address both of these issues by educating the community while giving them free materials to make their house more energy efficient and ultimately saving them money on their electricity bills. In addition, it serves as a community outreach program that gets high school students involved in making a positive impact in their community. It empowers both the students and the residents as they both learn and gain something valuable in the experience.
Current Status? Plans are under way to roll out the first pilot version of “Light the Path” in a community in Reno, NV this summer.