Teens for Planet Earth Leadership Institute

Posted by on July 28, 2006

Teens for Planet Earth is a unique program developed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, based on the award-winning program Girls for Planet Earth. Through this project, we support teens as well as teen leaders/educators as they carry out environmental service-learning projects. We are planning a Global Teen Summit in India in the summer of 2008, an international gathering of youth to present their projects to one another, to learn more about conservation from experts and to visit WCS field projects in India. Those teams selected to attend will do so free of charge.

The Teens for Planet Earth website, http://www.teensforplanetearth.org, can help teens learn more about the environment and conservation, and use this knowledge to develop a project that will have a real impact on their own corner of the globe. There is a Resource Library, current news articles, and a Take Action section with fun, interactive guides to get teens started. There is also a private and secure registration area so that teens and leaders/educators can become part of our network.

Please think about how this exciting project can fit into your programming or the service-learning efforts of your organization. Also, feel free to distribute it to teens and youth leaders/educators who work with teens.

Also attached is information about our first Leadership Institute at the Bronx Zoo from October 25-27, 2006. Teachers, educators from living institutions (e.g., zoos, botanical gardens, nature centers, natural history museums, etc.) around the world and leaders from national and community-based organizations will learn how to provide effective Teens for Planet Earth programs for young people in their communities. The training will allow them to provide teens with the skills and support necessary to execute meaningful conservation-based service-learning projects in their communities. We will explore the challenges of team dynamics, how to network with experts and legislators, how to motivate teens by using zoos and other living institutions, and much more.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need any information.

Jeanine Silversmith
Project Advisor, Teens for Planet Earth
Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo
2300 Southern Blvd.
Bronx, NY 10460
[email protected]