Youth in Action: Motivating Teens and Tweens to Protect the Ocean

Why Target Youth?

The Ocean Project's recent national public opinion research has found that youth (ages 12-17) know and care more about ocean, climate change and other related issues and are more willing to take action on these issues than adults. Furthermore, youth exert a lot of influence in their families since parents tend to view their children as better informed on environmental issues. Overall, youth in America strongly believe that individuals should take responsibility for protecting the environment, and that protecting the ocean is an important part of protecting our environment. The research shows that youth are also the most concerned about the health of the world's ocean and believe that in the future the ocean will be less healthy than it is today. Perhaps as a result of this, youth also report the highest involvement in engaging in at least one ocean conservation-related activity. Teens and tweens are therefore key audiences to learn more about and target more specifically and intensely not only for conservation outreach and education, but also for mobilizing youth to take meaningful action for the environment.

The Right Age to Start Taking Action

The book, Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education, by David Sobel, thoroughly explains the importance of youth involvement in environmental action. As children reach the ages of eleven and twelve, a growing interest develops in social interaction and gatherings, occurring in places such as shopping malls and town parks. As children start to discover the "self" of adolescence and feel their connectedness to society, they naturally incline toward wanting to save the world. This shift away from the wilderness exploration of an adolescent childhood can be translated into youth activism that results in positive environmental change. Managing school recycling programs, helping pass town environmental ordinances, testifying at hearings, planning and going on school expeditions are all appropriate activities for youth involvement. Good school programs will also recognize the need for rites of passage toward the end of this period. Initiation signifies the transition into adulthood with the dual challenges of solitude and social responsibility.

Unexpected Benefits

There are multiple positive outcomes as youth engage in social action. Not only are there physical environmental improvements, but adolescents are also able to begin participating in "citizenship traditions," such as democracy, public work, and social justice. The budding interest youth have in social activity can be guided into individual and community development as well as positive environmental change. Collective action towards a public purpose will have long-term effects in community structure and youth transition into adulthood. Social and environmental action can also result in scholarships and awards. This can incentivize youth to jump start their involvement.

How to Reach Youth: The Internet

The Internet is certainly one of the most powerful potential tools to reach youth. The Ocean Project's research indicates that while teens and tweens trust aquariums to give them accurate information about ocean issues that over 71% of them would rather acquire this information over the Internet rather than by visiting an aquarium in person. Considering that 8-18 year olds spending an average of about an hour and a half a day on computers and that 33% of this age group has online access in their own bedrooms, the Internet could be utilized by ZAMs to communicate environmental concerns and inspire action among this highly influential and responsive demographic. Social networking sites such as Facebook are hotspots for this age group and 73% of online teens have profiles on at least one social networking site. Twitter, however, has not gained as much popularity with 12-17 year-olds of whom only 8% ever use Twitter.

Successful Examples

Many innovative programs are reaching out to engage youth populations in environmental action and awareness. The following resources can be used as examples to further youth action and community involvement.

The New England Aquarium
The New England Aquarium offers an Ocean Summit, which is a one day opportunity for high school students to involve themselves in marine environmental issues. Youth can develop skills in science, debating, and public speaking. Along with this, the New England Aquarium also has many teen-specific programs that are targeted for youth ages 13 to 19 that focus on leadership, environmental stewardship, and engagement with nature.
http://www.neaq.org/education_and_activities/teacher_resources/school_programs/ocean_summit_program.php (ocean summit)
http://www.neaq.org/education_and_activities/programs_and_classes/teen_programs/index.php (teen programs)

Headlands Institute
Headlands Institute presents an opportunity for adolescents to participate in leadership training. This is a paid environmental internship that encourages hands-on learning about environmental education, while fostering and developing skills such as collaboration, leadership, and community involvement.
http://www.naturebridge.org/headlands/youth-leadership-programs
Likewise, Headlands Institute also provides 2-5 day residential field-based science programs for students grades K-12. http://www.naturebridge.org/headlands/school-group-programs

Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay offers programs that are designed to foster youth involvement and learning. Emphasis is placed on activating adolescents to become aware and engaged in their surrounding communities. Specifically, the Student Oceanography Club gives students the chance to actively become involved in their environment through snorkeling and kayaking, as well as to participate in restoration projects.This can foster excitement in teens and tweens about the environment that translates into action and engagement.
http://montereyaquarium.com/lc/kids_place/kidseq_soc.aspx

Roots and Shoots
Roots and Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute that is geared toward youth-driven service learning projects. This program supports the impact youth can make on animals, health, and our environment. The international effort is effective as adolescents engage in youth-led campaigns within their community.
http://www.rootsandshoots.org

Resources for Educators

The Ocean Project offers additional resources to communicate for conservation and effectively educate for action. To learn more, check out these "Communicating Conservation" pages.

Investigating the ocean
http://www.science-house.org/nesdis/index.html
This site investigates six ocean issues, including algae blooms and coral bleaching, with the use of satellite data and other online resources. The site offers background information for teachers and students, tips for research, guides and maps, and a variety of related links that can be used to promote teen and tween action.

EPA: Teaching Resources
The EPA dedicates a portion of their website for a Teacher Center, which emphasizes various resources that are available to educate youth. A range of sites and explanations are compiled to explain environmental topics such as conservation, stewardship, and climate change to students in grades 6-12.
http://www.epa.gov/teachers/teachresources.htm
To promote action, the EPA also offers ideas for environmentally-focused community service projects for youth to become involved in to turn lessons from the classroom into experience and change.
http://www.epa.gov/teachers/community-svc-projects.htm

Empowering Youth
Kelly Curtis' hands-on book, Empowering Youth, is designed to engage youth in leadership, community organizing, and creating social change. The nineteen activities within Empowering Youth aid communities and organizations in starting youth involvement, and the first hand accounts of youth give insight to effective empowerment strategies.
http://empoweryouthleaders.org/

Focus the Nation
Focus the Nation's Civic Engagement program offers an opportunity for youth in two and four year colleges to engage in Town Hall Forum campaigns. By participating, students learn leadership skills in areas such as decision-making, problem solving, community organizing, and marketing. Although the addressed age for the Civic Engagement program is slightly older than the targeted teen and tween category, this program can be a model for helping youth become involved in education, engagement, and action.
http://www.focusthenation.org/civic-engagement

Videos:

The Story of Stuff
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
The Story of Stuff is an engaging half hour video about the linear process of the materials we consume. Anne Leonard describes the transition our products make from extraction, production, distribution, consumption, through the stage of disposal, offering insights as to how to reduce our consumption to create a more equitable and sustainable way of life. This short film is simple and yet powerful enough to motivate youth to reevaluate the choices they make that impact our planet.

TOXIC: Garbage Island
http://www.vbs.tv/watch/toxic/toxic-garbage-island-full-length
This hour-long documentary from VBS.TV illustrates the problem of marine debris by taking a crew on a three week voyage to explore the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which circulates in the North Pacific Gyre. The footage of the journey and the samples taken from the vortex of trash demonstrate the seriousness of plastic production and disposal, as shown through the eyes of Captain Charles Moore and a small group of young adults. The young film crew's dry sense of humor, which surfaces as they deal with life at sea and come face to face with the plastic soup, may be particularly appealing to the teen and tween audience.