Summary
Organization name
Earth Force
other names
FrontRange Earth Force
1993
Tax id (EIN)
52-1830873
Category
Environment
Organization Size
Large Organization
Address
PO Box 1228Denver, CO 80201
Denver County, CO, US
About
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We exist to increase youth participation in environmental decision making.
In Environmental Action Civics, students share power with adults, practice democratic decision making, and address local environmental problems using civics. And adults are right there beside them, igniting a new generation of decision makers.
Earth Force provides customizable tools and professional development to help adults create space for young people to form youth-adult partnerships, engage in environmental problem-finding, and take civic action.
What is Environmental Action Civics?
It's is an educational approach where youth work in partnership with adults to identify a local environmental issue and engage with community members to take action by advocating for systemic changes to policies or practices.
A central element of Environmental Action Civics is a commitment to prepare youth, especially those from historically marginalized communities, to engage in local environmental decision making now and in the future.
Mission
Earth Force engage young people as active citizens who improve the environment and their communities now and in the future.
We train adults to infuse civic experiences into environmental education to create environmental citizens.
We work with adults of all kinds – from K-12 educators, to afterschool educators, to municipal agencies, to environmental education organizations – as well as the adults who provide them training.
For many, bringing real civic action into their interactions with young people represents a pretty big shift in thinking.
Our expertise is in easing that transition in a powerful and sustainable way.
Background Statement
In 1989, five 3rd and 4th grade girls from Freeport, Maine noticed the amount of styrofoam in the trash along the shores of the Royal River.
They collected the trash and then narrowed in on the source of styrofoam – several local restaurants’ takeaway containers. They visited each restaurant to ask them to change their type of containers to something more easily biodegradable. Most restaurants were responsive to making changes, but a certain large national chain was not. The franchise was required to use the products and materials determined by the corporate headquarters.
As the girls became more knowledgeable about styrofoam, the chemistry, and the environment they became more vocal about the need for banning the styrofoam – and the use of non-biodegradable material. They debated with the franchise officials in the Town Council chambers.
One result of their efforts was the passage of the Chapter 33 Styrofoam Ordinance passed by the Freeport Town Council banning the use of polystyrene foam (PSF).
The Pew Charitable Trusts took note of this incredible youth-led change and created Earth Force to give more young people the opportunity to change their community.
We continued to innovate and we officially launched Environmental Action Civics – a clear way to infuse civics into environmental learning that now reaches over 40,000 young people per year.
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Organization Data
Denver, CO 80201