Youth for Environmental Sustainability

The Irving YES (Youth for Environmental Sustainability) school project in Irving, Texas was completed in June 2011. Designed to educate, inspire and engage students, this grant-funded project curriculum included environmental, economic and social topics that culminate with hands-on projects. Students at Irving's four high schools (Irving, Nimitz, Singley Academy and MacArthur) and two universities (North Lake College and the University of Dallas) were challenged at the weekly meetings to discuss topics that were outside their typical classroom lessons and shared that new-found knowledge with their peers.

Originally developed as the Green Teens program in 2008 for one high school in North Richland Hills, Texas, the Irving YES project has expanded to include more schools, more students and special projects for each campus.

Built upon The Natural Steps' Four Guiding Objectives, topics included energy & water conservation, recycling, air quality, composting, renewable energy, slow food, green building, toxic-free cleaning, green living, community gardening and transportation.

During the fall semester, students cut up an apple to illustrate the 1% of drinkable water on the planet. The pieces represented oceans, uninhabitable land and land that grows food. They were then asked to cut a sliver of apple from the 1/32 piece that represented land that grows food. When they held that sliver up and were told that it represented the water on the earth that is available for drinking, cooking, bathing, irrigating crops, watering lawns and washing laundry for 6 billion inhabitants, they were amazed. The ensuing discussions included how water conservation impacts all four of the TNS Guiding Objectives.

Students also created miniature watersheds that illustrated three different ecosystems: arid, semi-arid and wet. Using a spray bottle, students created rain and flood events to learn about erosion. Hot chocolate powder and aluminum foil was used to illustrate how pollution moves through eco-systems and how development affects that movement. Discussion afterward led to the use of permeable paving surfaces, bioswales, wetlands and non-point source pollution problems on their respective campuses.

In the spring, students cooked hot dogs in a solar oven made from two cardboard boxes and aluminum foil, created a community garden and built compost and worm bins.

In addition, each of the Irving YES schools will took on impact projects for their individual schools and community projects. The projects varied from school to school. For instance, Irving HS students made a presentation to Irving's Neighborhood Roundtable on the sustainability issues they would like neighborhood leaders to take action on. The University of Dallas students recently spoke with the university president about expanding the campus' recycling program and spearheaded those efforts during the spring semester. North Lake College set aside a drip-irrigated area for a community garden to share food with fellow students.

Both of the universities also participated in the nationally-recognized RecycleMania campaign.

The curriculum is completely electronic (HTML and PDF) and available to all visitors through the website at www.IrvingYES.com. The electronic curriculum will allow this project to be easily replicated and updated throughout the country.

Social marketing tools have been set up for students to educate their peers about the environmental problems their generation is facing. This “Each One, Teach One” approach allows Irving YES participants to engage their fellow students through media they are accustomed to receiving information through and they will be able to reach a broader audience of peers, beyond Irving.

Although the grant funding has ended, Irving YES continues with assistance from City of Irving staff.

North Lake College enjoyed the year-long project so much that it continues as the iYES Lecture Series that presents sustainability issues as they relate to American history.

Keep up with the Irving YES project through Facebook, Flickr, YouTube or follow iYES on Twitter.