In our group’s original meetings, it was clear that we wanted to be involved with environmental education and policy change.  Informing and inspiring youth about environmental issues was a constant goal throughout this entire project, although finding an outlet for this passion was our biggest obstacle.  The initial conception was starting an environmental awareness group in an Ithaca High School which would have an emphasis on enacting environment related policy change in the local community.  We named our group Students for Community Environmental Action (SCEA).

            It was very difficult to directly get involved in any local high school, so we decided to team up with an existing group, Fostering Leadership in Youth (FLY), and focused our attention on developing a range of activities for middle school students.  In conjunction with this, we decided to develop a website to serve as a permanent resource for parents, teachers, and students.  The website contains general educational information about global warming and other environmental issues, a range of activities for teachers or parents to do with students of all ages, environmental news, and resources for further information.  There is also an opportunity for those who use this resource to provide us with feedback, enabling us to continue to add more activities, and modify others.

            We were also fortunate enough to be put in contact with the Sciencenter in Ithaca.  They are currently looking for a group to develop an Environmental Toolkit and Global Warming Backpack.  We are going to create for them a series of hands on activities that children and their parents would be able to complete in a days visit to the center.  These activities would educate both the parents and children as to the science behind global warming, and include supplies, instructions, and information brochures.

            SCEA will be sustained through ongoing monitoring of the website, which will be distributed to our local middle schools, as well as through the Environmental Toolkit at the Sciencenter.