Action Plan Title: Environmental Advocacy Club

Isabella K.

Hometown/Country: Long Island, New York

Program/Year: BELL Rhode Island, 2023

Please describe your Action Plan in one or two sentences.

The main goals of my action plan are to educate elementary students about the detrimental impacts on our planet due to climate change and work together as a community in cleanups and to spread awareness about what we can do to save our earth

What is the need or issue that you are trying to address with your project?

My action plan is focused on providing education about climate change to my community. Due to social media, false information about climate change  is being spread around the world rapidly,  resulting in many people believing that the planet is fine and that humans are not causing damage. With my club, I want people to have the correct information about how climate change is destroying our planet, so they can then make informed decisions and understand why our planet desperately needs help. 

What steps and efforts have you taken so far to advance your project? 

After I finished attending the BELL program last summer, I immediately reached out to my environmental science teacher and told her my action plan. She was very excited and on board to ask the school to allow the project to take place. When we mentioned the ideas we had for the club we wanted to start to the principal of my school, the principal was first hesitant because he wasn’t sure if the club would have enough interest from other students. He told my teacher and I that if we could get at least 20-30 students to write their signatures that they were interested in joining the club, then he would consider approving our plan. We also had to create an agenda of what the main focuses of the club would be about and why it was necessary to have our club in the school. We got more than enough signatures, convincing the principal that students would be interested. My teacher and I were ecstatic and right after it got approved we went to work. We planned when our meetings would be, our goals for each meeting, and we made sure to make an inclusive environment where everyone felt like they could contribute their ideas. I hung up posters (which we reused for this school year) and did announcements for when the club would be meeting. I am extremely grateful for Mrs.Sebastiano (my environmental science teacher) who allowed me to have my action plan become a success. 

How did you get interested in this issue? Why does this issue matter to you and should it matter to others? What new insight or learning do you have about this issue? 

I became interested in bringing awareness to the climate issues that the earth and many communities have been experiencing due to the AP Environmental Science course I took in 9th grade. It was the first time where I was able to learn about the major issues that were causing the earth to become damaged, but also the small things that I can do every day to help combat these issues… The BELL program furthered my knowledge on these topics which was so important to me because of my understanding that education is a key part in helping to restore our earth. Most importantly, I learned something new from BELL while working on my action plan, that I honestly didn’t think of before attending the program: climate change does not only hurt our flora and fauna, but it also impacts so many communities around the world, specifically low-income and minority communities. After learning this, I knew my action plan had to also focus on bringing justice to families who have endured horrible conditions due to climate change and make sure their voice is being heard. 

What impact do you think your project has had? 

I believe that my project has brought awareness to my school and has positively impacted my community. Many students, teachers, and others heard about the club and wanted to learn more about the goals of the project. After learning about what my project consisted of, so many people in my community told me they felt inspired to take part in helping our planet. My project has allowed people to create meaningful friendships due to our shared goals and become more educated about climate change. 

How has your involvement in this project impacted you personally? What have you learned about yourself? 

This project has been and is an incredible experience for me. Starting the club taught me the value of leadership and that I can make positive changes even as one person. When starting the club, sometimes it was hard to stay motivated because of the amount of things I had to do to get it approved. At some points I wondered, what makes me qualified to do this? Will this actually make a difference? What if my project doesn’t work? But with the help of Mrs. Sebastiano and the support from my family and the BELL community, I blocked out those thoughts and kept pushing through. I learned that even if the project did fail, at least I was trying. 

What tips and advice would you give to new students as they think about developing and working on their own Action Plans?

Some advice I would give to new students would be to not overthink while they are coming up with ideas for their action plans. Allow your brain to think freely and don’t limit your ideas even if some of them may sound crazy. Sometimes the best ideas start off as silly or horrible ideas. Trust yourself and the knowledge you learned at BELL to know that you can successfully implement your plan. Also, it is okay to change your action plan even after you leave the BELL program. In the beginning I wanted to make a rain garden as my action plan. But then after BELL, I decided that creating a club could be [an] easier first step on my environmental journey and that as I build more confidence, I would eventually be able to create a rain garden in my community. Be [creative], listen to your BELL peers and staff, and never be afraid to make a mistake.