New Public Service Project

Raissa Kirk
Public Service Vice-Chair
Rkirk@crowncentral.com

We are pleased to invite all committee members to join us in a new and exciting community service project. The Section leadership approved this project at its October meeting and we are now ready to go forward with an organization called Earth Force whose purpose is to help young people discover and implement lasting solutions to environmental problems in their communities. The program described below is an innovative blend of civic and environmental education. We are seeking support for the project initially in the following cities: Lansing, Michigan; Detroit; Indianapolis; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Spring Hill, Tennessee; Shreveport, Louisina; Baltimore; Houston; Austin, Texas; Philadelphia; Erie, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh; Tampa/St. Pete, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; Portland, Oregon; and Lordstown, Ohio. Our Committee is enthusiastic about this effort and hope that you will join us in our work with Earth Force.

What is Earth Force?
Earth Force is a national non-profit organization created in 1994 by The Pew Charitable Trusts in recognition of two emerging national trends: young people’s desire to act on behalf of the environment and their desire to help their communities through voluntary service. Earth Force serves 35,000 youth a year through eleven offices across the country. A visit to one of their Web sites – http://www.earthforce.org or http://www.green.org will illustrate exactly how young people and adult volunteers can improve their communities by participating in Earth Force programs.

The GREEN Program
The Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN), founded in 1984 by Dr. William Stapp of the University of Michigan, became an Earth Force program in 1999. This award-winning program matches middle and high school science students with private sector sponsors to study and improve water quality in their community. The program is implemented from start to finish during a school year. GREEN builds essential academic skills including critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving, and decision making; teaches students how to assess watershed health with the proper tools; and encourages youth to undertake projects to improve environmental quality based on their findings. The students and their teacher begin by doing a watershed assessment that includes physical, chemical and biological monitoring. Using this data and other resources, they identify a problem they would like to address. Students research the problem in a balanced fashion, review applicable legal or community considerations and decide on their preferred solution. They then design and implement their action plan to address the problem. They then reflect on what they learned.

The In-House Counsel Committee’s Project
The In-House Counsel Committee would like to implement the GREEN program at two to three sites across the country, with the private sector sponsors and mentors drawn from our Committee’s membership. We will lay the foundation now to have the program ready to proceed in the 2003-2004 school year. If the initial projects are successful, and the membership interest is sustained, we could explore future GREEN projects.

Corporate, Law Firm and Organization Roles
Earth Force matches the private sector sponsors such as law firms, corporations, and associations with a school class in their area. Earth Force also identifies and involves a local watershed group in the project. Sponsors from the private sector fund the students’ water monitoring and testing equipment, which are kits pre-assembled by Earth Force. The cost of sponsoring the necessary training, manuals, kits and support for a GREEN school is $5,000. We hope to pool sponsors within a geographic area to reach the $5,000 level to move forward. Professionals from the private sector sponsor also act as mentors to the students in the program and as resources for their teachers, by assisting in monitoring events, attending a class session and being available by phone to give advice to the group. This is often an excellent opportunity to meet other corporate leaders and gain public recognition for your organization. There is no steadfast time commitment. Mentors can provide just a few hours of their time or more routine support to their host schools. General Motors has been a GREEN sponsor for over 10 years.

How Do I Get Involved?
Contact Vince Meldrum, vice-president for Programs at Earth Force (703/519-6864 or vmeldrum@earthforce.org). He will provide any further information you need and make arrangements for your sponsorship. Please also contact our Committee Public Service vice-chair, Raissa Kirk, at rkirk@crowncentral.com or 410/659-4835, or our committee chair, Alexandra Dunn, at 202/533-1803 or adunn@amsa-cleanwater.org.

We are pleased to be kicking off this project and hope you can become involved!