Earth Guardians foster leadership skills in a natural way by providing a supportive space for learning, sharing, and collective action for those seeking to better themselves and their communities.

Some of the Earth Guardians waiting to sign in to speak at Boulder City Council, 2010

Our leadership programs inspire and empower youth to become leaders by providing a multitude of opportunities that involve teamwork, integrity, and creativity.  We work with elementary-, middle-, and high school-aged youth to build fundamental leadership knowledge and skills that provide a framework for implementing environmental stewardship projects.

Our regular weekly group meetings focus on teaching listening and discussion skills that help youth to become positive and aware community members.  The youth participants have the opportunity to specialize in an environmental topic so that s/he can become an Earth Guardian representative in that area, offering direct experience in leading group discussions and presentations.  Building on this foundation, through participation in local issues and events, our youth team learns the basics of good leadership through team-building and mission-building.  Finally, through self-designed projects that directly benefit our communities, they learn what it takes to conceptualize and complete a project from the beginning, experiencing the power of implementation and joy of accomplishment, further leading to their development as effective leaders.

For those who find particular passion in environmental leadership, we have partnered with the Hummingbird Living School, in Mora, New Mexico, to provide a land-based leadership camp during the summer that will give youth a unique hands-on opportunity to learn from dynamic and innovative educators and community leaders from around the country.