Description of the YAELP
This is our 6th Young Adults Environmental Leadership Program - YAELP, scheduled for March 2-3, 2012. The YAELP starts with a 2 day training conference with eight schools and organizations in attendance. The intent of this conference is to create plans of action by applying creative thinking and leadership skills developed during the conference. Each team is composed of five to six students along with a teacher or advisor. Participants come to the 2 day conference with an environmental challenge/problem they wish to address in their school or community.
The YAELP participating teams are paired up before the conference across varying economic and ethnic backgrounds. Diversity training provided by the National Foundation for Just Communities (NFJC) guides the young adults through a process aimed at forming healthy relationships through the entire eight week program and beyond.
The outcome of the conference is that each team has created an action plan they commit to implementing in the weeks following the conference. Once the teams begin taking action on their projects, they are expected to assist their partner school team as needs arise. A team planting trees in their community would have help from members of the partnering school. Eight weeks after the conference, the teams present to a public audience the current state of their project. This sets the team up to receive a financial award of $500 for the continued implementation of their project.
Each team that attends the YAELP gains:
* Skills in strategic planning of an environmental initiative
* Designing and implementing a Plan of Action
* Follow up mentoring by the training team for 8 weeks after the 2 day conference
* Opportunities to form healthy relationships with others of differing ethnic and economic backgrounds
* $500 of Seed money for each team's project
* Training in "Change Leadership" skills