Climate Showcase Communities
    Local Climate and Energy Program
                                 Effective Practices for Implementing  Local
                                 Climate and Energy Programs:
                                 Working with Students
 Lessons Learned by Communities for Communities
 The views expressed in this document are those of the Climate Showcase Communities grant recipients. U.S. EPA does not endorse any
 products or commercial services mentioned.
 WHAT IS IT?
 Students, individually or in teams, are a volunteer workforce that offers resources to
 implement projects. In turn, these students are given a valuable hands-on learning
 experience, academic credit, and a career boost.
 WHY DO IT?
 •   Engaging students helps build their job skills, resumes, and careers, while getting them
     excited about working in the climate and energy field.
 •   Students can bring energy, creativity, and knowledge of the latest technologies to a
     program, often at low or no cost.

 WHAT WORKS?
 •   Make sure that students understand the big picture regarding your program and give
     them specific tasks to help you reach your goals.
 •   Leverage students' knowledge of the community to guide outreach.
 •   Get students out of the classroom and into the field so that they have context for the
     work that they are doing and can come up with better solutions based on hands-on
     experiences.
 •   Provide oversight and guidance. Have clear outlines, deadlines, and goals for student
     projects.
 •   Give students ownership of their projects and make them accountable.
 •   Collaborate with teachers first in order to build institutional support for your program
     so that it will last beyond short-term student projects.
 •   Seek teachers' advice on working with students.
 •   Use teams to tap disciplines from multiple college departments (for example, statistics,
     marketing, journalism, film, environmental studies).
 WHAT SHOULD YOU WATCH OUT FOR?
 •   Students may need close mentoring, training, and clear tasks that meet their level of
     experience. Plan accordingly.
 •   Manage the scope of your project. Enthusiasm can lead to unachievable goals.
 •   Students may have competing priorities. Help them stay on track with regular check-ins.
 •   Make sure that you coordinate with semester or quarterly schedules.
 WHAT RESOURCES HAVE PROJECTS FOUND TO BE USEFUL?
 •   The Student Conservation Corps, West Chester County, Pennsylvania:
     www.blurb.com/books/2225230-the-student-conservation-corps
                                                                   "Teachers like teaming up
                                                                   with community clients to
                                                                   do meaningful work."

                                                                   Juliette, Humboldt County
                                                                   Waste Management Authority,
                                                                   California
                                                                   "Give presentations to
                                                                   middle school science
                                                                   classes on renewable
                                                                   energy systems. For our
                                                                   program, this has gotten
                                                                   teachers and students
                                                                   interested in doing more.
                                                                   Lisa, Green Homes Challenge,
                                                                   Frederick County, Maryland
£EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
                                          April 2015
EPA-430-F-15-016

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