The City of North Richland Hills
Cultural Arts Division has been
awarded a $30,680 solid waste grant
from the North Central Texas Council
of Governments (NCTCOG) for a new
program to help teens “Go Green”.
Green Teens will reach out to young
environmentalists through training
and hands-on demonstrations that
will allow them to educate their
peers, as well as their community,
on ways to live greener lives.
The program will include educational
and practical components that
facilitate long-term, positive
changes in attitudes concerning
waste prevention, reduction, reuse,
and recycling. The NCTCOG grant will
fund the purchase of electronic
equipment, software, marketing
material, logoed merchandise and
apparel, and a contract for the
development of the educational
components from an environmental
consultant firm that specializes in
composting, recycling, and
sustainability education and
marketing for the Green Teens
program.
Students participating in the
program will receive a comprehensive
training workbook on different
environmental topics, a glossary,
puzzles, projects, hands-on
experiments, and benchmarking tools.
The environmental consultant will
conduct bi-weekly meetings with the
Green Teens throughout the school
year. During these meetings,
students will view presentations,
participate in discussions, conduct
science experiments and on-campus
projects, and implement a
student-produced public awareness
campaign utilizing social networking
tools such as a web site, MySpace
page, weekly tips distributed via
text tree, video emails, video
podcasts, video chats and streaming
video.
The Green Teens program will focus
primarily on Birdville High School
students in its inaugural year and
plans to expand to other community
schools in subsequent years. Green
Teens will also initiate and expand
programs at Birdville High School
that include: a paper recycling
program, zero waste lunch
initiative, use of non-toxic
cleaning supplies, e-waste
recycling, and a “park your car,
ride your bike to school day”. Green
Teens will also involve the
community by awarding local
businesses with a “Green Teen
Approved” window decal after
specific criteria is met.
A unique aspect of Green Teens
includes an innovative,
youth-oriented and targeted
marketing campaign. Green Teens will
provide education by producing an
environmental PSA, creating and
maintaining a Green Teens web site
and MySpace page, and using a weekly
“text tree” to provide helpful tips
to peers. Additionally, Green Teens
will utilize a video-enabled social
network called “Hello World” which
will allow users to send video
emails, create video podcasts, have
group video chats, and streaming
video. Hello World and the other
electronic media will allow Green
Teens to reach a broader audience.
The Green Teens will give away
re-usable grocery bags at local
retail outlets and events to raise
awareness about buying recycled
products. The bags will include a
collateral piece listing places in
the community where recycled items
can be purchased.
In addition, Green Teens will have
the opportunity to attend a series
of educational sessions conducted
off-campus – prior to the new school
year. Offered at the NRH Recreation
Center, educational tracks will
cover recycling, waste reduction and
other environmental initiatives that
promote an environmentally-conscious
community. The environmental
consultant will provide speakers and
materials for these sessions. The
City of NRH will provide in-kind
room rentals for these sessions and
participants 18 and under can
register free of charge.
The Green Teens will benefit the
community in multiple capacities
such as targeting the teen
demographic, allowing the
participants to have ownership in
the program, educating the community
on environmental issues, building a
sense of community, and implementing
environmentally-friendly practices
into their daily lives.
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