Current Initiatives

BLS Youth CAN Initiatives 2007-2008

Welcome to the list of initiatives that BLS Youth CAN is undertaking for the 2007-2008 School Year. The list is formidable! Lucky for us we have lots of members (over 300!) If everyone pitches in, we can really get a lot accomplished! There are now 16 committees that BLS Youth CAN Members may be part of.

Here’s a list of our committees w/contact info:

Energy Committee/Solar ChallengeActivism Committee Recycling/Do Something Committee

Education CommitteeNetwork CommitteeMedia/Publicity/Public Relations Committee

Graphic Design/Newsletter CommitteeFundraising CommitteeEarth Day/Computer Recycling Committee

Youth Summit CommitteeEvents CommitteeWebsite Committee

Steering CommitteeExecutive Steering CommitteeData Base Committee

Focus The Nation Committee

-Take a look at the Committee Page on the website for more specific information. Committee leaders will be adding new info to their page throughout the year, so stay tuned!

This year Youth CAN's goals are basically divided into two categories: Youth Climate Action Network initiatives and BLS Youth CAN's own in-house initiatives. The Network has 8 initiatives. BLS is participating in those 8, plus a few additional efforts of our own.

Here’s some general info you’ll want to know about our current projects:

Monday October 15th Photo Op

The next large group meeting will be on Monday, October 15th. We’d like everyone to try to come at least just for five minutes, even if you can’t stay, so that a large group photo can be taken on the steps in front of BLS. We want everyone to come so that we can show how large the group is and put the photo on our website. Please come!

Can’t Make Mondays?

If you can’t make Monday meetings in general, don’t worry, you can still participate. Most of the real work gets done outside of the meeting times in committees that meet at other times anyway, so as long as you choose a committee and keep in touch with them, you can coordinate with them when you can help out and when you can’t.

Email Up Dates Please

It would be great if everyone who is still interested from last year would stop by 025 and give me your name and email again for our new data base. Those who signed up at the Extra-curricular fair needn’t bother, but everyone else’s emails from last year weren’t entered with names, so I can’t tell who anyone is!

Youth CAN Goals This Year

This year Youth CAN's goals are basically divided into two categories: Youth Climate Action Network initiatives and Boston Latin School Youth CAN's own in-house initiatives. The network has 8 initiatives, and Boston Latin School Youth CAN is pursuing all of those plus several additional ones. Some of them require YOUR help! Take a look:

Good Search – the easiest initiative we have going! Good Search is an internet fundraising initiative. All anyone has to do is go to www.goodsearch.com and enter “Boston Latin School” in the charity line. Then click verify and every search you do thereafter will earn BLS Youth CAN a penny! Everyone should set good search as your home page (instructions for how to do this on their website, or just go to tools and internet options while you’re on the good search homepage and select choose current. Please encourage everyone you know to search with good search. It works fine (it’s a regular Yahoo search.) No fake searches please (eg don’t search 500 times in a row for the word pig just to raise money), because it will only result in our name being taken off the list of charities. Help us spread the word about goodsearch.com!

Help us by printing the attached Goodsearch Flyer

Printing is expensive! If those of you who are able to would each print one copy of the Good Search flyer that’s attached to this email and bring it in to school and hang it up, you would really be helping to get the word out.

Do Something Competition

BLS Youth CAN is competing to win $1,000.00 during the month of October through the KEYSPAN Foundation’s Environmental Sustainability Competition called Do Something. We need everyone’s help to make this a success.

We will be recycling cans and bottles in the cafeteria, recycling batteries by the main office, having a paper drive contest between the classes, and a competition between all the homerooms to get everyone to stop buying bottled water.

Help us promote this competition by reading the attached detail sheet so that you can help us to promote the effort. Talk it up!

We need people to sign up for one of the library studies to do a 2 minute presentation. (We get 40 points for every related educational presentation that we do during the month of October.)

We Need Parent Drivers during Do Something

We need parents to sign up for one day when they will come after school to collect the cans and bottles and take them to a redemption center.

Help With Recycling in the Lunches (just for October)

In each of the lunches we need people to encourage everyone to participate, and folks to help out with the actual recycling and bagging up of the cans and bottles.

These are the people in charge of the lunches:

1st Lunch - Kathleen, Chris, and Tori

2nd Lunch – Libby, Teezo, and Lydia

3rd Lunch – Ava , Queen , Noah

Please contact one of the folks in your lunch and offer to help out. This has to go smoothly and not be disruptive in any way!!!

Manual Labor (it builds character)

We also need folks to help empty the liquids out of the bottles each day after school outside of room 025 (not glamorous, but it has to be done.) I’ll bribe you with candy and pledge my undying gratitude…..please help with this piece if you can, I need some organizers!

Think Outside the Bottle Pledge (also a network initiative) We’ll be asking every student to sign a pledge not to buy bottled water, and to bring in their own reusable water bottle. Prizes to the homerooms that have full compliance. Find out more at. http://www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org/

Take Online Quiz, Earn Points!

We will promote the taking of online carbon calculator quizzes and energy quizzes by posting them on our website http://www.myfootprint.org/

Take an energy quiz: http://www.dosomething.org/tipsheet/energy_conservation_quiz http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3915245.stm

Take the quiz, encougage others to take them!

The Solar Challenge

The Energy Committee, on behalf of BLS Youth CAN is participating in the Massachusetts Energy Consumer’s Alliance www.massenergy.com New England Wind Solar Challenge http://www.newenglandwind.org/wind/news.article1.php BLS is working to qualify for solar panels for the school! The energy committee needs glamorous, articulate, upwardly mobile folks to help with this effort.

Roof Top Garden

The Energy Committee is investigating the merits and means of getting a roof top garden at BLS to offset CO2 emissions.

Education Committee Efforts

The Ed Committee is hosting a speaker’s series to keep our selves and our school community informed about global warming; a film series (same purpose) probably on Fridays like last year; Global Warming updates on the BLS TV Morning News in their Did You Know Series (same purpose); and an Educator’s Page on Ed Committee page of BLS Youth CAN website with links to relevant lesson plans for educators.

Focus The Nation At BLS (also a network initiative)

Boston Latin School Youth CAN is registered as an FTN group and will be participating in FTN’s nation-wide day of global warming teach-ins on January 31st at colleges and high schools all over the country. www.focusthenation.org BLS Youth CAN will be focusing on integrating climate awareness into every part of the school day with assemblies, improv performances, and lots of surprises. Check out the link to the FTN activities planned for BLS and join the FTN Committee if you want to take part. ,

Earth Day Computer Recycling (also a network initiative)

Apple will recycle computers at UMass Boston on Earth Day, April 22, 2008. BLS Youth CAN and network members will help promote this day in their communities in advance of the event, as well as lend volunteers on the day of the event to check in computers, move computers, and help with crowd control, etc. Look for promotional flyers on the network page soon at www.blsyouthcan.org

Network Building (also a network initiative)

Help Grow the Youth Climate Action Network – There’s strength in numbers! The first annual Youth CAN global warming youth summit at MIT was a great success last year (47 different schools attended), and many students left the summit with ideas for clubs of their own. Some of those clubs are already under way! We gave each student a starter kit, which contained informative and interesting books about climate action, ideas for fundraisers and activities environmental clubs, and an outline of the steps we took to establish a successful, proactive, and fun group. We have additional starter kits reserved for schools who want to start a global warming group. Help us encourage other groups to get started. If you know someone at a school that doesn’t have a global warming group, encourage them to ask for a starter kit, and get one going (www.contactus@blsyouthcan.org) Encourage any groups that you know of who are working with youth on global warming issues to become either a Youth CAN member group or a Youth CAN partner group. Join this committee to help us stay in touch with network members, plan network events, and do outreach to new members.

Step it Up 2 (also a network initiative)

November 3rd 2007. A day of nation-wide rallies focused on the problem of global warming. There will be great speakers and performances. BLS Youth CAN attended last year and promoted our upcoming global warming youth summit at MIT. We’ll be doing the same this year, and encourage all network members to turn out and support the event. It’s a lot of fun, and a great way to get the necessary inspiration for the work we’re doing! http://www.stepitup2007.org/article.php?list=class&class=20 All Youth CAN members are encouraged to come out and show solidarity with Youth CAN.

Website

BLS is maintaining the Youth Climate Action Network Website @ www.blsyouthcan.org

Fundraising

Last year we raised over $5,000.00 selling light bulbs to help pay for the youth summit. The summit, offered free to all who came, cost us about $10,000.00. So we’ve got our work cut out for us. This year we need new ways to raise money. With lots of people putting their heads together, we will reach our goal.

Activism

Last year the Activism Committee collected petitions to auto makers, wrote letters to legislators, and put together the Activist’s starter kit for the Youth Summit. If you’re interested in helping watch current global warming news and keeping Youth CAN on alert for legislative actions that need our attention join this committee.

Media/Publicity/Public Relations

If you want to help write press releases, contact the media, and help get the word out about what Youth CAN is doing, join this committee.

Graphic Design and Newsletter

BLS Youth CAN will publish routine newsletters on our website. Go to the newsletter page and look for the Special Edition about the Youth Summit. Also take a look at the Emagazine article about Youth CAN at the Altwheels Festival http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3907 If you techy, creative, and very saavy, this is the committee for you.

2nd Annual Global Warming Youth Summit at MIT!!!

Date to be announced (sometime in late March or early April) watch the BLS Youth CAN website for details www.blsyouthcan.org We’d love your input about what the summit should look like this year (ideas for content, activities, speakers.) We need lots of help with this.

School Bus Idling and a Change to Bio diesel (also a network initiative)

The smog released by idling buses is a major contributor to CO2 emissions. Although already banned by law, school bus idling has continued to be a problem. It’s frustrating that something that’s so easy to fix – just turn off the engine until the bus leaves – still hasn’t happened in many instances. We suspect a respectful nudge is needed. The network will be investigating ways to appropriately press the point! Watch the www.blsyouthcan.org

network page for downloadable info sheets and flyers that will help you raise awareness about the issue, as well as for sample letters that you can ask your members send to the appropriate legislators and administrators. We also invite you to share your ideas on this problem with us at contactus@blsyouthcan.org In addition, we hope to begin to advocate for a switch to bio- diesel fuel being used in school buses, and will be launching an investigation into the merits and the means.

Events

In addition, there are a number of other events that BLS Youth CAN will be attending.
We encourage all Youth CAN members to participate!

•Bioneers By the Bay - Connecting for Change – October 19th – 21st UMASS Dartmouth http://www.connectingforchange.org/

•Tipping Point – a state-wide training and lobby day aimed at passing climate change legislation. October 30th from 9-3 Starts at the Appalachian Mountain Club, Cabot Auditorium, 5 Joy Street Boston MA 02108 and concludes at the Capitol to lobby reps! Interested students should contact amiller@smith.edu or kfortin@smith.edu

•Power Shift 2007 - This fall, youth from across the country will convene in Washington, DC to change the climate on global warming in the United States. Together, we will create a shift in the fight for a clean and just energy future.November 2 – 5th College Park, MD http://powershift07.org/

•6th MCAN Global Warming Action Conference, Sunday Nov. 18, 2007 at MIT http://www.massclimateaction.org/meetings.htm

•Boston Shines – watch for a date sometime in April http://www.cityofboston.gov/neighborhoods/bostonshines.asp

•Wake Up The Earth – Tentative Date May 3rd 2008 http://www.spontaneouscelebrations.org/earth.htm