2019 New Years Resolution for Youth: Wildlife and the Sierra Club

Sierra Club family outing

1. Classroom Inspiration - Free One-Day Curriculum Plan

April 21st - This is John Muir Day. It is a day where people can commemorate the legacy of Muir’s wish to protect America’s wildlands. It is also a day where more teachers can spread his love of nature to the classroom. To celebrate John Muir Day and give inspiration for children grades K through 12, the Sierra Club is offering classrooms across the nation a John Muir Day Study Guide with a selection of free, 1-day curriculum plans and fun youth activities honoring Muir, an iconic American naturalist and author. This is accomplished through a multitude of lesson plans to choose from, ranging in disciplines from the sciences to history and to the English language arts.

For example, children of all ages can create a traditional John Muir Nature Journal with a template provided, which can be a fun and creative learning experience. Through this, they can think as an historian to analyze John Muir’s thought process, while also learning to observe the wonders of nature surrounding them. When completed, the students can keep their drawings and journal entries, and tie it with a red ribbon, just like what John Muir and early Sierra Club Members did in the 1800s when they writing books and journals.

2. Take an Adventure Trip for a Scholarship

College is often a stressful environment for many, especially for the rising demand for scholarship opportunities to help reduce expensive college costs, leaving no money to travel. Why not do both at the same time? The Sierra Club offers two travel scholarships for people ages 18 to 35: the Young Adventurers Fund and the Sharon Churchwell Fund.

The Youth Adventurers Fund provides eligible applicants a chance a full $300 off any of its trips which can be between a 30%, and to up to a 50% discount, off the trip fee. From the Point Reyes National Seashore, which contains 70,000 acres of beaches, fields, and dunes, to the Rocky Mountain National Park, which holds majestic alpine ranges, this annual scholarship is one not to be missed. Similarly, the Sharon Churchwell Fund also offers the $300 reward, and it represents a 50% to 70% -off discount for given service trips, at such locations as Hells Canyon Wilderness in Idaho, Lost Coast in California, and more.

3. Experience Nature & Free Access at a National Park

A central reason why conservationists both young and old are so motivated in protecting and cherishing wildlife, is for its beauty. Unlike the complexities of science and health, the unforgettable expansive feeling of being in contact with nature, can often awaken many to realize the value of the Earth, regardless of age. After all, the sight of a horizon of red, yellow, and brown trees dotting the hills beside the flowing river in Acadia National Park, would take anyone’s breath away.

One of the Sierra Club’s main program is its Every Kid in a Park. In Every Kid in a Park, educators, parents and 4th graders only are able to acquire free access to several national parks nationwide for 1 year, through the courtesy of the Sierra Club. Apart from removing such a financial burden, the program has printable curriculum to help teachers or parents along the way teach their 4th graders basic sciences, interact with nature in a educational way, enjoy the breathtaking views and experiences, and learn the history behind the park they chose to go to. By taking such an experience, more children can be inspired to be the next generations of conservationists and environmentalists and understand the sanctity of our natural wonders.