My choice to follow a career path with children comes from an attraction to their optimism and curiosity.

Unlike many adults, kids see the world as a place full of possibilities. The stories from the book, Kids Who are Changing the World, by Anne Jankéliowitch, focus on children who channeled that very curiosity into powerful contributions to the environment and their communities, both locally and across the globe, through art, technology, and political action. From removing plastic water bottles from their school’s campus, to speaking to world leaders and policy makers at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit- these kids have done it all.

Each story in this book highlights an individual kid doing something to help their “community” treat the environment better. I use the term community loosely because these “communities” range from folks in their hometown to other children around the world to members of the United Nations.

A Few Inspiring Examples

Some of these kids created programs to help people in their local communities change their behaviors. Cassandra Lin of Rhode Island is a perfect example of this. She convinced restaurant owners to recycle their used oil into usable biodiesel. The result? Her project has created more than 50,000 gallons of recycled oil, which is now being used to heat homes.

Other kids used more artistic platforms to unite different peoples behind their cause. Aitan Grossman, from California, wrote a song called “100 Generations” inspired by the book, An Inconvenient Truth. It is easily translated into other languages and he uses his website, KidEarth, to share it with children his age from all over the world.

Some stories focus on feats that even grown adults would brag about. Like sixteen year-old Alec Loorz, who sued the United States government for failing to protect the planet and provide his generation with the resources they need to thrive. Another story focused on Parker Liautaud of London, England, who skied to the North Pole in order to raise awareness about climate change and the impact it is having on our polar ice caps.

Nora working to inspire these students!

The Underlying Theme

Every kid in this book was inspired by something we are doing to our planet, something that bothered them. I find myself returning to these stories when feeling defeated or frustrated with our current ways of life.

None of these kids allowed themselves to be defeated; a trait I admire greatly. I am inspired by their tenacity and wisdom.

At High Trails, we take as many opportunities as possible to remind our students that their age does not prevent them from making a difference in their world. Whether it be discussing how they can apply what they learn here to their home life, or sharing stories of real-life students their age making changes in their world- we believe our role is to push these children to their full potential.

Using the optimistic tone of the subjects of its stories, KWACTW is an inspiring collection of tales about kids doing just that. One can only imagine the impact their generation will have on our changing planet. This book is a great read for anyone looking to feel inspired by the younger generation.

“Be stubborn when you fight for what is right for our future.” –Yugratna Srivastava (13 years old, India)

At High Trails Outdoor Science School, we literally force our instructors to write about elementary outdoor education, teaching outside, learning outside, our dirty classroom (the forest…gosh), environmental science, outdoor science, and all other tree hugging student and kid loving things that keep us engaged, passionate, driven, loving our job, digging our life, and spreading the word to anyone whose attention we can hold for long enough to actually make it through reading this entire sentence. Whew…. www.dirtyclassroom.com