Global Sustainability Activities – Post-Program
Activity 6: Reaching Out to Local Leaders
How It Works
This activity teaches a number of important lessons. Here you will look up, find and reach out to their local political representative, conduct independent research on a local issue that you are concerned about in your own community and teach you to think critically about how local government and policy can possibly make a difference in your local environment.
How You Do It
- First, identify an issue that you are passionate about in your community. This could be the same environmental topic you identified in a previous activity or a new issue that you would like to address.
- Either hand write or type a letter to your local legislator regarding this issue. The leader may be a state Senator, Representative, Councilmember, Governor, etc.
- This letter could also be written to a business or corporation that affects the environmental issue you feel strongly about. Sometimes writing a big business corporation that relies on youth consumers can be just as powerful, if not more, than writing to politicians!
- If needed, use the Sample Letter Template to help compose your letter.
Take Away Points
- As you have come to learn over the course of your program, environmental issues are often complex and require everyone’s cooperation to solve. Reaching out to your local leaders is a great way to make solving these issues a priority in your community and one of the most effective ways to spark positive change.