Youth Environmental Entrepreneurship Program (YEEP)
MS4B students and staff design and install native plant gardens for many customers. Each summer college interns coach high school teens age 15-19 to build a business where they are paid to learn about the benefits of pollinator-friendly native plants and then sell and install them for customers. Youth learn the value of native plants to pollinators, while learning how to be productive employees.
Through meadowscaping, we empower participants to become stewards of the Earth and to take charge of their future.
In the “Empowering BIPOC Youth to Heal the Planet” Program, students learn how adults of color deal with environmental injustice and about their careers in environmental fields,
Students take field trips to visit the Garden in the Woods to learn about native plants and to tour the site. Students also meet with local and state government officials to learn about their positions on environmental issues.
Children’s Programs
We offer partial- or full-day series of intriguing programs and fairs introducing young children or middle school children to native plants, pollinators, soil, water, weather, climate change, etc. In a three-hour program for the Waltham Boys and Girls Club, staff read books about the environment to the children, children looked at insects in the meadow through magnifying glasses, painted masks, and posed in the photo booths.
In addition, over a week or several weeks, older students can build a soil tunnel; plant, water, and observe a native plant garden; play pollinator in a pickle games; and follow the life cycle of a butterfly.
Programs for high school youth can also include clearing a space for a garden, learning about specific plants through games, serving as mentors for younger children, removing invasive plants; and more.
Testimonials
