Brower Youth Awards: Ryland King

Dominic Howes, Joel Weber | 2012 | 4 min.

2013 Official Selection

Inspired by the idea that “when one teaches, many learn,” Ryland King founded Environmental Education for the Next Generation, a program that recruits college students to teach elementary school kids about our environment. King wanted to “promote sustainable action throughout communities, from the youngest members of society up” and so he designed an eight-week curriculum for college students to teach first and second graders. The curriculum, which is aligned with the California State Board of Education’s content standards, includes topics like “The Importance of Bees,” “Composting,” and “Water Conservation.” In less than three years, 400 college student volunteers have taught more than 3,000 elementary school students in 200 classrooms across California. King hopes that by 2015 college students will be teaching at least 14,000 elementary school students a year.