Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

WHAT IS EARTH TEAM?

Earth Team is an environmental network composed of and designed for Bay Area high school leaders, classes and clubs with a state of the art website, www.eartheam.net, as the hub. Its purpose is to set youth into action in their communities using the website as a central location to organize, mobilize and disseminate environmental information. Imagine a wheel with the hub being the website and each spoke is a county. Each county will have a coordinator who will be an involved resource and support for each group.

WHEN AND WHY WAS EARTH TEAM CREATED?

Earth Team was launched on January 1, 2000 by a coalition of education, environmental, and government representatives who saw that most young people graduate from high school without a basic level of environmental literacy and that those students and teachers who are concerned for the future of the environment were feeling isolated. It was created to honor Earth Day 2000.

EARTHTEAM SPONSORED PROJECTS

WHAT ARE SOME BENEFITS TO STUDENTS?

• Students will learn about environmental issues and ways to get involved in making a difference in their communities.
• Students will connect with students from other schools during restoration projects, at youth summits, in chat rooms with guest speakers, through student listserves and bulletin boards.
• Students will receive Community Service Hours. Earth Team will help students connect with projects.
• Students will receive Presidential Environmental Youth certificates for their Earth Team participation. 170 students received the certificates in June, 2000. Earth Team was launched the previous November.
• Valuable experience for college and job applications will be gained.
• The students will be part of creating the first major high school environmental network that is receiving international interest.
• Environmental Scholarships and Contests will be continually added to the website.
  

WHAT ARE SOME BENEFITS TO TEACHERS?

• Earth Team offers a one stop shopping for environmental projects that include state science standards as well as a resource center of links for further information.
• The Environmental Experts Chat Room Series can be used for extra credit as well as to fulfill certain academic needs.
• Teachers can request ONLINE ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTS. Date, time and subject—teachers choice.
• The restoration projects and resource needs are handled by Earth Team.
• Earth Team is developing a Speakers Bureau online as well as for the classroom.
• Most Earth Team projects can meet Service Learning needs.
• The TEACHERS LISTSERVE updates them on new projects. 
  

WHY SIGN UP FOR EARTH TEAM? SO MUCH WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE?

• Only Earth Team members can participate in the Members Only projects including Restoration Program and the Summit.
• Only Earth Team members can be interviewers in the chat room, be featured in the MONTHLY HOT PICKS , have their own members page on the website, work with the county coordinator and much more.
• Only Earth Team members can have a student liaison who interacts with all the other Earth Teams.
• Besides, it's free!
  

HOW CAN EACH GROUP SUPPORT THE OVERALL EARTH TEAM PROJECT?

Groups from all over the world are contacting Earth Team. They're all saying they know of nothing like Earth Team. In order to make this exciting project thrive, the member groups need to be active. You're encouraged to participate in the recommended project for the year, have one member on the Student Planning Team, post your successes on the Bulletin Board and spread the word

HOW DO WE JOIN?

Sign up online with the Join Now! form, or call (925) 274-3669 for further information.