Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth who are working to limit the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as a whole to make a difference for the planet. ​

This film is about a 9-year-old boy named Milo who goes on an international speaking tour to speak about his concern about the millions of plastic straws people use every day. He says, "It seems extremely wasteful to make a product that we will use for less than fifteen minutes, but will be here on Earth long after my own grandchildren are born." Watch how Milo used entrepreneurial thinking to create ways on limiting the use on plastic straws and improving our planet. 

When he first started his journey, he was afraid that adults wouldn't listen to what he had to say. Milo's efforts lead him to being featured on local, national and international news. His project, Be Straw Free, strives to limit the use of disposable plastic straws.

Entrepreneurial Thinking

Milo's entrepreneurial thinking allowed his efforts to be successful. Teach your students how to think more creatively by asking them questions and challenging their mind!

What creative ideas did Milo have? What were his strategies? What do you think he could have done better? How would you limit the use of plastic straws? What were the challenges he faced? How do Milo's efforts align with the Sustainable Development Goals? Which goal would you help to achieve and how?

Milo did more than just telling people to not use straws. He convinced them and changed their minds by using creative entrepreneurial thinking. He went straight to the source of how the straws were being distributed (i.e. restaurant owners, mayors and governors) and created his own project. 

For resources on teaching sustainability with your students, visit our free-to-use resources page here for endless activities and lesson ideas!

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth who are working to limit the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as a whole to make a difference for the planet. 

In this film, four middle school students take the lead in greening their school. They came up with ways for the school to reduce their carbon footprint like switching to more sustainable classroom habits and even building a huge network of people to create a massive project with solar panels! Find out in the video below how they used entrepreneurial thinking to green their school and save over $30,000.

These students made a huge impact and worked towards the Sustainable Development Goals by using creative entrepreneurial thinking. By incorporating entrepreneurial thinking into your lessons, you can to teach your students to think and act beyond the classroom! 

Have a discussion with your class about how the four girls acted like entrepreneurs. Talk about how they thought outside the box, who they reached out to, the risks involved if any, and what they can do at home or at school to go green.

Greening your school all starts in the classroom. Use our free resources to get started on teaching sustainability to your students, while incorporating entrepreneurial thinking. 

Don't forget to follow us on social media for teacher tips, ideas, updates, quizzes and much more! Instagram, Facebook and Twitter all @usfstavros.

So what can you do? Find out what your favorite brands are doing in terms of sustainability by visiting sites like ​GreenBiz or ​Sustainable Brands . Then use entrepreneurial thinking to find new solutions to problems that still exist. Citizens influence companies. For example, in the 1960's citizens acted on the environmental crisis, where air pollution in industrialized cities was as thick as pea soup and some rivers, like the Cuyahoga, were so polluted they caught on fire–not once, not twice, but more than a dozen times before something changed!

On Sunday, March 29th Fox presented the iHeart Living Room Concert,  where stars from around the world sang from their homes to inspire people to donate to charity in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. Being charitable in times of crisis can involve giving time, talents, or treasures. These individuals gave their time and talents to sing for a greater good. In addition, many of them gave their treasures to charity.

Beauty and the Beast is a Disney film that illustrates what happens when someone learns to be charitable. Do you know why the prince turned into a beast? He refused to help a senior citizen by giving her shelter for the night in his giant castle! 

Will we run out of food is a question many people are asking during this COVID-19 pandemic. Check out the video below by CBC Kids News. 

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth who are working to limit the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as a whole to make a difference for the planet. ​​

In this video, a group of high school students comes together to work on cleaning the oceans and eliminating the excessive plastic pollutants, especially plastic bags. Plastic bags are not only harming the ocean and its animals, but are also polluting the air through their production. The process uses high amounts of petroleum and energy, which affects global warming.

Watch the short film below, and discover how entrepreneurial thinking played a role in saving the oceans!

The Marine Teens Lesson Idea

After showing the film to your students, provide them with questions to answer, keeping in mind the importance of entrepreneurial thinking. 

• How did the students challenge opposing claims?
• What did they create to solve the problem?
• Was there risk involved in their actions? If so, what were the risks and how did they handle them?
• Which of their strategies stood out to you the most and why?
• What are some creative ways you would solve these issues?

You can also extend this into a lesson on the Sustainable Development Goals. Their efforts are most related to goal #14 Life Below Water. Let your students choose an SDG that means the most to them, and have them solve the related problems using entrepreneurial thinking.

Be sure to check out our resources page where you can find videos, activities, and lesson plans to aid in your teaching!

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth who are working to limit the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as whole to make a difference for the planet. ​

This film features an 11-year-old boy from Germany named Felix Finkbeiner who used was able to help plant over a billion trees in multiple countries. His movement came from his passion of combating the negative effects of climate change. When confronted with the challenge, he used entrepreneurial thinking to come up with an action plan. He was even able to change the minds of politicians to assist him in his journey! Watch the video to discover more about the successes of Felix.

​A Lesson on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Felix was able to do so much for the world at just 11 years old! You can show this video to your students to inspire them that they can do the same. Turn this video into an activity by having your students come up with ideas on how they could help larger communities or the entire planet! You could also do a lesson on planting trees or gardening. Discuss how this is beneficial for the planet and have them plant a tree of their own!

Along with the lesson, teach your students about the SDGs. Felix was helping to achieve goal #13 Climate Action. Help your students use entrepreneurial thinking as they work towards this goal or any of the others!

Resources to use for this lesson

• In the Garden
• Birds, Bees, Flowers and Trees
• Meet the Lorax

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth in terms of limiting the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as whole to make a difference for the planet. ​

This film features three close friends that face the difficulties of combating climate change. These challenges include standing up to officials that disregard this phenomenon. The students were afraid to step up at first, but watching the films from Young Voices for the Planet inspired them to use entrepreneurial thinking to find a solution. What could they do? They decided to take on the challenge of convincing the officials at the town hall. Watch to find out if their plans worked.

A Lesson on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

These three brave girls did the right thing for the future of the planet, while at the same time, took into consideration the Sustainable Development Goals. They were helping to achieve goal #13 Climate Action. By showing this video to your students, you can inspire them and teach them that their voices and actions have worth.

Have your students create empowering speeches (like the girls did) or any kind of PSA regarding climate change or any other of the sustainable development goals. They can make posters, videos, or memes to get their message out there!

Here are some resources to help guide you in teaching this topic!

• Meet the Lorax
• The Global Goals
• Earth Day Everyday

For more ideas on teaching your students sustainability topics, visit our resources page!

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth in terms of limiting the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as whole to make a difference for the planet. 

This film features the incredible story of a thirteen-year-old girl named Jaysa Mellers, who suffered from a severe asthma attack when she was six. However, this wasn't due to an underlying heath issue, but instead a greater and more powerful entity. 

Jaysa wasn't the only one. Many kids in her school had trouble breathing, and there were cabinets of asthma medications for the students. What could have caused a group of students in a specific location to all have asthma? Watch the video below to discover how Jaysa solved this mystery and used entrepreneurial thinking to lead the change to something incredible.

 
A Lesson on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Jaysa's story is very closely related to achieving the following SDGs: #3 Good Health and Well-being and #13 Climate Action.

​This is the perfect video to show your students that they have the power to make a massive impact on a community. Turn this into a lesson with your students by having them brainstorm and come up with solutions to problems in your community, while addressing the SDGs. We have several resources you can use to help you teach this lesson.

Related Resources

• The Global Goals
• Using Design Thinking
• Sustainable Manufacturing

You can also visit our resources page here for more!

​Everyone knows to recycle paper and water bottles, but what about the smaller items, hidden in the abyss of the arts and crafts closet? Or the books that are laying on shelves collecting dust? According to Recycle Across America, recycling is the main action society can do to improve the environment. Here are 5 items found in the classroom that you probably didn’t know they could be recycled.

Not every battery will fit into this category. You can recycle rechargeable and single-use batteries, but make sure to contact your local recycling center for proper instructions. ​