Youth Zone

Goal – Eliminate litter throughout the City

• Learn It - Litter is bad for the environment. It is harmful to wildlife and it pollutes rivers and streams. Litter is ugly and is a breeding ground for bugs and rats. Litter is also expensive, costing millions of dollars every year to clean up.
• Live It – Always put trash out in a can with a tight fitting lid
• Speak It – Label and decorate trash cans to draw attention to where trash should go

Goal – Reduce Baltimore’s greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2015

• Learn It – Car exhaust is made up of many different gases, one of which is carbon dioxide. Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a leading cause of global climate change. So if we drive less, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will be reduced, resulting in better air for us to breath.
• Live It – Use public transportation, walk, or bike to reduce the number of cars on the road.
  
• Speak It – Encourage you friends to walk or bike with you.

Goal – Reduce Baltimore’s energy use by 15% by 2015

• Learn It – In the United States, much of our electricity comes from the dirty process of burning materials that pollute the air. Using less energy means burning less of these fuels, cutting down on pollution. That protects the environment and our health. Plus, saving energy saves money.
• Live It – Turn of lights and electronics when not in use.
• Speak It – Post signs near light switches at home and at school asking people to turn off the lights and electronics when the room is not in use.

Goal – Reduce Baltimore’s water use

• Learn It – Water is so valuable because the world's supply of clean, fresh water is limited. We need to protect clean water and use it efficiently. Houses and schools go through thousands of gallons of water a day, often using far more than they need.
• Live It – Turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth.
• Place a soda bottle filled with water and pebbles in your toilet’s tank. This will cause the toilet to use less water every time you flush.
• Speak It – Make and place signs by sinks to remind others to not waste water.

Goal – Maximize reuse and recycling of materials

• Learn It – You should recycle because making and throwing away paper and other products pollutes land, air and water, and fills up landfills. A single sheet of paper may seem insignificant and unimportant, but the use of thousands of sheets each day can have a huge impact on the environment. Recycling creates lots of jobs too.
• Live It – Instead of buying new products, reuse them.
  Make sure your family is participating in One Plus One, Baltimore’s waste and recycling program. Trash and recycling are now both collected once a week, look up your collection days on the Cleaner Greener Baltimore website.
• Speak It – Have a contest at school or with friends to see who can make the coolest thing entirely out of recycled materials.

Goal – Double Baltimore’s Tree Canopy by 2037

• Learn It – Car exhaust is made up of many different gases, one of which is carbon dioxide. Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, which humans breathe. One way to lessen the amount is to grow plants to take in all of our carbon dioxide.
• Live It – Get involved in tree plantings at your school and in your neighborhood.
• Speak It – Set up a tree planting party and teach others why trees are so important to the City of Baltimore.

Goal – Establish Baltimore as a leader in sustainable, local food systems

• Learn It – Local foods are better for you because they are grown on smaller farms that are less likely to use unhealthy chemicals. Understanding where food comes from is very important because local foods also require less energy to get from farm to your home. Gardens also provide a safe place for kids to be outside and a practical classroom for teaching about science, nutrition, and the environment.
• Live It – Work with your teachers to start a schoolyard garden.
  Start a container garden at home.
• Speak It – Remind friends and neighbors that farmers markets are a great place to get healthy food.

Goal – Make Baltimore bicycle and pedestrian friendly

• Learn It - Car exhaust is made up of many different gases, one of which is carbon dioxide. Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the causes of climate change, so if we drive less, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will lessen. Plus walking and biking are good forms of exercise.
• Live It - Take buses, bike, or carpool.
  Check out Velocipede, a non-profit that collects broken bikes and teaches people how to fix them. Kids who go to maintenance classes will assemble a bike and can take it home when it is completed.
• Speak It - Remind friends and family to utilize public transportation, walk, and bike.

Goal - Turn every school in Baltimore City into a green school

• Learn It - Everyone deserves to receive the best education available in a safe and healthy environment. By combining environmental education and sustainable practices within schools, we are guaranteeing that future generations grow up with the information and skills necessary to protect and restore the planet.
• Live It - Start an environmental club at your school and pick an environmental project to implement in your school such as recycling or schoolyard greening.
• Speak It - Encourage your friends to join the club, the more people that are involved, the more successful your project will be.

Goal – Create green jobs and prepare city residents for these jobs

• Learn It – Green jobs represent employment opportunities associated with new and exciting industries. Alternative energy, waste reduction, and green building technology are just a few of the rapidly expanding fields that young people can prepare for now.
• Live It – Research opportunities in green industries. A great source of information is the US EPA Careers, Internships, and Scholarships website.
• Speak It – Talk to teachers and advisors about including green jobs information at schools and ask about bringing in speakers from those industries to share information about what they do.