Welcome to the Newport Student Conservation Association, we are the next generation of conservation leaders who aim to make the planet more sustainable!
Our club is comprised of students from multiple high schools in the area who are dedicated to creating a cleaner and greener Newport. It began in 2008 and slowly grew from there to be comprised of over two dozen people who are coming together to find new ways to make Newport look beautiful.
We meet at Newport's community library twice a week after school to discuss upcoming events and possible volunteer opportunities that our club as well as friends and family can be a part of. Our goal is to encourage knowledge of conservation in our peers and community through events and volunteer work to inspire others to take action and make Newport greener.
Our group provides weekly conservation education to elementary-aged children in Newport and the surrounding area through games and activities. During this outreach program, our student volunteers get in contact with a teacher to pick the perfect time to visit. We then create a lesson that's in the same vein as what the kids are learning about around that time so they can make connections with what they've been learning to how they're able to use this knowledge to improve their community. The best part is that we always aim to do it with fun activities to keep them excited, active, and entertained while they learn!
Our clean-up campaigns are organized by us to clean up specific areas of Newport and the surrounding areas. Our goal is to focus on a different area every time with a focus on different types of pollution: litter, plastic waste, electronic waste, etc. We always put up signs in community spaces beforehand to give our neighbors the chance to join us and it's always so exciting to see others show up and help us make Newport better!
We're looking for volunteers to help us with the exciting little party we've planned for our local park where we plan to plant some native trees. Not only will these trees provide some much-needed shade for families, but they will add some nature to a spot where there isn't much. We plan to provide all the materials as well as snacks and drinks to all our volunteers to stay healthy and hydrated while we work.
Every month we pick a different body of water in the area to clean! It's amazing how quickly garbage and litter build up even when people are doing their best to keep on top of it. We rotate through the bodies of water fairly often from the smallest of the small to the largest ones in the area so even if you can't make it to one of the clean-up sessions at the lake closest to you one time, we'll be back again in the future and we'd always appreciate your help and support.
We've teamed up with park rangers from our local parks to participate in a variety of organized service projects designed to promote conservation in the community and keep our parks clean. We welcome volunteers of all ages to join us in working with rangers and learning about our local ecosystem as we find new ways to make it better for everybody (not just the people!) to enjoy.
