This unique opportunity is for students who are passionate about climate change, nature, or environmental justice and want to take community action. The group meets to grow their knowledge and power through outdoor activities, volunteering, and creative leadership development.
By the end of the 2025 Collective’s time together, participants will
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Be empowered to take action and share information about climate change and the environment with friends and community
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Gain more confidence outdoors
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Develop their personal and collaborative leadership skills for environmental activism
Young climate leaders and environmentalists have made great strides in the movement for climate justice. More climate action momentum is possible by bringing together passionate high school students.
Qualifications:
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Students must be either a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior in high school as of September 2025
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Students must be from Passaic County or Bergen County
We are looking for students who are:
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Passionate about the environment and their community
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Interested in taking action in their community
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Driven and responsible
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Ready to take their learning to the next level
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Willing to collaborate with other high school students
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No prior knowledge or experience is required to join the Collective.
What is the commitment for participating?
Location: This program is in-person at City Green Farm Eco-Center, 171 Grove St., Clifton, NJ, with some off-site field trips. Duration: June 10 to August 20, 2025 (Final Event on Saturday, September 20) Tuesdays & Wednesdays June: 4pm-6:30pm July: 10am-12:30pm August: 10am-12:30pm
Is there compensation?
Yes! Participants will receive a stipend and volunteer hours, received upon successful completion of the program.
See work and Examples From Past Climate Collective Cohorts
2024 Climate Action Collective
Click above to open zines!
climate zines
Members of the Climate Action Collective cohort were tasked to create a zine that expresses ideas or issues they are passionate about, all related to climate change.
Zines are mini booklets that are self-published and circulated on social media, on websites, or in limited print books and papers. Zines focus on topics that are not usually covered in mainstream media.
Each member took their own approach to presenting their theme and relevant information--some lay out the facts simply, others use more metaphorical approach through poetry writing or storytelling.
This collection of zines was initially presented at the Climate Gallery Walk on October 9, 2024 at the City Green Farm Eco-Center in Clifton, NJ. View the compiled zines HERE.
2023 Climate Action Collective
Click above to open toolkits!
Climate toolkits
The toolkit topics are major themes of the Collective curriculum. Each participant selected a topic to research and created a toolkit full of history, current events, action steps, and resources.
These toolkits are intended to educate community members about climate change issues and solutions, with the aim of inspiring action and hope in the wake of the climate crisis.
This collection of toolkits was initially presented at the Climate Gallery Walk on October 11, 2023 at the City Green Farm Eco-Center. View the compiled toolkits HERE.
Read about the inaugural Climate Gallery Walk in The Clifton Times! This article by Rachel Castelino features the students of the 2023 Climate Action Collective, along with their work and presentations for this concluding program celebration.
Seven high school students from Passaic and Bergen Counties participated in the Youth Climate Action Capstone Project. This year long independent learning opportunity empowered students to create projects include building community fridges to minimize food waste, implementing composting programs to use at a school garden at Cresskill High School, creating sustainable school lunch systems by replacing plastic utensils with compostable ones, educating individuals on their carbon footprints through informational flyers, and presenting food system workshops to students at the Boys and Girls Club of Clifton.
Read more about the 2022 Cohort and their projects here.