Faith in Place's Eco-Ambassador Program Positions Youth to Lead the Climate Movement
Earth Rising Foundation is proud to support Faith in Place’s Eco-Ambassador Program. The program demonstrates why investing in young people is one of the most powerful climate justice strategies we can make. Across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, the program is building a generation of environmental justice champions rooted deeply in community experience, cultural understanding, and real leadership development.
Eco-Ambassadors sorting seeds at Red Hen community garden in Carbondale, IL. Southern Illinois Eco-Ambassadors, Summer 2024
Over the past year, Faith in Place hosted three Eco-Ambassador sessions, serving youth from Chicago, Gary, Milwaukee, Waukegan, Palatine, Champaign, and Carbondale. In these sessions, young people had the opportunity to learn about climate change through hands-on engagement. Field trips, from community gardens to frontline environmental justice sites, gave youth the opportunity to see both environmental racism and resilience firsthand in their own communities. One student shared that the outings “felt as though I was taking more action to help the environment,” while another said learning local environmental justice history made them feel “connected to my community” and excited to join the movement.
The program’s impact is clear in the post-program evaluations. Across both the summer and academic year cohorts, participants reported feeling more confident in their professional and communication skills and more connected to nature after the program. Nearly all said the program increased their ability to advocate for environmental justice.
Eco-Ambassadors at a natural habitat restoration activity in Urbana, IL. Central Illinois Eco-Ambassadors, Summer 2024.
This year also marked major growth for the Alumni Engagement Network. The network connects more than 300 Eco-Ambassador alumni with career pathways, mentorship, and professional development opportunities. This year the network hosted the first-ever alumni reunion and began producing new quarterly webinars. Through this, the Alumni Engagement Network ensures the impact of the Eco-Ambassador Program extends far beyond the end of the sessions.
For us, the importance of this work is clear. When youth are trusted, resourced, and centered, they transform what climate leadership looks like. Faith in Place’s Eco-Ambassador Program is an important part of ensuring the climate movement is led by the visionary, dedicated work of our young people.