LEAD Projects

Leadership and Environmental Action Development (LEAD) Projects are semester-long group projects to address pressing environmental issues. These projects provide a chance for freshmen students to work with adult partners and lead real change in their communities. Sophomores participate in a longer, more challenging project. The project choices are designed to address one or more of the following environmental themes: climate, transportation, energy, water, waste, and food. These projects provide a chance for students to work with community partners interested in making change in the community and are meant to challenge and develop the students’ 4 C’s skills: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.


LEAD Project Examples

MarinSEL iMatter Group

The iMatter Group is generating change through the generation of a resolution addressing climate chanage through climate planning. This group is responsible for following the steps outlined in the iMatterNow platform, where they built a team, created a climate report card (that the city of San Rafael received a B on), mobilized Terra Linda High School students, delivered the climate report card to government officials, recruited new youth leaders, and engaged community members with the ultimate goal of passing the Climate Inheritance Resolution.

 

MarinSEL Garden Group

This ongoing project allows students to maintain and improve the garden, with each semester’s group making an extra contribution to a diverse and productive garden environment. The students have a license to sell produce and have held a number of sales at Terra Linda High School. They are nurturing and protecting the fruit trees that were planted as well, and have produced their own compost that has been used in the garden and on Terra Linda High School campus.

 

Gallinas Watershed Group

This team of students is working with the Gallinas Watershed Council and San Rafael Clean Coalition to conduct watershed cleanups, to identify pollution hotspots, and spread awareness through the Litterati program, which uses Instagram to create a citizen science database of litter in the bay area. They are researching how to install a boom to stop the flow of garbage to the sea, and hoping to identify point-sources of pollution and work with regulators to find a solution.

 

 

Public Transportation Group

This group of ambitious Marin SEL students is taking on a very difficult problem: public transportation in Marin. Working with the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM), this group has already implemented a new bus time from TL to the SR transit center. They are also working with community partner, Safe Routes to Schools, to evaluate the existing transit service to TLHS.  Through surveys of existing TLHS students and incoming MSEL families, the Transportation Group is striving to learn about student attitudes toward Marin Transit as a commute option, and justification of adding a morning zero period bus to accommodate MSEL students’ 7:00 am start time.

 

Zero Waste Group

This semester the freshman in the waste group are focusing their efforts on educating about recycling and composting. They have already completed a lesson at Venetia Valley’s after school program, and have been asked back to teach each grade! The students are also creating an 8 ft. tall tree made from paper and will have other waste items on it to display at TL’s Earth Day event (they also hope to have pledges that people can sign and add to the trees branches).

 

 

Native Garden Group

The courtyard outside of Terra Linda High School’s library has been designed to be a better, more inviting place to be. This group has worked with the California Native Plant Society to create a native plant garden that will flourish all year long. To read more about all that this group has accomplished please visit the website they created by clicking here.