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Student Ambassadors for Virginia’s Environment

Two young ladies picking up litter at a beach

Student Ambassadors Greenup

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Girl with dog with bucket of litter they picked upThank you to everyone who has submitted their cleanup and greenup results for the Great Virginia Greenup!  Or you can get back out there until June 20, 2024 to improve our natural and scenic environment with your efforts to clean up, beautify, recycle, paint or other green deed, and report it here.  You’ll be entered to win a one of our Sustainability Sampler Kits!

Two girls and a dog picking up litter along a road.We’re happy to share these photos of some of our members of our Student Ambassadors for Virginia’s Environment (SAVE) program.  One cleanup took place in Washington County.  They partnered with Keep Southwest Beautiful to picked up over 19 bags of litter along North Fork Road!

On the other end of the Commonwealth in Virginia Beach, Student Ambassadors had fun in the sun while cleaning up the landscape (see picture below)!  There were 23 volunteers and members of the Surfrider’s Club, and they picked up six bags of litter.  We appreciate all their efforts!

Group of young ladies who are cleaning up litter near a beach

We’re so proud of the leadership shown by the members of our pilot Student Ambassador program, and the example they’re setting for fellow high school students.  SAVE (Student Ambassadors for Virginia’s Environment) is modeled after best-practice student ambassador programs successfully implemented by other Keep America Beautiful (KAB) state affiliates.  An abbreviated pilot program was launched during the second half of the 2023/2024 school year and will conclude in June.  Its success has prompted the continuation and expansion of the program for the 2024/2025 school year.

Student Ambassadors are expected to organize and implement two litter cleanups and host a school-wide or community educational project or event. For a one-page overview of the program refer to the SAVE Program Overview; or for more details on the requirements of the program, please see the SAVE Handbook.

If you know someone who would like to apply for the 2024-25 school year, there’s more information on our website and applications can be found here.  For any questions about the program, please reach out to Cristi Lawton, Executive Director, at [email protected].

And don’t forget to get out there during the Great Virginia Greenup — get involved and report your cleanup!

Students Ambassadors for Virginia's Environment

Student Ambassadors for Virginia’s Environment

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Students Ambassadors for Virginia's EnvironmentStudent Ambassadors for Virginia’s Environment (SAVE) is a new program that Keep Virginia Beautiful is implementing for high school Juniors and Seniors.  If you’re an educator, parent, or motivated teenager who cares about the natural and scenic environment of Virginia, you’ll want to learn more about SAVE.

We feel that the time is right to engage youth to better inform them about litter, recycling, and waste to add a knowledge base to what they’re seeing on social media channels or in the actions of the general public.

SAVE will be modeled after best-practice student ambassador programs successfully implemented by other Keep America Beautiful state affiliates in Texas and Pennsylvania. As such, SAVE offers a unique opportunity to develop a youth environmental program that has proven effective in other states.  The students will connect with other students across Virginia and to fellow ambassadors in other states as well.

SAVE will educate young people about litter’s harmful impact on the environment, economy, crime rates, costs to municipal budgets, and overall wellbeing of Virginia’s residents.  Ambassadors will also learn about the mechanics of recycling and the individual behaviors and market conditions that influence the industry.  Challenges and opportunities will be explored, both from ambassadors’ local community perspectives and the state as a whole.

The SAVE program includes a commitment to:

  • Teens completed a road litter cleanupSix months of service as an Ambassador, with at least 20 volunteer hours committed between January and June 2024;
  • Review and agree to the program requirements as outlined in the SAVE Ambassador Handbook;
  • Attend a virtual orientation and monthly virtual meetings (meetings are recorded and can be viewed at times that work best for Ambassadors);
  • Organize and participate in two litter cleanup events and submit a litter tally and cleanup reports;
  • Complete one community project and share results with KVB; and
  • Submit a profile picture for the SAVE webpage and share pictures of your events and project on your social media and tag KVB.

If you have any questions about the program, please reach out to Cristi Lawton, Executive Director, at [email protected].

When you’re ready, please complete a S.A.V.E. Application Form and submit it.  The deadline to submit an application form is December 18, 2023.