Ryland King is an Environmental Studies major here at UCSB as well as the founder of the nonprofit organization Environmental Education for the Next Generation (EENG). Inspired by two simple “thank yous,” EENG now teaches children in more than 95 classrooms across California about environmental sustainability. Ryland tells us more about EENG and how it all got started.
Her Campus: Can you please tell us a little bit about EENG (Environmental Education for the Next Generation)?
Ryland: Environmental Education for the Next Generation (EENG) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by myself and fellow undergraduates at UCSB to instill an ethic of sustainability in the minds of our youth. Our Environmental Science & Sustainability Program links teams of college student-instructors with 1st and 2nd grade classes for weekly activities, experiments, and discussions that explore the relationship between humans and the natural world. Our mission is to promote environmental stewardship throughout our community, from the youngest members of society up.
HC: Why was teaching children specifically important to you?
R: The compounding issue of extreme budgetary pressures on the CA school system and the pending global environmental crisis of our day: climate change, resource scarcity, land degredation, and water conservation are going to disproportionally affect our next generation. Their minds are still open to a new perspective on how to go about their daily lives. It’s vital to their and our future that we educate and empower the next generation of leaders, and provide them with the knowledge and tools necessary to view their everyday choices through a lens of sustainability. Also, I learned a few years ago while teaching at a surf camp that when one teaches, many learn–especially when teaching young children. (See story in question 4 for more info.) When a child becomes excited and enthusiastic about a topic, they innately want to share everything they learn with their families and friends. The excitement from the fun-learning we bring to the classroom is so great that a few weeks ago we had an EENG 1st grader say, “I don’t want to go to recess. I just want to do science forever!” That’s when you know the kid’s are sharing message of living sustainably with their family and friends.
HC: How many schools are your currently working with and do you plan on expanding?
R: In just two and a half years of operation, we’ve expanded Environmental Education for the Next Generation (EENG) from teaching 25 2ndgraders in a single classroom neighboring UCSB in 2009 to teaching more than 2,300 students in 95 classrooms in 4 cities across California this year alone.We have over 130 volunteers participating in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco. Our plan is to expand the program state-wide in the five years, and then tailor the program to new state’s education standards, and expand to new states throughout the nation.?
HC: What inspired you want to start EENG??
R: Two “Thank you’s” started it all. I was a junior in high school teaching at a local surf camp, where I developed a special connection with a developmentally disabled child. In our week-long journey together, he overcame a fear of the shoreline, conquering the surf and finding his passion.? After signing out the last camper, the child’s mom and dad walked up to me, and with a tone overcome with emotion, told me, “Thank you.” Their son had connected better with them that week than ever before, and they were going to continue coming down to the beach to further what had blossomed in their son. In that moment, I learned that the promise of teaching youth extends beyond the individual student, significantly impacting the lives of parents and the actions of the community as a whole. Two years later, I was walking out of a 2nd grade classroom after teaching a sequence of environmental education lessons and felt a tug on the bottom of my shirt. I turned around to look into two young hazel eyes staring at me behind coke-bottle-thick glasses and a beaming buck tooth smile. The girl looking up at me said, “Ryland, thank you,” and embraced me in a heartfelt hug. From that, the vision blossomed.? A group of motivated friends and I then got together and turned the vision into our mission, and founded Environmental Education for the Next Generation–or, as we like to call it, EENG–a nonprofit aimed at promoting environmental stewardship throughout communities, from the youngest members of society up. Since, we’ve journeyed together from our first class of 25 students to teaching thousands of students across California, bringing hundreds of passionate friends on board along the way. Today, it’s the countless “Thank you’s” our team exchanges with kids, teachers, parents, and communities that continue to shape our story everyday.
HC: Has being a Gaucho influenced your nonprofit in anyway? How?
R: The Gaucho community, as one of the most prestigious academic bodies in the world, works hard, but as we all know loves to have fun. EENG’s team does it the exact same way–we work hard and we have fun. It’s the way work should be. It’s living passionately.
HC: How can someone else become involved in EENG?
R: If a college student is interested in getting involved with EENG, send an email with your name, college, and a quick explanation of what you’d like to do to info@eeng.org. We WILL return your email. I promise.
HC: What is your best advice for someone else wanted to start a nonprofit?
R: Check Google to see what like your idea is already being done; purchase “How to Form a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit” and “The One-Page Business Plan;” work hard, and remain modest & humble; and when someone tells you can’t, get better not bitter. You can do it.
HC: What other things do you enjoy doing?
R: I love surfing, hiking, traveling, laughing, and enjoying time with friends–old and new.
HC: What are some of your favorite things about UCSB??
R: I love that almost where ever I am on campus I can see the awesome mountains to the North, the vast Pacific Ocean to the South, and hang out with such friendly and positive students and professors right in front of me. It’s a breeding ground for inspiration.?