Educating the Community: From Recycling to Raising Funds for a Greener World

The Climate Leaders Fellowship program teaches students about climate change and environmental sustainability, and guides them in designing and launching an impact project in their own communities.

The online program is offered in a collaboration between the Stanford University Deliberative Democracy Lab and the Rustic Pathways Foundation.

Yusur participated in the spring 2023 cycle! Read all about his experience below.

Yusur Al Ogaidi
Age 15
Woodbridge, Virginia

Hi, my name is Yusur Al Ogaidi. I am 15 years old, and I live in Woodbridge, Virginia. I love to do martial arts like boxing but one thing I love most is my family.

For the project, my partner Khadeejah and I both thought of the Mosque (Dar al Noor), which is who we partnered up with for our project to introduce recycling and make it more common.

During Ramadan, at the Mosque many water bottles are distributed then thrown away in the trash. My partner and I thought this would be the perfect time to start our project. Of course, if we want change to happen, we must appeal to the youth. We created an engaging PowerPoint presentation about global warming, emphasizing the benefits and impacts of recycling. We also made a lively Kahoot game for the youth. Additionally, we decided to set up a garden at the Mosque to provide an interactive learning experience about the environment. The youth had the opportunity to plant their own vegetables and they had a wonderful time.

We got help from mosque volunteers to sustain our recycling program, we at first struggled to keep our program up due to barely anyone participating. Eventually we were able to successfully implement recycling at our local worship and community center. During Ramadan we were able to recycle 500 water bottles and in total, we gathered nearly 8,000 plastic water bottles and other recyclable materials.

Being a part of the fellowship was a great experience. I’m glad I was able to make a difference in my community and it really showed that I can be a leader. I’m happy that I got to meet many great people like the ones at the Mosque and my partner. I will definitely be a part of the fellowship next year.