Angelou Ezeilo started Greening Youth in 2006 with the idea to harness the natural passion children have for the environment and transform it into a force for change. To do this, the Foundation has recognized that children first must be educated about the world around them and given the tools needed to save it from destruction.

At schools that institute the complete Greening Youth program, young people mobilize through the Eco-Force Clubs, whose members become schoolwide environmental leaders, conducting comprehensive school energy audits and encouraging other students to recycle and act as stewards of the environment. Fusing technology, music, sports, literature and old-fashioned fun, the Greening Youth curriculum not only emphasizes the importance of respecting and protecting the environment, but also engages students as active participants in their own education. Her work has already been recognized with several awards, including the Georgia PTA 2008-2009 Visionary Award and a finalist for the Cox Conserves Heroes Award 2009.

In the 2008-2009 schoolyear, Greening Youth operated a comprehensive environmental education program at schools in Atlanta and Gwinnett County, where a total of more than 5,000 students engaged in an impressive array of environmental and conservation projects. For instance, students at Cook Elementary School in Atlanta created their own environmentally-safe laundry detergent, called “Green Glop,” that they sold as a fundraiser for their school. Students at Brookwood Elementary School in Snellville, Georgia, reduced so much trash by recycling paper in every classroom and office that the school will be able to save significant money by slashing its trash pickup schedule.