Our Impact
Current Results
We currently serve more than 200 city kids each year in nature discovery and career exploration programming. Our students are making new friends, learning new skills, improving their physical and mental health, exploring growing green careers and having lots of fun! Click on the links below to read our latest program evaluations and informal surveys.
ECOS Nature Club Parent Survey Fall 2023
ECOS Nature Club Video of our Kids Fall 2023
Community Work
Prior to Covid-19, our high school students, staff and volunteers were involved in a number of environmental projects in Kansas City. These included planting projects (adding 4,000 native plants, shrubs and trees in urban KCMO), community education, video PSAs and art projects. Read more here.
ECOS Nature Club Registration
Sustainability and Workforce Readiness for High School Students
Before the world was disrupted by Covid-19, we offered several programs for junior and senior high school students involving sustainability, workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and real-world work experiences. Post Covid-19, the employment and retail environments changed dramatically, and as a result, we ended these programs and closed our store. Regardless, these programs comprise a significant achievement for our small organization. We are proud of the hundreds of young leaders we worked with, the 16,000 hours of internships we funded, and the innovative retail store we created. During the three years the store was open, it provided real-world business experience for our students while introducing community members to more sustainable choices. Read more about our workforce readiness programs in the sections below:
Excelerate Workforce Leadership
For 13 years prior to Covid-19, we ran a workforce leadership program called Excelerate for 11th and 12th grade students. Students learned and practiced skills including problem solving and communication. They researched careers, created career plans, wrote a resume and developed a LinkedIn profile. They participated in mock practice interviews and job site visits, and every lesson included sustainability at home and the workplace. Students who completed Excelerate were eligible for paid summer work experiences described below.
All Excelerate graduates were better prepared for employment, and 100% graduated from high school. Read more in our formal Excelerate program evaluations:
2018 Evaluation by Dr. Connie Campbell
2015 Evaluation by Dr. Alexis Petri
Sustainable Business Interns and Retail Store
From 2020 – 2023, we involved young adult interns in our social enterprise retail store, The Perennial Bee. Our interns manufactured sustainable products, managed inventory, fulfilled online orders, waited on customers, created window displays and assisted with marketing and signage design. Through this unique opportunity, our interns received firsthand experience with how to run a small business in a sustainable way.
Read more about our retail store and what our students said about the program and the impact on their thinking.
“I appreciate that the interns are actively involved in all the decisions for the store. And I love the fact that everything we do is guided by our overarching concern for the environment. I hope to have my own business someday and I have learned so much that will help me!” – Intern
Summer Work Experience
For 13 years prior to Covid-19, students who completed all Excelerate components earned a paid summer work experience aligned with their career goals. Green Works staff arranged the work opportunities and Green Works covered the cost of the student stipends. Over 13 years we funded more than 16,000 hours of paid work experience for our students.