Youth Environmental Entrepreneurship Program

Meadowscaping for Biodiversity is a youth training and environmental restoration organization based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Our mission is to design and deliver engaging and empowering environmental education programs for youth while also taking concrete steps to restore local native ecosystems.

Our flagship Youth Environmental Entrepreneurship Program (YEEP) is a paid learning/work experience in environmental stewardship and entrepreneurial problem-solving for high school students. In the spring and through the summer, students learn about native plants, the environment and business. From late June through August, students run a landscaping business, designing and installing eco-friendly native plant gardens and holding native plant sales. We prioritize the recruitment of minority and low-income students, and have expanded our career development curriculum, which now includes zoom sessions with professionals of color in the fields of business, science and policy.

By paying our students for their work, we are breaking down the financial barriers that prevent many youth from participating in other summer programs which may be volunteer-based or cost money to attend.   

1. We are in the midst of training this year’s YEEP participants
2. Buy plants, shovels and other gardening materials
3. Start digging!

It is no secret that our planet is in trouble. Everywhere ecosystems are vulnerable to collapse caused by climate change, deforestation, invasive species, pesticides, and over-development. The world is seeing increases in droughts, floods, fires and other extreme weather conditions.  The good news is that we have simple tools to mitigate these destructive forces. One of the easiest areas we can control is our own yard. Turning turf lawns into biodiverse gardens and meadowscapes creates food and habitat for endangered pollinators such as bees, butterflies, songbirds, and other wildlife. As the plants grow, they contribute to carbon sequestration and flood control, while also improving soil conditions. Meadowscapes do not need the harmful chemicals that turf lawns require, decreasing the use of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers.  The resulting blooms of flowers provide beauty and joy for bee and human alike.

Through the YEEP program, youth become advocates and teachers within their communities, showing their neighbors how to become guardians of their precious local ecosystems. Students take this experience with them, ready with the knowledge and confidence to be Earth stewards advocating for nature in their communities, sensitive to the needs of all those creatures who call this planet home.