- Make the physical environment of your school a happier, more beautiful, peaceful, or generally more mindful space
- Engage your peers in making your school environment better
- Enjoy the benefits of doing good for others
- Physical environments can have an impact on how folks feel and act in a space. If your school environment is not making people feel valued, calm, and safe, it can have a negative impact on mental health.
- The whole school including students and staff
- School principal/leadership will likely need to be aware of and approve the project
- It would be great to partner with another service-based club for this project
Brainstorm beautification ideas for your school. Consider the following:
- What kind of change would have the most impact on your school? This will look different for every community based on your needs, the school culture, and the people that attend your school.
- What do you think your school community needs right now? I.e. joy, peace, excitement, a sense of community, etc.
- What can your club realistically get done with this campaign?
After brainstorming ideas, choose one idea that can be done in a week or less and start planning out the logistics.
Some project suggestions include:
- Cover graffiti in bathrooms/lockers with new artwork
- Pick-up trash around your school grounds
- Paint a main wall in your school with an uplifting message or mural
- Create artistic flyers or posters that include messages on how to seek help to draw more attention
- Anything that your club can think of that makes your school’s physical environment a better place for everyone!
BEFORE you take any action on your project, make sure you do the following:
- Get your club sponsor onboard and informed of your plans
- With your club sponsor’s help, get permission from your school’s principal/leadership team to complete the project
- You may have to be flexible and change your plans slightly based on what your school allows. Be ready to advocate for your project and compromise when needed!
- Work with your club sponsor to figure out what supplies you need and how you’re going to get them.
- In addition to getting all the necessary permission for your chosen project, you should consider how you want to recruit volunteers!
- First, think about what kind of volunteers you might need for your project. Then, get to work getting the word out! Here’s a few ideas:
- Put up flyers around school with the dates of the project and where to meet so anyone who’s interested can join and help
- Collaborate with another service-based club to get more help
- Visit art classes and explain the project (if doing an art-based project) to recruit folks who may be interested
- Once your project is complete, how will you make sure the whole school knows about it? Here’s a few different ways:
- Get permission to do a grand unveiling to show it off to the whole school and explain its importance
- Add a poster explaining the project next to it so folks can understand why it was done
- Share some highlights from your project on the morning news or announcements
- Did you hear any feedback from folks about what the project meant to them? If so, that’s success!
- Other things to consider:
- Does this project need any upkeep? Can it become an annual project? How can that be planned out to make sure it doesn’t fall through the cracks?
- How did completing this project make you feel?
- Do you feel that this had a positive impact on our school? If not. what could we have done differently?
- Why does our school’s physical environment matter?
- What more can we do to make our school a better place?