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CAPS

Community Action and Problem Solving

Local Earth Force offices and affiliates offer the CAPS program. CAPS educators receive training and ongoing support in the Earth Force problem-solving process. Local support helps educators connect to the community and create hands-on learning experiences for youth around environmental improvement projects.


Support offered to CAPS educators includes:

  • Ongoing training, networking and professional development opportunities
  • Program materials for educators and youth
  • Site visits as needed
  • Help with lesson planning, field trip coordination and other activities
  • An annual local summit to exhibit achievements and celebrate successes
  • A local network of experts and community resources participants can tap into to make their projects a success
  • Formal program evaluation
  • Recertification or other professional development credits (where available)


Examples of action projects students take on:

  • Conducting an energy audit of the school and creating new school policies that reduce energy usage and costs
  • Bringing curb-side recycling service to a new community
  • Working with the city to install more trash cans in a park to reduce littering
  • Conducting a community education campaign to reduce pollution


The Six Steps of CAPS:

  • Community Environmental Inventory: Identify local, community environmental problems and related community information.
  • Issue Selection: Select an environmental issue for further study from several choices. Research the issue, narrow and refine its definition.
  • Policy and Community Practice Research: Identify and analyze relevant public and private policies and community practices. Examine who makes policy and how.
  • Options for Influencing Policy and Practice: Identify possible project options for affecting change in policy or practice and select one.
  • Planning and Taking Civic Action: Develop and implement the plan of action.
  • Looking Back and Ahead: Assess the project and CAPS process (done throughout the process). Identify next steps to address the problem. Celebrate successes.