Our Values

Stewardship

Stewardship is the conviction that we are entrusted with the care of our planet and the responsibility to protect it. Although we need to be ambitious and goal-oriented, the underlying reason behind everything we do is in the interests of our planet and its inhabitants.

Our emphasis on resilience and adaptation is rooted in the idea of continual growth, overcoming setbacks, and remaining willing to improve as leaders and stewards of change. Climate action rarely happens without setbacks. A proposal may be rejected, a project may take longer than you think, or simply not work. We value the ability to learn from those setbacks, adapt, and keep moving forward.

We don’t just want our ambassadors to support sustainable practices, we want them to actively lead and champion them. That means putting themselves out there in front of fellow peers, teachers, or administrators. Taking action (namely identifying an area for sustainable change, designing an initiative, and seeking traction among your school community) can be scary, but a willingness to do it anyway is what makes our ambassadors different.

We believe effective climate action requires understanding and respecting people who may even not agree with us. YCAA ambassadors may encounter administrators, teachers, facilities staff, or community members whose priorities or concerns may differ from their own. Rather than treating disagreement as an opportunity for opposition or conflict, we encourage our ambassadors to listen with compassion, understand those concerns, and work toward solutions that work off a place of common ground. Activism rooted in compassion, we believe, is far more effective and sustainable than activism rooted in pressure tactics and coercion.