aboutuplift.
Structured as an accredited, daytime course, UpLift Austin (UA) offers an innovative program to underserved high schools, introducing students to promising "green" careers and helping them design and implement projects to promote an environmentally sustainable campus.
Leveraging the campus as a classroom and the support of local volunteers, UA offers students an engaging education relevant to their future. With the support of sustainable design professionals representing the fields of renewable energy, green building, landscape architecture and more, UA offers guest speakers, field trips, and support for student-led campus improvement projects ranging from outdoor classrooms and edible landscapes to recycling and rainwater harvesting systems. The renovation process introduces students to academic disciplines in a hands-on fashion while promoting environmental responsibility on a local to global scale. Students graduate the program with high school credit, an expanded career network and opportunities for advanced career exploration and training.
UA helps students build green career paths out of poverty while simultaneously transforming under-privileged schools into models for sustainable living. By adopting our program, schools can expect three outcomes:
- UpLifted Students: empowered as environmental leaders & introduced to living-wage, green-collar job opportunities in a booming economic sector
- UpLifted Schools: transformed into inspiring spaces which promote the health of students, staff and planet through facility improvements and the creation of outdoor learning spaces
- UpLifted Community: drawn together through hands-on projects which forge long-lasting relationships and support
When the problems are interconnected, so must be the solutions. UpLift Austin is an elegant and innovative model which creatively responds to the great challenges we face today: the environment, the economy and public education. UpLift Austin is an investment in a healthier tomorrow.
