This page will be continuously updated with resources, information, and links for YES coaches and students.
Registration & Procedure
YES Team Registration – Deadline: Friday, September 22, 2023
YES Team Registration PDF – Deadline: Friday, September 22, 2023
The Team Fee is $600 for the 2023-24 season; payment is due by November 1, 2023.
ALL students must complete two forms when they join your team. The forms must be submitted before students attend YES workshops and other events.
Student Registration – Deadline: Friday, September 22, 2023
Parent Liability Release Form – Deadline: Tuesday, October 10, 2023
*YES has created a Google Spreadsheet for each team to help coaches stay up to date with student information; if this has not been shared with you, please email [email protected].
YES Fall Summit
October 11, 2023
Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center
8:00 am – 2:00 pm
Sessions include Rock Climbing, Pond Study,
Interactive Hike, Team Building and Portaging with
Friends of the Boundary Waters and more!
Remember to pack a No Waste Lunch!
Fall Summit Student Registration
NEW! Activity Checklist
An exciting addition to this year’s YES Season is the 2023-24 YES Activity Checklist; this checklist contains activities and research ideas from categories including Building Community Within YES and Beyond, Environmental Education, Water Conservation, Land Restoration, Waste Reduction, Climate Change, Green Careers, Local Foods and Gardening, Energy Conservation and Solar Energy.
Directions: Complete three or more items from the following checklist. Choose a minimum of two activities and one research project. Submit photos and descriptions to [email protected] and YES will supply donuts to celebrate YOUR Teams’ accomplishments. Deadline for checklist items: March 15, 2024
Funding from Other Sources
Your YES! Coordinator can help your team seek funding from local and regional organizations such as Rotary Club, Lion’s Club, Walmart, utilities, etc.
- “One + One = Change” Campaign
- Creating a YES! Campaign Worksheet
- Local Support Sample E-mail
- Local Support Sponsorship Levels
- Tips for Seeking Local Support
- Links to LOCAL organizations that have supported YES! teams in the past:
Important Media Guidelines
We LOVE it when teams share the news about their activities through local media outlets! Please follow these guidelines:
- All press releases naming YES! must be reviewed by your coordinator before the article is published so we can verify that program information is correct.
- If a YES! Coordinator or the Program Manager was involved in the planning or implementation of the activity described in your press release, include their name and title in the article.
- EVERY press release must give credit to our major funder, the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resource Trust Fund (ENRTF). It is a written stipulation for us receiving the grant money, and neglecting accreditation can be a reason for termination of grant funds! Copy/paste this funder language into your media release, website, poster, etc.:
Major support for YES! comes from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) and the National Science Foundation Grant 2147839 with UMN Institute on the Environment. Thank you!
YES! Logo ENRTF Logo UMN Institute on the Environment Logo
YES! Blog Guest Post: Students are encouraged to showcase their team and its projects by writing a short article that will be posted in the YES! blog on our website! Contact YES staff for more information.
Coach Resources
- Helpful tips, from coaches, to coaches
- Start A YES! Team Guide (helpful for seeking funding or other support from community partners or school administrators)
Project Resources
- By Topic:
- List of Eco Project ideas compiled from past team projects
- Fill-in-the-S.M.A.R.T. Goal handout – A little bit of structure to help students discuss and plan projects!
- Complete list of YES! Project Guides – Developed by coaches, for coaches!
- List of hands-on project ideas by topic to do as a team or individually – Developed to accommodate distance-learning during the pandemic
Recorded Virtual Events
- “Students Working Together: Energy Actions at School” (Mar 1, 2023) Presenters: Jake Selseth and Alexis Troschinetz from Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs). Click here to view the recording (50 min). To view presenter slides, click here. To download the Classroom Energy Hunt worksheet with Teacher Instructions, click here.
- “Soil Health + Gut Health = Human Health” (Jan 27, 2023) Presenter: Jolene Carlson. Read about it on our blog. Click here to view the recording (1 hour 13 min). To view the slides that Jolene used, click here.
- Want to bring solar power to your school? Watch this recorded presentation about Minnesota’s new Solar for Schools grant opportunity (14:08 in video) and the exciting Power2Share Solar Suitcase program (24:40 in video)! (Oct 28, 2021 at MN Science Teachers Association conference)
- YES! 2021 Virtual Fall Summit (Oct 27, 2021) Read about sessions and presenters on our blog. Click here to view the recording (2 hours 16 min)
- YES! 2020 Virtual Fall Summit – Climate Change in Minnesota (Sep 30, 2020) View the schedule with presenter bios and session descriptions here. Click here to view the recording (2 hours 49 min)
- “How to Make Sense of Minnesota’s Changing Climate” (Oct 28, 2020) Presenter: Dr. Kenny Blumenfeld, Senior Climatologist at MN Department of Natural Resources. Click here to view the recording (67 min)
- “Investigating Climate Change Using Ojibwe Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Scientific Ecological Knowledge (G-WOW Model)“ (Dec 3, 2020) Presenter: Cathy Techtmann, Environmental Outreach Specialist for the Community Development Institute, University of Wisconsin Madison-Division of Extension. Click here to view the recording (58 min)
- “Climate Justice Education Bill Initiative” (Feb 3, 2021) YES! Virtual Visit with YEA! MN. Click here to view the recording (20 min)
- “Climate Change and How it Affects Flooding in MN” (Feb 10, 2020) Presenter: Erik Dahl, Planning Director with the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board. Click here to view the recording (55 min)
- “Step into a Green Job Experience” (Mar 3, 2020) For a recording of the YES! Green Jobs Workshop Video with Central MN Jobs & Training Services Employers, click here. For a recording with Southwest MN Private Industry Council Employers, click here.
YES! is a program of Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center in partnership with Ney Nature Center. Major support for YES! comes from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) and the National Science Foundation Grant 2147839 with UMN Institute on the Environment. Thank you!
