1. TAKE A HIKE. The more people show an interest in an area, the more likely land managers are to preserve the place for recreation.

2. TAKE A BUDDY HIKING.
See #1. You're helping save an area and getting a hiking partner.

3. LEARN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE about the outdoors and share the knowledge with others. Got a thing for snakes? Or maybe birds? Read the books and watch TV shows about your favorite topic, then share your interest with others.

4. JOIN AN OUTDOORS OR CONSERVATION CLUB.
There are local, state and national clubs where you can get together with like-minded kids. Most national groups, like the Sierra Club, Audobon Society, and National Wildlife Federation have student memberships.

5. START A NATURE CLUB. Sounds tough, but a fourth grader from Tennessee started Kids FACE (Kids For a Clean Environment, P.O. Box 158254, Nashville, TN 37215), which has over 300,000 members worldwide. It's as simple as getting friends together for a monthly hike, or picking up litter from around a local stream.

6. CRUISE THE WEB. There's a ton of stuff about animals, plants, hiking, and anything else you want to know about the environment. A quick search of "conservation" narrowed down to "kids" or "teenagers" brings up some great sites.

For instance: The "Yuckiest Site On The Internet" (http://www.nj.com/yucky/) shows how to use a garbage can, newspaper, and worms to recycle your food scraps; the "Virtual Frog Dissection Kit" (http://george.lbl.gov/ITG.hm.pg,docs/dissect/dissect.html) lets you view a frog from all angles and take off its skin to see inside, and "The Bug Club" site (http://www.ex.ac.uk/bugclub/) tells how to keep bugs like cockroaches and praying mantis as pets.

7. HANG OUT WITH MOM AND DAD. Some parents know a heck of a lot about the outdoors, and if they're involved with local hiking or conservation clubs, you can go to the meetings, too. You may also be able to go on trips, where you'll find out about plants and animals in the area and learn new backwood skills.
What if mom and dad aren't interested in the outdoors? Maybe your interest can be contagious. Show them you care and hopefully they will too.

8. VOLUNTEER FOR A WILDERNESS TRIP with a nonprofit organization like the Student Conservation Association, (603-543-1700) which gets kids involved in trail work projects while teaching backcountry skills.

9. WRITE YOUR CONGRESSPERSON. Better yet pay him or her a visit. You may think politicians overlook kids opinions because you don't vote, but most elected officials want to be thought of as forward thinkers who pass something meaningful on to the next generation. Besides it's a good civic thing to do.

10. TRY TO CONVINCE YOUR SCHOOL to add an outdoor element to the curriculum

-Susan Newquist

Joshua Truby, Age 13

"I'M TOTALLY AGAINST LOGGING and mining, but when kids like us demand, 'No more!' no one listens. It's like we're talking to walls.

Backpacker Magazine/ December 1998