Trainings

Classroom Trainings

Our fight to save the planet has grown more serious – the threat of global warming, destruction of ancient forests, deterioration of our oceans, and the threat of a nuclear disaster loom large.  The Greenpeace Organizing Term is the best hands-on training for students to become environmental leaders and to develop the grassroots and campaign skills that it takes to stand up and protect the planet. 

The Greenpeace Organizing Term combines in-house training and skills development with on-the-ground campaign work. Students will leave the program with a formal set of skills and actual experience. Each week will offer something new and different, combining case studies, issues briefings, skill development, reading discussion and campaign work. With the rare opportunity to work so deeply on one campaign, students will be challenged to take their skills to the next level. Just as any winning campaign will combine bold, creative and strategic action, so too will be your experience and training through the Greenpeace Organizing Term.

Grassroots Organizing

The Greenpeace Organizing Term will work with students to ensure their success as campus and life-long organizers.  The semester includes over 50 cutting-edge trainings in basic organizing including: running effective meetings, volunteer management, developing and coaching leaders, recruitment, running phone banks, organizing events, building coalitions, and running petition drives.

Planning Effective Campaigns

Learning the tools to develop both strategic and creative campaigns can separate a successful campaign from a failed or exhausting campaign. Campaign planning trainings will include the Greenpeace Campaign Planning Strategy Chart, how to choose an issue, developing a platform and a program, picking targets, influencing targets, strategic coalition work, opposition research, and creating goals, strategies and tactics.

Media

Students in the program will receive trainings in how the media works, writing and getting opinion editorials and letters to the editor placed, pitching news stories, crafting a message and sticking to it, how to use sound bites, setting up and doing radio interviews, running press conferences, working with alternative media outlets, public speaking and guerilla marketing.

Readings

To encourage students to become more analytical and strategic campaigners, students will read books and articles on topics including campaign strategy, strategic messaging, the theory of organizing, and issue-specific reports and documents.  Students are expected to complete daily reading assignments and fully participate in weekly book club discussions.  Readings include the full text or excerpts from the following: 

• Rules for Radicals, A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals, Saul D. Alinsky, 1971.
• Don’t Think of an Elephant!, George Lakoff, 2004.
• How to Win Campaigns: 100 Steps to Success, Chris Rose, 2005.
• Organizing: A Guide for Grassroots Leaders, Si Kahn, 1991.
• Greenpeace Organizing Term Training Manual, Diana Silbergeld and Amy Faulring, 2004
• Greenpeace Campaign Strategy Chart, Philip D. Radford, 2004.

Actions Training

In 1971, motivated by their vision of a green and peaceful world, a handful of determined activists leased a small fishing vessel, called the Phyllis Cormack, and set sail from Vancouver for Amchitka Island in Alaska.  Their mission was to protest U.S. nuclear testing off the coast of Alaska with a brave act of defiance: to "bear witness" and place themselves in harm’s way. Despite being intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard, these daring activists sailed into history by bringing worldwide attention to the dangers of nuclear testing.  Greenpeace remains committed to peaceful direct action as an effective and strategic method to expose global environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. 

You will particpate in a two-day peaceful direct action training to introduce and explore Greenpeace’s historic use of non-violence; to build an understanding in the theory and practice of non-violence; provide useful tools for non-violent attitude and behavior; build confidence in the use of non-violent direct action and increase the level of understanding, cooperation and confidence amongst team members. 

You will participate in a three-day action training, learning how to climb, navigate Greenpeace boats on the Cheseapeake Bay and use advanced communication equipment.

*Participation in direct action demonstrations is not required as a component of the Greenpeace Organizing Term.

Hands-On Experience

After a few weeks of classroom trainings by the best trainers in D.C. or San Francisco, you will hit the ground to work with a real Greenpeace campaign to implement what you have learned.  Over the past year, students have played a critical role in organizing on-the-ground Greenpeace events, from a 120-person event the day before the presidential debate in Miami calling on candidates to debate clean energy to launching a national campaign this past summer to force Kleenex to stop clear-cutting ancient forests to make tissues. 

Mentoring

Every week Greenpeace staff will spend an hour with each student providing feedback, customized trainings and mentorship.