The Five Challenges

To obtain the John Muir Youth Award, you must successfully complete five challenges:

1. Discover A Wild Place

Following Muir's maxim that "None of Nature's landscapes are ugly so long as they are wild," look for a wild place naear you. A "Wild Place" could be any relatively natural area from the back-yard garden, to the local park or a nature reserve. Young children may well start close to home and progress to more adventurous and remote sites as their knowledge and abilities grow. Older children will want to find true wilderness nearby.

2. Explore the "Wildness" which is found there.

At each level participants must explore, study, and try to understand: Why do we call this place "wild"? What is "wildness"? Why it is valuable? This may take the form of a conventional environmental studies program - but students could explore the landscape, animals and plants through science, photography, poetry, or other arts. It should be diverse and creative.

3. Conserve and Protect a Wild Place

The Sierra Club believes -- like John Muir did -- that it is not enough to "be concerned" - people must take action. For this third phase, young people will carry out practical conservation and management; or campaign on behalf of a wild place; or raise funds; or work with the local community on long-term management.

4. Share Your Discoveries with Others

Sharing with others could be done by making an exhibition of photographs, paintings, drawings or words; producing a film, video-tape or slide-show; creating a drama or radio program; leading a guided nature walk; giving a talk, creating a website or a Power Point presentation, etc.

5. Learn About John Muir and how he changed the world.

Participants should carry out all of the first four challenges against the background of learning about John Muir: his childhood in Scotland and immigration to America, his world-wide adventures and explorations, his struggles to help create the the National Parks system, his many books and essays on conservation, his role in the Sierra Club.

The award criteria requires specified hours to be spent on each of the five challenges, and the accomplishment of a final project that satisifes all Five Challenges. The award is available in five levels, with increasing time and complexity spent on each: Introductory: Discovery Level; Intermediate: Explorer Level, and Advanced: Conserver Level.

The John Muir Youth Award program is non-competitive, educational, and fun! Every student successfully concluding the criteria for the award, as approved by their teachers or or other youth leaders and the Sierra Club John Muir Education Committee, will be sent a certificate recognizing their accomplishment from the Sierra Club. The real reward, however, is the opportunity to learn more about wilderness and a "wilderness hero" who still captures the hearts of millions of people in America and around the world!s

Important note: Retrospective activity cannot count towards an Award.

If you are interested in the program, whether as a group or individual, please read the full Information on the