About Us

Environmental Leadership

Brower Youth Awards for Environmental Leadership

Criteria & Application Procedures

Overview and Eligibility

What: Earth Island Institute established The Brower Youth Award for Environmental Leadership in 2000 to honor renowned environmental advocate David Brower. The Brower Youth Awards are housed in the New Leaders Initiative program at Earth Island Institute and we are thrilled to call forth a new generation of leaders for our 14th Annual Brower Youth Awards.

David Brower was quoted as saying, “I love to see what young people can do, before someone old tells them it's impossible.” It is with this spirit that we recognize the outstanding leadership efforts of young people who are working for the protection of our shared planet. We elevate the accomplishments of these new leaders and invest in their continued success by providing ongoing access to resources, mentors, and opportunities to develop leadership skills.

Who: Young environmental change leaders ages 13 to 22 (as of July 1, 2013) living in North America (including Mexico, Canada, some Caribbean Islands) and US “Territories.”

When: Completed applications must be submitted online by May 13, 2013 9:00 p.m. Pacific time.

The Award

Each of the six recipients of the Brower Youth Awards will receive a $3,000 cash prize, a professionally produced short film about their work, and flight and lodging accommodations for a week long trip to the San Francisco Bay Area.

During their stay in California, the recipients will participate in a camping trip, leadership activities, speaking and media engagements, and trainings and environmental conferences giving them a chance to meet with mentors and peers. The week of activities culminates in the awards ceremony in front of more than 900 guests at the Nourse Theatre in San Francisco on October 22, 2013.

Application Procedures

Please note that all applications must be completed using our online process. No paper submissions will be accepted. Please notify us well in advance of the deadline if you foresee any problems with submitting an application online.

You must complete your own application. Parents, friends, mentors, teachers, etc. must not complete it for you. (If you have a special circumstance or need and cannot fill out your application yourself or need assistance accessing our online application please contact us at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  1. Please look over the eligibility requirements and make sure that you and your project fall under the requirements of the Brower Youth Awards.
  2. Read the instructions and prompts carefully and fill out the application. Please keep track of the email and password that you use to create and save your application. By saving the application, you will be able to return to it, unlimited times, before the deadline, to work on it.
  3. Supply 1 photograph. Please be aware of the space limit. Keep photos to jpg or png formats.
  4. Obtain a “Letter of Support”. The letter should be from someone who is familiar with you and your environmental work. The recommendation should not come from a parent or legal guardian. It should describe your relationship with this person and why they believe you are a strong environmental leader and thus a strong candidate for the Brower Youth Awards.
  5. Read and sign the “Terms of Agreement”. Applications will be accepted until 9:00 PT May 13, 2013. Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your application. Applications submitted after the deadline due to technical issues will not be accepted.

Please contact us well in advance of the deadline for support with the submission of your application or clarifying questions by emailing:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

We review all applications and an external panel of judges vets all semi–finalists. If you are selected as a semi–finalist, we will request a Skype Video Call with you. We can help you to arrange this call if you do not have access to Skype. Finalists will be notified by mid-July.

Click here to apply.

Request Information

If you're looking for information about our program. Please use this form and contact us. Remember to specify how much information (flyers, cards, etc) you're looking for, and how you would like it sent (email, fax, etc). A YouthLine staff will get in contact with you between 1-3 business days.

Youth Programs

Below are the YouthLine Programs for which Youthline staff are all a component of:

YouthLine Online: YouthLine designs and maintains the YouthLine website, CHALK website,  YFYI website in and each YL hosts individual webpage and youtube channel. They also monitor the YouthLine Forum and Database so that all information is as updated as posssible. YouthLine Online provides information on issues that concern youth everyday, providing information on resources for youth, such as, information on shelters, jobs, health clinics and much more.

YouthLine Phoneline: Listeners are the people who answer the YouthLine calls. They provide information, support, and crisis intervention. They answer calls from all over the country because YouthLine is a toll free number.

CHALK Outreach: Outreach is conducted in different neighborhoods, at after school programs, community based organizations and events to distribute information about youth services, condoms and community activities.

Street Elements of CHALK: Street Elements provides youth and their allies with information, support and resources through a print magazine called Street Elements. Street Elements gives youth an alternate way of expressing themselves; through writing, spoken word and visual art. Although we have not released a new print in a while, we are very interested in collaberating with youth to bring in a new issue. If you are interested in collaberating with us or have a peice you would like us to include in the next issue, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Information, Resource, & Support

YouthLine programs are run by CHALK. Our main purpose is to reach out to youth and provide them with information, resources, and support.

YouthLine Phone Line is a confidential phone line that is open everyday (including holidays) from 4pm to 8 pm. The phones are answered by youth, between the ages of 14 to 18. This is what makes YouthLine so unique, youth to youth service, and its a free phone line run by youth, for youth.

The "Listeners", the youth who answer the phones, have received over 80 hours of training to support callers dealing with crisis or those who need information. Our "Listeners" are very diverse. They come from all over the city and from different backgrounds to help relate to callers and support them.

Our database is also updated with the most recent information and if you can't find a particular youth service, give us a call. Our phoneline number is 1.888.977.3399.