The purpose of Climate Masters of Nebraska was to help Nebraskans become well-informed and take appropriate actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Specific measureable objectives to accomplish this goal were:
- Educate volunteers from communities across southeast Nebraska regarding carbon footprint reduction through Climate Masters of Nebraska courses,
- Facilitate and track volunteer activities corresponding to GHG emission reduction activities,
- Evaluate the overall program impact by measuring the level of increased awareness and reduced GHG emissions.
In exchange for the free 10-week course, participants made a commitment to volunteer at least 30 hours of their time educating others in the community about reducing their carbon footprint and giving them the tools with which to do so. During the Climate Masters of Nebraska two-year pilot project, 47 participants completed the course and more than 900 hours were volunteered. Volunteer projects included forming a Nebraska Citizen Climate Lobby chapter, 11 household consultations in which Climate Masters volunteers gave homeowners ideas on how they could reduce their carbon footprint, litter pickups, hosting educational booths at outreach events such as Earth Day, teaching kids about water conservation at Lincoln’s Earth Wellness Festival, installing a drip irrigation system at Lancaster County’s Youth Services center, and more.