Teens Go Green

April 29, 2026

Jaime Joyce

A girl kneels in a garden, smiling and holding a young plant with roots. — GOOD TO GROW A Green Crew volunteer helps plant a pollinator garden at Elm Creek Playfield, in Plymouth, Minnesota, in 2024. COURTESY GREEN CREW

Hannah Stockert Barisonzi was 13 when she was inspired to start Green Crew. It’s a youth-led environmental group based in Bloomington, Minnesota. “I saw all these groups doing wonderful environmental advocacy,” Hannah, now 18 and the group’s copresident, told TIME for Kids. “But I wanted to do even more and actually have my hands in the dirt, making change in my own backyard.”

That’s exactly what she’s been doing. Since Green Crew launched, in 2022, it has engaged nearly 2,000 young people in projects such as planting trees and removing invasive plants. One of these projects focuses on testing water quality in the Minnesota River.

Four people kneel in a garden bed, planting small plants in the soil.

FOR THE BEES Teens plant native wildflowers to attract bees and butterflies at the new pollinator garden in Plymouth, Minnesota.

COURTESY GREEN CREW

Hannah notes that people might be overwhelmed by “the big environmental problem” or feel that protecting the Earth is an “impossible” task. But she says, “Green Crew is trying to give people, especially kids, a way to feel like it’s not [impossible]. There is something tangible that you can do. Even if it’s small, it’s still doing something.”

Improve the World

Teenagers lead Green Crew environmental service events. Adults and younger kids can volunteer to pitch in. “The Green Crew is for the community,” says club treasurer Krish Narayanan, 16. “It’s for all ages, whether it be a 7-year-old or maybe even a 70-year-old.”

Several children in yellow shirts gather around, planting a small tree together in the ground.

HELPING HANDS In 2025, children plant trees and prairie shrubs at Green Crew headquarters, in Bloomington, Minnesota.

COURTESY GREEN CREW

Green Crew hopes to expand. So far, three new crews have sprouted in Minnesota. Students anywhere can start a Green Crew where they live. “Get together with a group of kids,” Hannah advises. “That’s really all you need, and we’re here to help.”

Young children sit at tables, playing with soil and small pots during a hands-on activity.

PLANTING SEEDS Children learn about soil and seeds at a 2025 Green Crew event.

COURTESY GREEN CREW

“Don’t be scared,” Krish adds. “Just get yourself involved.”

Hannah continues: “When we started, it was really me saying randomly in the car to my dad, ‘Hey, it would be really cool if somebody did this.’ So don’t be afraid to shoot out your random ideas for how you would like to improve the world, and don’t give up on them.”