There are a growing number of ways to communicate with elected representatives and business leaders. Try one or try them all, just make sure to try.

Take Pen to Paper

The art of writing a good letter is almost extinct in today's modern age of technology. It's still a valuable skill and you should encourage your students to try to write one to a community leader. For very young children, you could just have them draw a picture of some environmental issue the class decides on. Then you can work together to write a letter. The students can tell you what they want to say and you can write it down.

It's Easy with E-mail

All elected officials and large business owners have e-mail addresses these days. E-mail is easy because the message gets to the recipient immediately and you can get a response very quickly as well. You also save paper and the gas it takes to deliver regular mail, so it's an environmentally friendly form of communication. Your e-mail should still have all the same parts as a formal letter. If you'd like, you can have the students write letters as electronic documents and then you can attach them all to one e-mail sent through your work address.

Make the Call

Most elected officials are very busy and difficult to catch on the phone. You generally end up leaving a message with an assistant, but you can ask to be called back. Most of the time, you can either set up an appointment for a visit or voice your opinion on a pending voting decision. Calling right before a pending vote is one of the easiest ways to be directly involved with how your representative represents you. You simply call, state your name and address so they know you are a constituent, and then you say whether you want them to vote for or against the policy. It's as easy as it gets and helps your representative know what you want.

Meet and Greet

The good old-fashioned way of getting involved is by meeting with the people you are trying to persuade. If you aren't ready to try to persuade anyone about an issue, you can meet leaders simply to ask them how they feel about different issues and what their plans are. Make a list of questions about issues your students feel are most important. Set up an appointment to meet your mayor or even governor and put them on the hot seat as your students interview them on their environmental awareness and efforts. Don't forget to send a thank-you letter after the meeting!