Broward County Transit: Earth Month Community Enrichment Program to Educate on the Electric Bus Initiative

Target Audience: The multifaceted program's target audience was public school students in STEM-inspired programs, as well as environmentally minded Broward County employees and community members.

Strategy Objective:The program's objective was to raise environmental awareness among students, teachers, employees, and the community through STEM activities and community initiatives. We provided education on carbon emissions and clean air while motivating the community to embrace environmental stewardship by utilizing and advocating for public transit. This initiative sought to instill a long-term sense of environmental responsibility in the community, highlighting the sustainable advantages of using public transit.

Situation Challenge: BCT is transitioning to electric power. For this project, we aimed to leverage Earth Month to raise awareness of our environmental initiatives. To do so, we created a community-centered engagement program to educate our community on environmental stewardship. Additionally, we emphasized sustainable practices, mainly focusing on the vital role of transit in supporting environmental conservation.

Results Impact: More than 50 students created an electric bus using recycled materials, and more than 100 people boarded an EV bus for the first time; more than 60% of participants interacted with BCT for the first time.

Why Submit: This program adopted an innovative approach to community engagement by fostering a fun and interactive learning experience. Through an enjoyable classroom activity, students not only constructed a bus but also collaborated as a transit team to develop a design, create an agency name, identify their target audience, and embrace the roles of engineers while gaining insights into the functions of transit agencies. This initiative provided bus operators, supervisors, and transit staff an opportunity to engage in a classroom setting, highlighting the significance of their roles. Additionally, the cleanup effort forged new partnerships within the community and aligned the mission of transit with the goals of our city. It established a fresh and creative way for individuals to embrace transit.