The Sierra Student Coalition (SSC) is a youth-led student chapter of the Sierra Club. Founded in 1991, SSC aims to educate, engage and inspire the next generation of environmental advocates and leaders. The SSC was disbanded in 2023, but in 2025 students with support from state and regional chapters organized and advocated to bring back the SSC and its Summer Program (SPROG.) The SPROG is a student-led youth retreat that brings together students from across the country to learn about environmental activism and building grassroots power, while connecting with the tools and resources to become environmental justice advocates in their own communities.
In 2025, student Sierra Club leaders came together to host the first SPROG in five years. At the meeting, 45 students from across the country voted to revitalize the SSC. The students advocated for reinstatement of SSC to the Sierra Club Board of Directors. Because of their advocacy and hard work, the SSC was reinstated and gained support to host both an East Coast and West Coast SPROG in summer 2026.
From August 5 to 9 Michigan Chapter Community Organizer Zjalyn Carter along with three students from Michigan joined SSC members and Chapter staff from Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, Louisiana, Florida and Puerto Rico for the first East Coast SPROG in six years. Students from across the eastern U.S. gathered at Wild Acres Retreat in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. Students participated in workshops co-led by Chapter staff and students on environmental justice, campaign building, activism and more. Students also had the opportunity to experience North Carolina’s beautiful landscape and connect with and learn from their peers from across the country.
The Sierra Student Coalition is a vital way for the Sierra Club to engage the future leadership in our environmental movement. Do you know a Michigan student who wants to get involved? Reach out to zjalyn.carter@sierraclub.org for more information!