This year, America is celebrating its 56th Earth Day, a day created in 1970 to advocate for environmental protection and sustainability. After witnessing massive oil spills in Santa Barbara, California in 1969, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin prompted the start of teach-ins to spark environmental awareness among America’s college students, many of whom were already politically active because of the Vietnam War.

To support this effort, Nelson recruited Denis Hayes, a Harvard student who had already developed a keen interest in the environment as a child, as a coordinator for the teach-ins. He is now most known for founding the Earth Day Network. The two chose April 22, as it falls between spring break and final exams. It also happens to fall on Arbor Day, a tradition dating to 1872 in Nebraska when people are encouraged to plant trees. Since then, thousands of environmental campaigns have sprouted across the United States.

Today, hundreds of grassroots environmental organizations continue to spread awareness and promote activities that enable communities and individuals to be good stewards of the earth.

One such organization is the Lower East Side Ecology Center in New York, where Lia Lucero, the community engagement coordinator, helps run the Master Composter Certification course offered to New York City residents.

Made possible through city funding, the program invites New Yorkers over 18 to enroll in courses teaching soil health and science, designing community compost spaces, and compost advocacy.

“When we are composting, we see our food waste and how much we are accumulating,” explains Lucero. “But we are also seeing that as a resource and, as you are doing it you educate yourself around food waste in general.”

She also explains that composting taps into community organizing and advocating for a healthier environment, which extends to other practices such as water management.

Lucero encourages people to take part in vermicomposting, which uses worms as a channel between food scraps and compost. “Worm composting is one of the most high quality composting out there and the fact that you can do it in your apartment is amazing.”

The process consists of two groups: greens and brown. Browns include wood chips, newspaper, and dried leaves. Greens include food scraps, grass, and coffee grounds, even though it happens to be brown. After collecting the material, Lucero advises a two to one ratio, with more browns than greens.

Here are a few organizations around the country that are making it easier for everyday people to become more involved with environmental efforts.

1. Rust Belt Riders (Cleveland, OH)

With an emphasis on limiting food waste, Rust Belt Riders provides the local community with neighborhood drop-off bins and pick-up services to ensure that food is composted, rather than ending up in the landfill. The organization provides workshops to local schools, libraries, churches, and other institutions.

2. EAT South (Montgomery, AL)

Helping the local community learn how to grow their own food, EAT South believes that developing a local food system creates a healthier environment, helps local farms, and generally makes it easier for people to get healthy food on their plates.

3. Baltimore Compost Collective Youth Entrepreneurship Program (Baltimore, MD)

This organization creates jobs within the environmental sector for young people who seek to become involved. A paid opportunity, teenagers can become trained in food access programming and community composting.

4. Once Upon a Watershed (Ojai, CA)

Tapping into our youngest learners, Once Upon a Watershed provides an opportunity for K through 7th graders with hands-on restoration experiences in the Ventura River and Santa Clara River Watersheds.

5. Vermont Green Football Club (Burlington, VT)

Combining a passion for soccer and the Earth, Vermont Green FC runs through the summer and prioritizes environmental stewardship and justice in all business-making decisions. The goal is to use the love of the sport as a catalyst for environmental advocacy.

Learn more about efforts near you, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance has a list of organizations that are a part of their Community Compost Coalition.