How-to Guide
What is the Wayfinder Society Student Hub?
The Wayfinder Society Student Hub is an interactive platform designed to engage students in real-world environmental action while earning service learning hours. It offers a variety of hands-on activities, known as Actions, that empower students to tackle plastic pollution through advocacy, research, creative projects, and community engagement.
How to use the Student Hub as an Educator
Whether it’s part of a class project or something students do on their own, the Student Hub offers a fun and flexible way to get involved in environmental action. There are two main ways educators can engage their students in the Hub:
With a Class Code
(More Structured Approach)
Educators can create a class code to easily involve large groups of students in Wayfinder Society Actions, making participation simple and organized. Class codes allow teachers to:
- Easily bypass school firewall issues—with class codes, students do not need to access their school email to log in.
- See which students have signed up and track their progress within an Educator Profile.
- Encourage students to complete Actions as part of a class project or group effort, creating a shared learning experience.
- Use the Hub as a tool for earning service learning hours in a structured way, making it easy to verify and validate completed activities.
Without a Class Code
(More Independent Approach)
Educators can also introduce students to the Hub without creating a class code, giving them the freedom to sign up and participate on their own.
This works well for:
- Encouraging self-motivated students to explore Actions independently.
- Offering extra credit or enrichment opportunities.
- Providing a resource for students to earn service hours outside of class.
- Making it easy for students to continue using the Hub beyond the classroom, encouraging long-term engagement.
Regardless of whether students use a class code or sign up independently, our team of experts reviews and approves all submissions based on our grading rubric. Educators do not need to grade or validate student work.
How do I sign up for a Class Code?
To sign up for a class code, educators simply fill out the Class Code Sign-Up Form with the number of class periods or groups they need. Once submitted, they’ll receive an email with unique class codes and a student sign-up link. Educators can then share this link with students, who will use the class code to create an account. Access to school email is not required to log in, making the process quick and seamless.
Getting started with your Class Code
Once you’ve received your class code, you’re ready to start engaging your students with the Wayfinder Society Student Hub! There are many ways to integrate this resource into your classroom, and how you use it depends on your goals and teaching style. Some educators offer it as an extra credit opportunity or a way for students to earn service learning hours at their own pace. Others use it to create a friendly competition, challenging students to see who can complete the most Actions or earn the most hours by a set deadline. Check out this video for more ideas!
You can also encourage students to work toward earning Pathway Badges, which recognize deeper engagement in specific areas like environmental justice, systems thinking, or creative storytelling. These badges help students build a portfolio of their impact while giving them a tangible goal to work toward. Whether used for structured assignments, enrichment activities, or independent exploration, the Student Hub provides a flexible framework to fit your classroom’s needs.
Order a free TAKE ACTION! Toolkit
(only available in U.S. while supplies last)
The Wayfinder Society TAKE ACTION! Toolkit is designed to help educators integrate the Student Hub into their classroom to inspire students to take action. The kit includes prizes that empowers teachers to reward top achievers, encouraging a sense of competition, teamwork, and personal achievement.
Educators can use the prizes strategically to create classroom challenges, such as:
- Leaderboards to see which students or groups complete the most Actions by a certain date
- Milestone rewards for students who reach specific service hour goals
- Raffles or giveaways, where every completed Action earns an entry into a prize drawing
The toolkit also includes tips and tricks for connecting Actions to classroom curriculum, making it easier for educators to integrate the Hub into their lesson plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does this cost?
The Wayfinder Society program—including Action Guides, Student & Team Accounts, and expert Action reviews—is completely free, thanks to our generous funders and donors. Their support allows us to provide accessible resources and personalized guidance, empowering students to learn about and take action on environmental issues.
How do the student service learning hours work?
Students earn service learning hours by completing Actions in the Wayfinder Society Student Hub—but only those who create a free account can officially log and track their hours. Each Action has a set hour value based on the time and effort required. When a student submits an Action, our team reviews and approves it based on our rubric. Once approved, the student’s earned hours are added to their account.
Students can track their progress, reach milestone achievements, and earn rewards like T-shirts, badges, and certificates. These Hours can also count toward community service or volunteer requirements at their school, helping students turn their efforts into real-world impact!
What is our Action review rubric?
As our Actions generally do not include correct/incorrect answers, a submitted Action is approved if:
- the user provides a comprehendible response to at least 60% of the questions.
- the user demonstrates that they’ve understood the prompt and attempted to provide a reasonable response.
Actions are generally declined if:
- the user provides a nonsensical or inappropriate response.
- the user provides a plagiarized response.
Who reviews the students' submissions?
Wayfinder Society is powered completely by the Algalita team.
Trina 
Emily 
Anika 
Katie
Our small team of employees, currently including Trina, Emily, Anika, and Katie, read each submission as soon as possible and assess it according to our rubric. This is a lot of work, but we believe in the power of personalized support for students, and the power of human interaction – even if it’s through written messages. This program allows us to support students across the world who are passionate about addressing plastic pollution and related issues and who don’t have other forms of support or mentorship.
Read our team bios and learn about our amazing board and advisors here.
Do my students have to have an account to participate?
No, you don’t need an account to access our Action Guides—they’re completely open-source and can be used for home assignments, extra credit, class projects, and more. Even without an account, you can follow our step-by-step guides to take meaningful action in any way you imagine!
However, by creating accounts, you and your students gain additional support from our team, who reviews and provides feedback on each submission. Plus, your participation helps us measure the collective impact of our community—because you and your students play a vital role in shaping a future where plastic pollution is unthinkable!
What are the benefits of creating student accounts?
By creating a free account—whether as an individual, a team, or through our class code signup—your students can securely submit their work for review by our team of experts. Each submission is carefully evaluated using our rubric on a pass/fail basis, and if an action isn’t approved, students receive personalized feedback to help them deepen their understanding to better connect with the Action.
Every successfully completed Action earns the account holder Hours toward exciting milestone awards, including T-shirts, badges, and certificates. At the end of each school year, we’ll celebrate our community’s collective impact with a special virtual event!
Why did Algalita create the Student Hub?
For as long as we’ve been educating about plastic pollution, one question has remained constant: “What can I do?” This issue affects all of us, and after exploring our Lessons and Toolkits, you and your students will likely be eager to take action. We believe that when young people take collective action—in their homes, schools, communities, and governments—they become a powerful force for change. This kind of grassroots momentum is essential for driving a just and sustainable transition toward a future with less plastic.
Over the years, we’ve mentored countless students on school projects, scout initiatives, and personal advocacy efforts. But we knew we needed to do more—to create a space where all students could take meaningful action, connect with a larger movement, and be recognized for their efforts. That’s why we built the Wayfinder Society Student Hub—to make it easy for young changemakers to see that small actions, when combined, lead to big changes.
Beyond action, we also know that learning itself is a form of action. Plastic pollution is deeply tied to politics, economics, and social systems, and tackling it requires critical thinking and a willingness to engage with complexity. The Wayfinder Society Student Hub is designed to help students do just that—providing the tools, guidance, and recognition they need to make a real impact.
More than anything, we hope this space serves as a source of inspiration, empowerment, and celebration for the young people who are passionate about shaping a cleaner, safer world. Because their actions matter—and together, they can create lasting change.
What are some creative ways to use the Student Hub as an Educator?
Do you have more questions or need to contact us?
Please reach out to us if you have additional questions, need assistance, or to let us know how we can better accommodate your needs. Contact us.
