This rhetorical history of discourses about young people and the environment highlights how American youth use their voices and energies to advocate for the natural world.

Laura McGrath argues that both education – environmental, character, civic – and young people's own contributions to conservation and activism efforts have played an equally important role in promoting youth environmental advocacy in the United States from the late 19th century through the present day.

Examining rhetorical artifacts such as essays, artwork, speeches, and social media posts along with historical records of youth involvement in conservation efforts, McGrath identifies prevalent tropes and assumptions in arguments made by adults and demonstrates how young people have engaged with these narratives while exercising their own rhetorical agency.