Most environmental problems require large-scale collective actions, but also have their representation on a smaller scale. For example, deforestation is a problem that might be addressed at both the larger (global) scale and the smaller (local) scale. We study the effect of breaking down larger collective action problems into smaller manageable units and how achieving the goal or failing to do so on the small scale affects participation in the larger scale actions. Particularly, we are interested in the motivational and demotivational effects of having achieved a “small win” or having failed to do so, on scaling up the collective effort, and the relative magnitude of these effects. Using a field experiment among high school students in India, we find a positive motivational effect from the small win onto contributions to the larger collective effort, conditional on the self-contributions. We also observe a change in the extensive margin, i.e., just achieving the small-scale environmental target as a group, even when self-contributions are zero, increases the likelihood that the individuals contribute in the second round. Interestingly, there are no demotivational effects of not achieving the goal in the first round, indicating asymmetric effects of winning and losing.