The Bay Area Youth Climate Summit

Switching to electric/hybrid cars can reduce your carbon footprint, especially in seasons when travel is common. Many people who care about the environment face a predicament: living sustainably during the summer. Increased travel characterized by more flying, driving, longer distances, and greater consumption leads to people having comparatively large carbon footprints. Furthermore, cooking less, ordering more takeout, and eating more red meat as a result contribute to this problem.

What project are you moving forward with right now? I am planning on helping to preserve and support wetlands in the Bay Area. I am invested in this project because I spent a lot of time last summer kayaking around the wetlands in the San Francisco Bay and got to see a vast area of wildlife—among the birds, curlews, avocets; among the plants, pickleweed, cordgrass, and heath.

Give us a project update! How’s it been going? What are you planning on? Any upcoming events? The project I’ve been working on is a poem contest for middle schoolers. Lately, my action plans have been outreaching to middle schools in Pleasanton. The contest ends in June, and I hope to get around 15 responses by then! Did you attend the BAYCS Earth Day Festival? How was it? The BAYCS Earth Day Festival was an extremely fun and educational experience.

What project are you moving forward with right now? Right now Sasha and I want to move forward with fast fashion/ textile waste. Who is your mentor and what are your initial impressions? My mentor is Avalon, and my first impression is that she seems like a kind, passionate, and hardworking person. We share similar traits  especially in how we are both motivated to make a positive impact on the environment.

What project are you moving forward with right now? I am planning on filming a video series on the ocean and wildlife issues occurring in the Bay. It will feature the nature reserves around San Francisco and how they are being harmed. Who is your mentor and what are your initial impressions? Jasmine. What you both have in common? My initial impressions were that we both had an interest in marine life and animals.

What project are you moving forward with right now? My goal is to create a project that can raise awareness about ocean acidification. This is a very important problem in the Bay Area, and if people start limiting their actions that are causing it, we can help make a difference. I would like to have an event like a writing contest, that can promote literature as well as activism. I love all forms of writing so I think this would combine two things I’m very passionate about.

What project are you moving forward with right now? The project I am moving forward with is reducing pollution in the ocean by doing a beach clean-up. I hope this prevents waste from harming marine life and habitats. Who is your mentor and what are your initial impressions? Kaliopi. What you both have in common? We both are passionate about protecting the ocean and the impact of microplastics specifically. What you hope to learn from your mentor?

Give us a project update! How’s it been going? What are you planning on? Any upcoming events? I am currently still coordinating the venue for the workshop. We do have 10+ confirmed attendees and BAYCS and WOEIP speakers ready to attend. We are planning a community-led workshop on climate pollution. Did you attend the BAYCS Earth Day Festival? How was it? Yes, I did attend. It was a fun community event where I could talk to so many people and get some attendees for our workshop.

Sasha Hahn 54 minutes ago 1 min read Our project has been going amazing! We have our workshops and curriculum planned out and some promising leads in schools to be able to go visit them in the next month. After attending the earth day festival, which was amazing, we got to meet so many people and do a trial run of one of our activities. We also got extremely crucial feedback about the need for our project and the impact we had on people’s fashion habits.

What project are you moving forward with right now? I’m moving forward with a project that seeks to increase climate literacy through the garment industry by bringing educational resources to bay area schools. Who is your mentor and what are your initial impressions? My mentor is Avalon Wood! We both have a passion for climate literacy and increasing climate education, especially through in class lessons and have both done similar work around that in the past.