Driving across the Mojave Desert, I found myself in a wholly unfamiliar part of my home state, ready to meet over 40 unfamiliar faces for SPROG 2026.
SPROG - the Sierra Student Coalition’s (SSC) Summer Program - returned in 2025 after several years on hiatus. The SSC, the youth organizing arm of the Sierra Club, was disbanded in 2023 with Sierra Club Nationaling citing “shifting national priorities”.
Several Sierra Club staff members found their start in environmental organizing at SPROGs of the past. Recognizing the gap in youth leadership development opportunities, leaders worked to bring SPROG back for 2025. At the event, youth leaders unanimously voted to reinstate the SSC and began planning for SPROG 2026.
In its second year back, SPROG was split into two events, an East and West Coast gathering, following the same curriculum and serving students from across the nation.
I had not been involved with SPROG or the SSC, but as an AmeriCorps member serving with the Sierra Club, it was a privilege to be involved with the planning. Growing up in San Francisco, youth empowerment and organizing spaces lead me to work in the conservation world. I had seen first hand how student organizing has the capacity to make great change - like student led protests on my college campus leading to our Board to divest from fossil fuels. I was ready for a week of mutual learning with fellow youth activists from across the Western United States.
I was the first to arrive at Camp Oakes - a high desert YMCA camp nestled against the Pacific Crest Trail, roughly 14 miles from Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino National Forest. Students trickled in slowly, arriving from as near as the Inland Empire and Los Angeles, and as far as Utah, New Mexico and Idaho. In total, 46 students, trainers, and staff came together for a week of learning and skill development.
Our first night was a quiet affair - plans for formal introductions were waylaid by later than expected arrival times. We settled into our bunks, and brief introductions were made, and we ambled around camp ahead of dinner. In the evening, with the whole crew present, formal introductions were made. We split into four ‘family groups’ - our home bases for the week. We would have daily check-ins, do workshops together, and set community expectations - how we want to be treated, how we want to make decisions, how we want to split up responsibilities.
Despite exhaustion from the day’s travels, we settled in for a guest speaker to set the tone for the week - founder of the Sierra Student Coalition, Adam Werbach.
Now in his 40s and with his student days in the past, Adam described his journey into organizing work as a teenager and the formation of the SSC in 1991. He described the impact of small actions and connections, and implored students to take action when they see a need.
Over the week, students convened for two daily workshops, gaining knowledge and skills in collaboration and community; environmental and climate In/Justice; imagination and creativity, and organizing and direct action. In our final workshop, students gathered into their chapters and brainstormed potential campaigns to bring back to our own communities.
The real magic of SPROG happened in the moments between - a breakout game of pool ball (some cross between volleyball and water polo with no real rules or scoring system), a hike to Castle Rock on the South shore of Big Bear Lake, impromptu karaoke, ziplining across Camp Oakes’ lake, a night of stargazing telling stories of constellations from across cultures and storytelling traditions, more s’mores than were good for us.
Each family group came up with ways to care for each other and our space - morning trash sweeps as our group walked from the cabins to the dining hall, thought up by our clean team. A wall of envelopes with each participant's name, encouraging notes of appreciation and gratitude for each other put together by the ‘vibes’ team.
On our final night around the fire, we passed out our love notes - those envelopes full of memories, thanks, and shout outs from the week. Each of our 46 participants had a full envelope, and as we read them, we shared what we were most grateful for that week. The overwhelming consensus - we were grateful for each other. For our vulnerabilities, insights, laughter, tears, and our willingness to give and take in equal measure.
In the span of five days, the group of strangers had become friends and partners in building a better world. Our students built their capacity to connect and the ability to envision and create a better future for all.
We’ve heard it said that the youth are the future - but over the course of the week, we came to know that youth are the present. We are not too young, naive, or inexperienced. We do not need to wait for an invitation - as youth activists, it is our duty to start doing the work we see a need for. It is our job to look anyone who tells us, “That’s just the way it is” in the face and build our own path forward instead.
Our power and capacity lay in our ties to each other - ties that now extend across 1000s of miles, diverse biomes, communities, and priorities.
What’s Next - Building Youth Capacity Beyond SPROG
Since the SSC’s reinstatement in 2025, the SSC has met monthly and continues to grow and build capacity for youth organizing and engagement. Leaving Big Bear on Friday morning, students who had barely heard of the Sierra Club before SPROG told me they were excited to join the SSC, and bring the campaigns they imagined to life.
To get involved with the SSC today, see here https://www.sierraclub.org/youth or contact sierrastudent@sierraclub.org