By Mars Keith
January marks the end of another successful year of the California Youth Climate Policy Leadership Program. Over the past six months, high school students from various parts of California designed and carried out advocacy campaigns to push for climate policies in their school districts, promote climate education, and work together with their peers to lead climate action within their communities.
After having a successful cohort of students in 2023, the CYCP program received over 200 applications from youth who expressed passion for bettering the climate and their communities. Out of those who applied, over 40 students were chosen to participate, representing a diverse range of public schools, charter schools, and private independent parochial schools across California. Because of its astounding success in 2023, the program expanded so much this year that regions all across California were represented.
This year, I was given the opportunity to mentor for CYCP and help empower students to create these changes in their communities. As a young adult myself, I often think back on my time as a high schooler who had so much passion for climate justice and how much I could have benefited from a program like CYCP. This program assists youth in identifying climate issues in their community and gives them the tools to address the situation.
One of my mentees, Emily Yang, an 11th grader at Balboa High School, identified issues with climate literacy and education in her district. She is someone who is heavily involved in extracurricular activities and sits on youth boards specifically focused on climate change. She noticed that youth in her district felt lacking in education around climate and that some were interested in making change but didn’t know how. Through this program, she created a coalition of youth to advocate and to establish a climate change student committee or task force in SFUSD. Emily is a really amazing example of how youth remain resilient and are a key factor in the work we are all doing to fight climate change. Her work should inspire us all.
It was an honor to be a CYCP mentor this year and to meet inspirational youth like my mentees and other participants. If you or a youth you know would like to get involved in the next CYCP, keep an eye on our website bit.ly/ca-youth-climate-leaders or email mars.keith@sierraclub.org.