Youth are the future and San Francisco Environment Department could not agree more!
San Francisco Environment Department’s (SFE) Environmental Education team, in collaboration with San Francisco Unified School District, has launched a pilot Climate Action Fellowship (CAF) to empower youth to take climate action and build hope around climate change. CAF members are supported by a SFE mentor to learn different environmental policies and are encouraged to spread environmental literacy in their communities. From these experiences, students gain leadership experience, learn about the department, work closely with government agencies, and attend workshops and retreats.
The SFE Climate Action Fellowship program empowers the next generation of environmental leaders, strengthening trust and knowledge sharing between both parties.
The Climate Action Fellowship is currently a 4-month program where high school students learn about different environmental topics and gain professional skills while focusing on a community impact project. Through these projects, students work to find solutions to an environmental topic that affects their school, neighborhood, or city. Examples of this work are youth working towards creating SF policy change or starting a green team at their school to educate students on sustainability topics. Their efforts culminate in a presentation of their work at the Climate Action Youth Summit in April 2024. Beyond the community impact project, mentors also provide students help with resumes or college applications to transition to wherever they want to go after high school.
“I joined Climate Action Fellowship because I want to make an impact in my community. As the next generation, I want to make sure I'm involved in policies that will affect my community. Many people my age care about the environment and here, we can come together and create change. This shows that the education system is also changing because we’re learning so many topics we didn’t before, and I think that’s great!”
Kenia, Climate Action Fellow (17 years old)
To get involved with the Climate Action Fellowship or our School Education team, please email ENV-education@sfgov.org