“When I’m taking action, I don’t feel like I am helpless and that things are hopeless, because then I feel like I’m doing everything I can.”
Greta Thunberg
Two hundred middle and high school students from six schools across Los Angeles County–equipped with data, photos, and visual analysis–showcased their environmental action projects at the Fourth Annual Generation Earth Environmental Youth Summit at the Natural History Museum in late March.
Generation Earth is a service-learning program of the LA County Department of Public Works that provides hands-on environmental literacy experiences on campuses. The Youth Summit featured workshops, green career panelists, a resource fair of local organizations and governmental departments, lunch and activities, and the highlight Student Showcase where students enthusiastically shared with peers, adults, and professionals from Public Works how their projects taught them to better steward their campuses and develop leadership skills.
Highlights of Projects:
- Middle school students from Anahuacalmecac International University Preparatory of North America used seeds of native plants to enhance their learning village
- Students from Nathaniel Narbonne Senior High School restored a large school garden, saving water and benefiting the plants
- Jack London High School students studied the benefits of composting with microscopes
- Students in the Eco Club at John A. Rowland High School used vermicomposting to support their native plantings
- Virgil Middle School students measured heat at their campus and identified tree shade as the most beneficial cooling intervention
- Southeast Middle School launched a campus recycling system
All these projects (and the teachers involved) benefited from Generation Earth resources that included the six Environmental Education Coordinators at TreePeople who visit over 120 campuses each year to guide hands-on learning about water, waste and recycling, and support student-led projects to improve their campus and community.
In sharing their projects, students not only demonstrated noteworthy STEM crosscutting skills but they also learned from each other. A teacher shared: “I even learned from my own students how much they wanted to impress others with their work. They truly enjoyed being recognized for their work, as always one of the things I cherish from Generation Earth.” A student noted: “We saw other schools’ projects in green environments … [and] learned a lot on how they started their projects out, and how much of an impact it made.”
The Day of the Summit:
After a light breakfast, students and teachers explored the Resource Fair, featuring 14 organizations sharing their programs, knowledge, and opportunities for youth. LA County Public Works Deputy Director Cid Tesoro welcomed the participants and shared the longstanding connection between his department and the Generation Earth Program.
The Green Career Panel featured panelists Tiana Day, founder of Youth Advocates for Change; Max Riley, Youth Climate Commissioner in Supervisorial District 3; Kat Superfisky, artist and City of Los Angeles’ Urban Ecologist; and Veronica Carillo and Gabriel Zavala, both from LA County Public Work. These speakers provided “a ton of insights from professionals who had been in the business for a while,” as one student summed up. A teacher who loved the panelists, noted that “their passions were contagious.”
Afternoon workshops on vermiculture composting, water resources, climate change communication, and sustainability engineering proved popular. “I learned a lot and it stayed on my mind too,” said one student.
The day ended with closing remarks from TreePeople’s CEO Dr. Cassie Rauser, who admitted that today’s environmental challenges require heroes. She went on to emphasize that all these actions and service-learning projects shared by students qualify them and their teachers as heroes–doing what they can to make positive change.
