Examples of youth climate action in rural communities | eePRO @ NAAEE
eePRO

The home of environmental education professional development

Examples of youth climate action in rural communities

I'm looking for examples and model programs for youth action on climate change in rural communities in the U.S. and Canada.

I'm especially interested in how youth can be involved in both calling for action and in participating or leading that action. Rural communities are often particularly limited when it comes to government, private and NGO staff capacity to take on energy audits, capacity mapping, etc.

Most of the youth examples I've run across are from Guatemala, various African nations, etc. and focus on agricultural practice or technologies. Can anyone help me branch out? Thanks!

There is a lot of youth action in the community of Watsonville, California. Regeneracion is a small non-profit focused on youth leadership. There is also a teacher at the Pajaro Valley High School working with her students on a climate action plan for the school. It is a rural community, primarily agricultural. You can email Regeneracion via their website, https://www.regenerationpajarovalley.org/, or email me and I can give you contacts. vderr@csumb.edu.

The director of Regeneracion is in touch with many more people working on this issue, many of them in rural parts of California. They are being recognized with a 2020 American Climate Leadership Award, too. Hope this helps!!