Youth Air Protectors: An Important (and Exciting) Opportunity

Feb 23, 2023

By Prabhjot Kaur, Youth Air Protectors intern

SuSol launched our Air Quality program in 2022 in Fairfield. The program is centered around Youth Air Protectors — high school students and young adults who learn about air quality challenges that affect Fairfield and seek ways to educate the community about those challenges and possible solutions while working on hands-on projects. As part of the initial cohort of Youth Air Protectors, we thank Prabhjot for sharing about her experience so far!

Youth Air Protectors interns (Prabhjot is second from left) work on collage projects to envision a world that is environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just

The Youth Air Protectors program by Sustainable Solano is definitely something I will often look back on in the future. I found out about the Youth Air Protectors program from my friend, who persuaded me to apply for it. I signed up with the expectation that the program would require interns to research about the environment and air pollution levels, remaining strictly academic. However, I was incredibly surprised when we were asked to make a collage about nature and what we perceived to be a sustainable, or ideal world during the internship certification meetings. I was even more shocked when I realized that I was unable to visualize a world like that even though I considered myself to be fairly optimistic. Also, later on in the internship, we were given the task of designing flyers that would raise awareness about air pollution in our community. Overall, the program offers more creative freedom and independence than I initially expected, which was a pleasant surprise.

My other expectation when signing up was that the program would focus strictly on air pollution. However, in the internship certification meetings, we were given the assignment to watch videos from an online course called “Awakening the Dreamer,” which informed us about the current major world crises. It was interesting to see how the problem of air pollution related to social and economic issues. Also, the videos showed me how the efforts of environmentalists are making a significant difference, and with more consistent efforts, we can eventually reverse climate change, which was something that I originally thought was impossible.

SuSol interns explore a demonstration food forest during a tree guild workshop

However, what I was truly excited about when applying for this program was going outside and interacting with nature. As someone who spends a lot of time indoors, I figured that this would be a great opportunity to possibly plant flora and meet new people. Due to this, I decided to attend a Tree Guild Workshop, which was run by Sustainable Solano. Although I did not get to install plants, it was calming to walk around and learn about sustainable gardens. On top of that, everyone at the event was really kind, and they were happy to answer any questions I had about gardening and the environment in general. It was definitely one of my best, carefree and most memorable days of 2022.

From the fact that the air pollution level in Fairfield is causing rates of asthma that are considerably higher than the rest of California to the fact that dandelions are not always “weeds,” I have already learned a great deal from the internship. And there is still a lot more to come that I am excited for! In the future, we are going to be participating in beautification projects, sustainability walks, and other garden installation events. Overall, I am glad that I was given this opportunity and made the decision to apply for the Youth Air Protectors program, because it is definitely shaping up to be one of the most important parts of my high school experience.

We are seeking applicants for the next cohort of Youth Air Protectors that starts in April. Interested? You can learn more and apply here.

Interested in learning more about the Air Quality program and how you can be part of working toward better air quality for Fairfield? Learn more here!

The Beginning of Flood Resiliency in Suisun City

Jan 20, 2023

By Alex Lunine, Resilient Communities Program Manager

Over the past two years, Sustainable Solano has focused on spreading awareness of the dire need for climate resilience in Suisun City, making education regarding flooding accessible for the city’s residents. Generously funded by PG&E through the Better Together Resilient Communities, Sustainable Solano’s Resilient Neighborhoods program installed two flood-resilient gardens in Suisun, kicked off a now annual climate event in the city, led a high school internship program, taken residents on a dozen Flood Walk tours, and empowered the community to tackle flooding via the creation of a community-based action plan.

Starting in 2021, we shared information from the Adapting to Rising Tides report published by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission to spread scientific literacy regarding climate change and its impacts on Suisun. We connected with hydrology and permaculture experts Anne Freiwald and Lydia Neilsen of Vital Cycles to conduct a walkaround consultation of downtown Suisun and surrounding neighborhoods. Their expertise was instrumental in our own understanding of Suisun’s baseline flood resilience and informed our educational efforts. This expert information was used to create our Flood Walk program, where we would lead groups of curious Suisun residents and others from around Solano County interested in flood risk on a tour of flood-vulnerable areas near the Suisun Marina and downtown. We furthered our outreach efforts via the flood-resilient garden workshops and installations, offering opportunities for individual resiliency actions in addition to those at the community scale. Finally, in partnership with Suisun City, we organized and started the Suisun Climate and Environmental Festival: bringing a variety of environmental organizations together to promote true citywide community resilience.

Flood Walks offered an interactive way to learn about flood risks
A demonstration garden showed how to capture rainwater during large storms

Climate and Environmental Festival Educational Talks

As awareness of flooding vulnerabilities became more commonplace, and with the city partnership, we proceeded into 2021 with the goal of assisting residents to funnel their thoughts, concerns and solutions into a unified and practical document. With a combination of hard work from our Core Team (a group of concerned Suisun residents and officials), Adam Welchel with The Nature Conservancy, and our high school interns, we hosted the first Community Resilience Building Workshop on the West Coast. During this event in June 2022, around 20 residents, government officials, and environmental experts participated in the formation of a grassroots community action plan primarily targeting climate change. The conversations that took place were then consolidated into a Summary of Findings Report, which we hope will serve as a blueprint for residents and officials when crafting flood resilience policies.

Finally, with the last stretch of the Resilient Neighborhoods program in Suisun under this grant funding, we refocused on sharing education regarding flooding in Suisun and the Summary of Findings Report. The goal was to continue to bring as many voices to bear on the decision-making process. Sustainable Solano continued leading Flood Walks, installed a second climate-resilient garden, and facilitated a climate resilience community forum with then-Mayor Pro Tem Alma Hernandez. This forum served as the spiritual continuation of the 2021 festival, and gave the 15 participants the opportunity to directly engage in flood-related conversations with their government. The forum also contained an expert panel with representation from the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, UC Davis, and the Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District, that was able to answer questions participants raised.

High school interns learned how to lead informative Flood Walks
A garden installation taught about drought and flood resiliency

Climate Resilience Community Forum

While we are proud of the work SuSol has done to promote flood resilience in Suisun, we know that these past few years only represent the first step in true climate change preparedness. We hope to continue to conduct educational and community-building efforts in Suisun around flooding mitigation, and promote equitable and sustainable solutions for the city.

On behalf of Sustainable Solano, I would like to offer my deepest gratitude to PG&E and the Better Together Resilient Communities team for their guidance, patience and support in our efforts to build environmental resilience in Suisun City. Through our efforts enabled by PG&E’s backing, Sustainable Solano has helped Suisun undergo the first steps necessary to create a truly environmentally resilient community.

New Program in Fairfield Will Tackle Poor Air Quality

Aug 11, 2022

By Alex Lunine, Resilient Communities Program Manager

Interstate 80 cuts through Fairfield / Photo Credit: Tony Webster, Flickr

For too long, residents of Fairfield have had to shoulder a burden that, in large part, remains unseen by the naked eye — poor air quality. Despite its lack of visibility, this threat follows many residents in all aspects of their lives in the form of increased rates of asthma and higher rates of cardiovascular disease. This strain prevents children from playing outside, ruins family barbeques, and makes it harder for residents to connect and enjoy our community spaces. A new program from Sustainable Solano, with funding from the California Air Resources Board, invites you to join the grassroots movement to ensure everyone in Fairfield can breathe clean and safe air.

Being wedged between Interstate 80 and Highway 12, Fairfield is vulnerable to the pollutants produced by high volumes of traffic. Additionally, wildfires fill our air with dangerous smoke that can make simply going outside a risk to our health. Through the new air quality program, Sustainable Solano will collaborate with Fairfield residents through the establishment of a high school Youth Air Protectors Program and an extensive community outreach campaign.

The Youth Air Protectors program will assist Fairfield in reclaiming the clean air we all have a right to, inspiring a new generation of activists. High school students will have the opportunity to problem solve as a tight-knit team to tackle air pollution. Each team of up to 10 students will make a five-month commitment to the program, with the first group starting work this fall. Youth Air Protectors will be empowered to collect air quality data in Fairfield, analyze the sustainability of Fairfield’s urban planning, and reflect on how environmental hazards disproportionately impact different communities. Students will play a pivotal role in spreading air quality awareness in Fairfield and will help spearhead the movement for a more walkable and sustainable future. SuSol will share more information on how to apply for the Air Protectors program in the coming weeks.

We are excited to form bridges with Fairfield residents to forge a community-centered push for clean, breathable air. We hope to see collaborations with passionate Fairfield residents that will inspire widespread participation in clean air advocacy. In conjunction with the Youth Air Protectors, we will draw upon the needs of the community and will work with local leaders to provide beautification projects that can encourage more walking and biking, as opposed to driving. Finally, using direct community feedback and conversations, we will assist the people of Fairfield in constructing an Air Quality Action Plan that will serve as a blueprint for continued efforts in addressing air quality within the city and serve as a model for other cities.

The air quality program is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Fairfield needs active community members to make our city a safe, green, and beautiful community for all of us. If you are interested in becoming a sustainability leader – as a student or concerned resident – or if you have any questions, please reach out! I can be contacted directly via email at alex@sustainablesolano.org. I look forward to building a brighter Fairfield, together.

Youth Air Protectors Program

The program is a five-month commitment with priority given to Fairfield students, though open to any high school students in Solano County.

The program will

Create valuable leadership experiences;
Prepare you to effectively communicate the importance of sustainability;
Serve as a gateway for a future career in environmental science;
Provide impactful and engaging volunteer hours;
Offer a stipend for successfully completing the program.

Interested in joining the fall group? Contact alex@sustainablesolano.org 

Outgrowing Chicken Tenders

Jun 2, 2022

By Cecilia Abiva, St. Patrick-St. Vincent Catholic High School Graduate

Cecilia Abiva blossomed week after week in our six-week culinary class at St. Patrick-St. Vincent, gaining confidence, having fun and, as a senior in the group, stepping up as a sweet-natured leader bringing the boombox with music every week and oftentimes staying late to help with the dishes with her crew of friends. In the SuSol Youth Cooking Program, we seek to create spaces for young adults to explore their creativity in the kitchen while developing culinary skills they can use to feed themselves and their community. The program is rooted in the fresh food available from our local food system, and promotes health and community culture. Not every student will choose to become a chef, but we hope, like Cici, they will walk away empowered for their future path with a deep respect for where food comes from and an affinity for vegetables.

Cecilia Abiva, third from left, during cooking class

Like most kids, my diet consisted of only the crème de la crème: dinosaur chicken nuggets slathered in ketchup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and pineapples cut by my mom (and my mom only). While such comestibles provided adequate nourishment for a child whose days were filled with endless hours spent outside playing hopscotch in the warm sunshine or building castles in the living room with couch cushions and pillows, the contents of my stomach became a concern when my juvenile palate neglected to mature with the rest of my body. I was an 18-year-old who scoured every menu for anything that consisted of or bore a resemblance to chicken tenders.

Unfazed by the criticism of my family, who always managed to point out the contents of my plate during family dinners, I did not make any drastic changes to my diet until recently. Following the flurry of events that transpired during the first semester of my senior year, I found myself with an abundance of free time. Finally unfettered by the stress of finals, college applications, and being a candidate for homecoming royalty, I decided to add a new skill to my repertoire: cooking! I joined a culinary class offered by my school with a few friends. And as you can imagine, it was no easy feat. Although I had found success in the classroom as I am the valedictorian of my graduating class, being a student in the kitchen was a humbling experience. The extent of my culinary expertise at the beginning of my cooking adventure was limited to the use of a microwave. However, I faced an even bigger dilemma: Would I actually be eating the food that I was cooking?

On the first day of class, I cooked tofu stir fry with rice. The preparation of the meal went rather smoothly. Other than a few near mishaps with a knife and the flame on the kitchen stove, everyone walked out with all ten fingers and eyebrows intact. I sat at the table anxiously awaiting our meal. There was not a chicken tender or bottle of ketchup in sight. But the moment that I picked up my fork and reluctantly shoveled the concoction of onions, carrots, spinach, and celery into my mouth, my mouth curled up when I began to chew. It was pretty good! With just a little taste, my love for cooking came to fruition and it provided a new outlet to relieve my stress. And with a little bit of practice and patience, however, cooking became less daunting and more enjoyable. Being able to cook my own food and making an effort to eat sustainably also had a positive impact on my health. I also shared my affinity for cooking with my family as I became in charge of making Saturday night dinners. The sly looks that I once received at the dinner table were replaced with hearty laughter and the sound of our mouths voraciously eating our food.

Discovering this appreciation for cooking not only expanded my taste for food, but it also fostered an appetite for adventure and service for others … two traits that I hope to explore more at UC Berkeley. If admitted, I plan on continuing to nurture my culinary skills by joining the Cal Cooking Club while also exploring new ventures like taking part in the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Red Cross. I look forward to trying new things, ketchup or no ketchup.

Reflecting on the Youth Cooking Program

Lauren Gucik, Program Manager

As SuSol’s first year offering a Youth Cooking Program comes to a close, we can surely say that many meals were shared, lessons were learned, and the farmers and specialty crops of Solano Country were celebrated! We facilitated 5 unique courses with St. Patrick-St. Vincent (2 sessions), the Girl Scouts, 4-H of Solano, and the Benicia Teen Center. We spent hours in the kitchen developing culinary skills and exploring easy ways to enjoy healthy fresh food. During our farm field trips, students met with farmers and land stewards and saw firsthand where our food comes from and what it takes to feed the community. And at our final session, students planned and cooked for their own families, serving multiple dishes in a family-style gathering.

In the kitchen, students met regularly with local chefs to develop comfort preparing fresh easy recipes. We began with kitchen safety and knife training and introduced students to simple preparations such as sauteing, steaming, roasting, and making a simple vinaigrette. Each technique was paired with recipes that highlighted local foods grown in Solano. As the seasons changed, so did the recipes. Many students said their favorite part was working with the knives and learning the different ways you can cut and chop and how what lends best to different preparations. It was very inspiring to see how students blossomed throughout the course, gaining more confidence in themselves and their abilities in the kitchen. Their openness to trying new things was an inspiration.

At the close of each class, we dressed the tables with fabric and flowers and shared the meal they had just prepared, experiencing how everyone had the same ingredients but each group’s final dish tasted a little bit different as inevitably one group cooked the onions a little longer or someone was feeling extra spicy and added more pepper flakes. Even the shyest of students opened up around the table when our discussion turned to the food system at large. We spoke of the economic, ecological and community health benefits of supporting local farmers and shared maps of farm stands and CSAs available in their neighborhood. These conversations set the stage for our farm visits, where students picked strawberries in the field, hung out with chickens and lambs, and ate a farm fresh lunch outside with produce harvested right before their eyes. They had the opportunity to see firsthand the challenges and rewards of being a small scale responsible farmer in Solano County. One student even said “This is the best field trip of my life!” right before we encountered three large snakes on our path to the bus! The youth are as brave as they are inspiring!

In these classes, we focused on creating a future of health and wealth in our communities and for our planet. In addition to cultivating comfort in the kitchen for high schoolers, we aim to strengthen relationships between farmers and their communities and foster an authentic, lasting appreciation for fresh local food. By the final cooking session, students were ready to step up to plan the menu and cook for their friends and family members. They stood tall in their responsibility; providing for their community. It is our hope to expand this program to continue to instill this understanding of local, seasonal food in Solano youth, with the possibility of supporting a healthy meal service to bolster our local food economy and our collective immune system.

We are currently pursuing funding to continue working with youth in the kitchen and on the farm. Please contact lauren@sustainablesolano.org if you’d like to connect about future partnership opportunities.

Youth Environmental Leaders Seek to Shape a Better World, Starting at Home

Apr 25, 2022

By Allison Nagel, Program Manager

Environmental challenges and environmental justice issues can be overwhelming when first encountered. We are often left with a sense of hopelessness — we have a desire to do something, but not knowing quite what to do.

People often say the future lies in the hands of the next generation. That today’s youth will need to shape change and address environmental issues that previous generations have neglected or worsened.

That’s a heavy load to lay on the shoulders of youth — an unfair burden. But I am heartened by Solano youth who have taken it upon themselves to shape change, starting within their own communities.
We’ve just completed SuSol’s first two Youth Environmental Leadership Fellowships. The program delved into environmental and social justice issues faced by the world today and looked at environmental and health challenges within our own communities.

The high school students who participated in these programs are thoughtful, conscientious people who see the challenges ahead and are eager to find ways to improve themselves, their communities and the world. They are ready to meet those challenges and move beyond to a world that works for everyone.

Fellowship participants started with the foundation of Pachamama Alliance’s Awakening the Dreamer program for a global perspective, studied the One Planet Living framework for a systemic approach to sustainability and principles that can inform personal actions as well as organizational decisions, and then studied local environmental data to drive conversation around what the challenges are within our own neighborhoods and wider communities.

The Fellowship participants also came together for hands-on workshops that offered some research experience and personal connection with mitigation projects, from trees that cool our urban landscapes and improve air quality, to community gardens that make our landscapes more environmentally friendly and our food supply more stable.

They drew on what they had learned and their own interests and passions to create public presentations that addressed specific challenges and some of the individual, community and policy actions that could be taken to address these. Presentation topics (click on the links below to see the slides from each presentation):

Youth Environmental Leadership Fellowship Slideshow

2022 Youth Environmental Leadership Fellowships

Seventeen participants completed the Fellowships this April. We were grateful for the partner organizations and funding agencies that made these Fellowship programs rich and meaningful.
I want to offer special thanks to Alli McCabe, a Benicia High School student who volunteered her time, insight and community connections to help develop, promote and support the Fellowship program.

In Benicia, where there were 13 participants, organizations gave of their time and expertise to support the hands-on activities of students in this program. The Benicia Tree Foundation led two tree planting and tree care days, one at the Lake Herman Open Space and one for a tree planting project at Matthew Turner Elementary School, which opened its campus for the project and even had students who were passionate about trees there to plant with the Fellowship participants. The EBAYS program (East Bay Academy for Young Scientists) through Lawrence Hall of Science led the participants in how to collect and analyze soil samples and how to interpret and share the results. We had Benicia Council Members Lionel Largaespada and Christina Strawbridge and the city’s sustainability coordinator join the group for one of their meetings for a discussion around the environment and civic action. Ron Kane supported tremendously as a program volunteer, and we’re grateful to Republic Services, which provided lunches for each of the hands-on workshops. The Benicia program was funded through the second amendment to the Valero/Good Neighbor Steering Committee Settlement Agreement.

The Central Solano program had four participants. We are grateful to Solano County, which supported the Fellowship through the Solano Gardens program. Two of the hands-on workshop days for this Fellowship were held at Parkway Plaza, a retirement home in Fairfield. It was moving to see how the youth participants connected with the residents while helping with the garden. Vacaville City Council Member Michael Silva joined one of the group’s meetings to discuss making your voice heard in local government decisions. Solano Gardens Program Manager Michael Wedgley led informative planting sessions for this group and led both Benicia and Central Solano participants in a soil biology workshop at the Benicia Community Orchard. Sustainable landscaper Scott Dodson provided guidance and plant knowledge during the Parkway Plaza workshops for the Central Solano program, and Sylvia Herrera connected one of the students at Armijo High with the garden program for her hands-on activities.

Benicia Fellowship participants
Central Solano Fellowship participants

Through these Fellowships, I was able to learn a lot about what creates meaningful experiences for our youth participants and what could be improved. I appreciate all of the passion and dedication that participants in both of these groups displayed in their commitment to the program. I know how busy many of the participants were, but they carved time out of their schedules for weekly online meetings and the hands-on workshops and final presentations.

This experience will help to shape how Sustainable Solano will engage high school youth going forward. We plan to base future internships across our different programs on the foundation of the Fellowship activities that grounded us in looking at global and local environmental challenges and actions we can take in our own lives, in our communities and in advocating for policy change.

Many of the Fellowship participants asked about ways to stay involved and active around the environmental issues that speak the most to them. We are inviting those Fellowship participants who want to continue their involvement and dedication to a better future to help us create SuSol’s Youth Leadership Council. This council will give Solano youth an ongoing voice around youth engagement within the organization and to step forward as changemakers within their communities.

I look forward to sharing more with you as the council takes shape in the coming months.

New Program to Focus on Air Quality in Fairfield

Feb 25, 2022

Sustainable Solano Awarded 3-Year, $260,000 Community Air Grant

By Sustainable Solano

Photo credit: Visit Fairfield

A new program that will focus on air quality concerns, causes and solutions will help Fairfield residents to address air pollution within the community.

Sustainable Solano was recently awarded a $260,000 Community Air Grant that will support the planning and implementation of this new program over the next three years. The goal of the program will be to build public awareness around air pollution, its environmental causes and health effects, and engage community members in ways to monitor and mitigate air pollution on an individual and community scale. It will launch later this spring.

“From the crosswinds to the local environmental conditions, poor air quality impacts the population of Fairfield greatly,” Sustainable Solano Executive Director Elena Karoulina said, citing the grant and highlighting its importance. “Our goal is to increase public awareness and strengthen community capacity to monitor and respond to air quality issues in real time with help of local youth leaders.”

The program will engage high school youth leaders through a Youth Air Protectors program. These youth will research the air quality challenges for their communities, create outreach campaigns and support community-based projects centered around air quality. The program also will increase the number of air monitors in and around Fairfield, and will build community resilience through air quality mitigation projects, such as planting trees or improving community spaces to make them more appealing for foot and bike transportation.

Ultimately, the youth involved in the program will create an air quality plan for the City of Fairfield that incorporates what they have learned through research and community engagement and could set the foundation for future air quality improvement projects. This plan could serve as a model for other Solano County communities, as well as the greater region.

Sustainable Solano was one of 33 community organizations and five Native American Tribes that received a total of $10 million in grant funding from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for projects that would help reduce air pollution in communities.

The Community Air Grants program is part of CARB’s overall efforts to implement Assembly Bill 617. Community Air Grants are designed to establish a community-focused approach to improving air quality and reducing exposure to toxic air pollutants at the neighborhood level. AB 617 is unique in that it requires CARB and air districts to work with residents, businesses and other stakeholders to tackle air pollution at the community scale. The current grants elevate community voices and their specific priorities regarding air pollution where they live.

As a result, the projects funded will help communities identify areas with the most harmful air emissions and then take actions to reduce exposure or address the underlying cause of the pollution.

“The Community Air Grants provided by CARB are an important tool to help residents and Tribal communities throughout the state identify and combat the harmful effects of local air pollution — and create a cleaner environment for their families,” said CARB Chair Liane Randolph.

Read more from CARB’s press release about the Community Air Grants program and find additional resources here: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/carb-awards-10-million-grants-dozens-communities-statewide-fight-air-pollution

 

About Sustainable Solano

Sustainable Solano is a countywide nonprofit organization that is dedicated to “Nurturing Initiatives for the Good of the Whole.” The organization brings together programs that support and sustain one another and the Solano County community. Initiatives include sustainable landscaping, local food, resilient neighborhoods, youth leadership, sustaining conversations and community gardens.

For more information, visit sustainablesolano.org

About CARB

CARB is the lead agency in California for cleaning up the air and fighting climate change to attain and maintain health-based air quality standards. Its mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through the effective reduction of air and climate pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy.