Youth Leadership & Workforce Development
What is Youth Leadership & Workforce Development?
Through our youth leadership and workforce development programs, we work to guide and inspire students to understand sustainability principles and gain practical skills through hands-on projects that can help shape their decisions about further study, careers and as future leaders.
These programs foster skills that can provide steady employment, improve local communities and restore the environment. We are moving forward with establishing a comprehensive program for high school students aligned with leadership skills, hands-on training and certification, and have started an adult education program for those looking to build professional sustainable landscaping skills.
The goal is to guide and inspire students to live happy and healthy lives within the environmental capacity of one planet, to develop an understanding of sustainability principles and equip them with practical skills to make a difference while preparing them for the next green economy.
174
Youth Internship Participants
34
Professional & Adult Ed participants
Youth Engagement
High school students can participate in a number of internship opportunities through our programs.
Youth Cooking Program
Teens learn basic kitchen skills and recipes and the value of supporting their local food system.
2022 PDC
(September 2022-February 2023)
Develop a broad understanding of permaculture and design in a program combining class work with hands-on learning.
DIY Sustainable Design
A four-part garden design series to create a sustainable, resilient landscape.
Additional Resources
News and Updates
Students Take Pride in Connecting with Local Food in Pilot Program
The goal of Sustainable Solano’s Youth Cooking pilot program is to teach Solano youth the foundational principles of cooking with fresh, local, seasonal food in the context of a local food system. The first group from St. Patrick-St. Vincent Catholic High School has shown a whole new reality of the impact this program can have on our next generation.
Reflections on Environmental Injustice Research & Shaping New Fellowship Program
Allison McCabe is a rising Benicia High School junior and passionate about environmental science. She won this year’s Solano County Science and Engineering Fair with her research on toxins found in soil samples in Benicia and Vallejo — research she undertook to examine environmental justice issues in Solano County. We are excited to be working with her to shape Sustainable Solano’s environmental justice fellowship in Benicia for the coming school year.
Conversation Circles Program Creates New Opportunities and Environmental Resources
While the Conversation Circles program in Central Solano (formerly the Listening Circles program) has come to the end of its grant term, our commitment to increase the understanding of environmental issues that affect Solano communities is ongoing.