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
Permaculture Design Course Graduates 12 in Benicia
Solano County’s first Permaculture Design Certificate course wrapped up on April 10, with 12 students presenting their capstone design projects and receiving their PDC certificates. It was powerful to see how this group used what they had learned to shape plans for four very different projects.
Get Back in the Garden: 2021 Garden Tour Reimagined!
Time in any garden is well spent, and we invite you to spend time in a local garden on April 24 for our Annual Demonstration Food Forest Garden tour in Benicia and Vallejo.
Vital Cycles Brings Permaculture Instruction to Solano County
Permaculture educators Anne Freiwald and Lydia Neilsen talk permaculture and working with soil, water, plants and community.