2022 Summit | BAYCS

BAYCS 2022

The 3rd annual Bay Area Youth Climate Summit was on September 24th, 2022

by the World Affairs Center in San Francisco.

3rd Annual Bay Area Youth Climate Summit

Saturday, September 24th, 2022

On September 24th, we hosted the 3rd annual Bay Area Youth Climate Summit at the San Francisco World Affairs Center! Over 85 youth, educators, & climate leaders from the Bay Area and beyond attended. The summit included fun, educational workshops, an inspiring keynote speaker community-building with other youth, environmental art activities, and climate action plan building.

Location:

Keynote Speaker

Permission to Lead

Keynote By: Jackie Fielder (she/her)

Jackie Fielder is a California politician, climate activist, and public leader of Native American and Latin descent. In 2020, she made an inspiring run for the California State Senate, garnering 191,000 votes. Jackie ran on an Indigenous Wildfire Task Force, a Green New Deal for CA, a $100 billion Housing Emergency Fund, police accountability, single-payer healthcare, and more. After her 2020 campaign, she launched a grassroots Political Action Committee called Daybreak PAC to support other corporate-free candidates running for seats in the CA Legislature.

Jackie founded the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition (SFPBC), a volunteer and grassroots organization. The SFPBC aims to educate citizens on the social and economic adversative results the local government account for while advocating for the construction of a public bank that promotes social, racial, environmental, and economic equity. As of now, Jackie continues to organize with SFPBC to establish the first municipal public bank in the U.S. and as a commissioner, works with community advocates to oversee San Francisco's transition to renewable and community-owned power. Jackie lives on Ramaytush Ohlone Land in San Francisco and is a citizen of the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota.

Workshops & Speakers

Check out our many different workshops and speakers!

Morning Workshops

Conserving Pollinators through Habitats, Plants, and Agriculture

with Kelly Rourke, executive director at Pollinator Partnership

A half of the world's oils, fibers, and raw materials would not exist without the power of pollinators! In this workshop, guests learned about their mission to promote the health of pollinators which are critical to food and ecosystems through conservation, education, and research with projects all over North America and globally. The Pollinator Partnership work with diverse groups of local, regional, and national governments, universities, and corporations working together for pollination protection.

Systems of Oppression & Environmentalism

with Katherine Lee, Asian Pacific Environment Network's Richmond Youth Organizer

APEN is a local environmental group that brings people together to fight for the environment, amplifying minority voices. This workshop discussed the different systems of oppression in relation to environmental justice and how you can play a role to maximize your impact through education & action. Guests learned about APEN's local organizing work all around the Bay Area!

Sustainable Shareholding

with Daniel Stewart, Manager of As You Sow’s Energy & Climate Program

Being an Empowered Shareholder and Making Your Money Work for the Climate.

A look at some of the work and tools As You Sow uses as an investor representative to move large companies to improve their climate-related performance.

Restoring the Valley

with Spreck Rosekrans, recognized as an expert in water system operations and planning by the California legislature

Guests learned how Yosemite Valley’s lost twin, Hetch Hetchy, a majestic glacier-carved valley with towering cliffs and waterfalls, can be returned to its natural splendor - an untamed place where river and wildlife run free, a new kind of national park. Creating another Yosemite will require San Francisco to invest in new water storage using methods that other California cities are successfully implementing. Convincing City Hall to make the necessary changes is both a challenge and an opportunity that will require popular support from Bay Area youth.

Afternoon Workshops

Youth vs. Apocalypse: Poetry Writing to Heal

with Aniya Butler, organizer from Youth vs. Apocalypse

The climate justice movement requires a lot of mental, physical, and emotional energy from us. This spoken word workshop served as a space for guestss to focus on healing from this work through creative writing and discussions. Guests discussed the struggles we face in the climate justice movement and steps to take to create a healthy routine to promote restoring and healing.

Stewarding Fire-Adapted Ecosystems

with Hannah Lopez, Operational Logistics Manager for the Fire Forward

The North Bay Area of California contains a diversity of ecosystems that span oak woodlands, coastal prairies, and redwood forests. In addition to the wide variety of flora and fauna that cover these landscapes, each community—as a result of a millennia of stewardship by indigenous people using cultural fire— has specific adaptations to, and relies upon, fire as a natural disturbance to maintain overall ecosystem health and structure. By understanding these fire adaptations and relationships, land stewards and fire practitioners can implement prescribed burns that meet multiple objectives, including invasive species management, fuel reduction, and improving ecosystem health and vigor.

How to Successfully Mobilize for Climate Action

with Zoe Jonick & Nik Evasco, Youth Climate Organizers

This workshop was a conversation about mobilizing around climate actions, especially as youth organizers, as well as a workshop on holding digital mobilization meetings that make an impact. In this interactive workshop, guests wrote emails and made calls and social media posts for climate action ideas!

The Past, Present, and Future of Wildfires

with Xochitl Montano, member of TURN

The Utility Reform Network believes in accessibility to electricity, gas, and phone service for all and wants to hold big energy and phone companies accountable for their environmentally destructive practices. Specifically, T.U.R.N. has been involved in PG&E wildfire accountability. This workshop presented a timeline of wildfires, showing how wildfire mitigation planning has become more urgent because of climate change, along with how PG&E has been responsible for many California wildfires.

The Intersection of the Climate Crisis and Healthcare

with Taryn Sirias, third-year medical student at UCSF

Climate Health Now is an organization fighting for the protection of health and health equity through climate action. In this workshop, Taryn Sirias, a third-year medical student at UCSF and Climate Health Now member, presented on the worsening health impacts of the climate crisis and what we can do. Possible focuses include policies such as the US Call to Action on Climate Change and Health, climate related health issues in the Bay Area, the disproportionate impact of climate change on disadvantaged communities’ health, and climate change as it relates to mental health.

Lunch Activities

climate breakout sessions & art-making activities

Mural Painting

Button Making

Phone Banking & Letter Writing

Clothing Swap

Schedule

a quick look at what the day included

9:30 - 10:00

Arrival & Check-In

Head to the World Affairs Building's main entrance and find our check-in table to get your schedule.

10:00-11:30

Opening Session & Keynote

Join us for an introduction, group activity, and hear from our inspiring keynote speaker: Jackie Fielder!

11:30-12:30

Workshop Session #1

Attend the workshop in your schedule to learn from an amazing local climate organization/speaker.

12:30-2:00

Lunch & Activities

Eat lunch (or go out and grab some) and check out the many amazing and interactive lunch activities!

2:00-3:00

Workshop Session #2

Head to your second workshop of the day to learn a different aspect of climate activism.

3:00-3:20

Closing!

Join us back in the main auditorium for a fun Kahoot, raffle drawing, and closing!