1. SanDiego350’s Youth4Climate Summer Camp
2. Assembly Bill 345 Post Mortem
3. Members of the Month: A Youth Perspective
4. Discussing a Just Recovery from COVID-19
5. Upcoming Events
6. Exciting Volunteer Opportunities!
7. In the News

SanDiego350 recently launched the Youth4Climate (Y4C) Summer Camp to introduce climate activism techniques while allowing campers to discover their people, power, and passion. Designed for high school and college-level students, Y4C was first conceived in May, during the initial COVID lockdown, and is currently halfway through its second session of the 2020 Summer. The planning team consists of a diverse group of adult and youth volunteers, with each separate committee spearheaded by at least one youth activist responsible for administering weekly meetings and delegating tasks to other committee members.

The curriculum development team, led by Kate Vedder, develops the goals and weekly content, as well as the assigned projects, discussion questions, challenges, and journal prompts. Managed by Izzy Lee, the production team produces educational webinars and complementary promotional videos. Meanwhile, Adelka Hancova’s promotional team generates social media content and supplementary materials. Meisha Meyers and Alexa Castruita, youth volunteers, and Jennifer Phelps, an adult volunteer, organize the Sunday meetings as the leaders of the overall coordination and volunteer coordination team.

By the official start date for Session 1 (June 29, 2020), 39 individuals had registered. Each camper began the 4-week session with a welcome packet. The packets were designed with each detail thoughtfully considered, down to the 100% recyclable packaging. In each packet, campers discovered SD350’s custom DIY Handbook - “Fight like a climate activist”, as well as “sneak-peeks” of the week ahead, from positive energy tea to herbaceous plant clippings. Certain items in the welcome packet symbolized an aspect of how we as humans are connected to the Earth. Guided emotional resilience exercises, inspired by Joana Macy’s teachings, empowered campers to use their connections to each other and to the Earth to channel passion toward climate activism. The exercise included deep breathing and a focus on self-compassion.

Youth are often susceptible to burnout, facing many stress-inducing pressures of contemporary life alongside the ordinary difficulties of coming of age. The primary goal of Y4C is to help youth climate activists find their place within the movement. For that reason, the content design team placed extra emphasis on emotional resilience. Another key goal of Y4C is to cultivate an environment in which campers can build a network of relationships. Y4C wants young climate activists to know that they are not alone—that their voice is heard—and intentionally connects them with peer activists.

Kate Vedder, a rising senior at Point Loma High School, stated that, “It is so amazing to be surrounded by passionate activists and to be in this community the camp has created. This camp is extremely empowering and has shown me how to be the best climate activist I can be!”

Alexa Castruita, a rising junior at Hilltop High School in Chula Vista, wrote that, “joining the planning group and actually being a part of the camp has opened up my eyes to so many perspectives on the world and has helped me develop more empathy for people. The camp is an amazing way to learn and advance in your education of important issues.”

Session 2 kicked off in early August and includes roughly 50 campers from 6 states. We will do what we can to continue the momentum in these unprecedented times, knowing that we are all in this together.

Explore Y4C: Website; Instagram; Youtube.

Despite our best efforts, last week Assembly Bill 345 died in committee. We stood proudly with groups like Mothers Out Front, California Environmental Justice Alliance and NRDC to support AB 345, which would have required a public health buffer between oil extraction sites and the communities living, working, attending school, and playing near them. Over 5 million Californians—overwhelming people of color—live within a mile of drilling sites. Proximity to drilling has been shown to result in respiratory illnesses and high risk pregnancies.

Why did the bill fail? Though Democrats control both houses in the California legislature, building trade unions side with oil companies on extraction, making bills like this—even though it had been watered down from its original version—hard to pass. We were especially disappointed with Senator Ben Hueso’s vote against the bill after our members called and wrote to him repeatedly asking him to support it.

Read the press statement by SanDiego350 and Mothers Out Front CA and coverage in the LA Times and KPBS.

View graphics supporting AB 345 by SD350’s Youth v. Oil team. The graphic used for this story was created by SD350 student volunteer Kate Vedder.

This month, SanDiego350 has selected three Youth Volunteers as the Members of the Month. Each helped coordinate and run the Youth4Climate (Y4C) Summer Camp—currently in its second session of the 2020 Summer—to help teens get more involved with the policy and outreach necessary to mitigate climate injustices in their communities.

Our three members of the month are: Megan Phelps, Claudia (Alexa) Castruita, and Isabelle (Izzy) Lee. The interview that follows has been lightly edited for clarity.

How did you get involved with SD350 and when was that?

Megan: I got involved with SD350 when helping contribute to the Fight Like a Climate Activist Handbook that my mom (Jennifer Phelps) was writing last year, having had experience from a climate action club at UC Davis. I then contributed to the Youth Summit this past spring. My heavy involvement really started with the Y4C Summer Camp!

Alexa: I first became involved with SD350 when I attended the Youth Climate Summit in my freshman year of high school in 2019. Recently, I became further involved when I joined the Youth Climate Leader weekly calls and eventually the Y4C Summer Camp Planning Team.

Izzy: I’ve been involved with SD350 for a couple of months now. During quarantine, I’ve been able to explore and pursue my interests more deeply. After learning more about climate change, I was determined to join a climate action organization, and I’m glad I found SD350!

What drives your activism?

Megan: My concern for the lives of people around the world and the biosphere that will be impacted by the destruction of climate change gives my activism purpose and meaning. I am also equally motivated by the people in the climate movement and the feeling that I can be creative in my activism, which makes it more fun and interesting!

Alexa: My activism is driven by the feeling that, although as a Latina I represent a group who experience various disadvantages, I still have privilege and owe it to my Latinx community and all other BIPOC communities to use it to my advantage by using my own voice and by amplifying those of others who don’t have a platform to speak for themselves.

Izzy: Coming from a pretty conservative background, I never really gave much thought about activism. However, when I joined SD350, I realized that activism is a form of expression that allows us to show our passion about a particular issue. My views have now changed, and I hope that others will join us in the climate movement as we fight for a more sustainable future!

What is your role within the Y4C Summer Camp, and how has this experience helped develop your leadership as a youth climate activist?

Megan: I have worked on the content team—developing videos and weekly challenges—and helping to put on the weekly live sessions, parties, and socials. This experience has given me hope to see how strong, capable, inspired, and creative young people are. It’s a relief and an inspiration to see how the campers take the challenges and run with them, creating beautiful and meaningful art, research, and PSAs!

Alexa: My role in the Y4C Summer Camp is as one of the co-leaders of the Overall Coordination team, which oversaw the work of the other teams in a way; it definitely taught me more about my capabilities as a leader, and pushed me to be more responsible and thoughtful of others.

Izzy: As a member of the planning team, I’ve been helping to prepare the Y4C Summer Camp for the past couple of months. I’m also the leader of the Production Team and a member of the Promotion Team. This has shown me how powerful and effective our own voices can be in the climate movement.

Within a week of joining SanDiego350, I found we were hosting a panel discussion on a just recovery from COVID-19. I myself have been confronting these questions and feeling daunted by the enormity and complexity of our current and future systemic challenges.

The Facebook Live discussion brought together a diverse group of experts: Rebecca Rojas (SD350 Board Member), Dr. Kyra Greene (Center on Policy Initiatives), Sonja Robinson (NAACP and SUN Radio Show host), Carolina Martínez (Environmental Health Coalition), and Dr. Amrah Salomón (Writer, Artist, Educator, and Activist for Indigenous and Tribal communities). Panelists contributed their expertise in policy initiatives, climate justice, environmental health, and Indigenous and tribal communities, to address issues and opportunities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 has given us an unfortunate but important opportunity to grapple with the potential economic and societal reorganization presented by this moment. The communities most directly affected by COVID-19 are the very same ones most affected by the climate crisis, social injustice, racism, economic injustice, and other adverse public health injustices. So, a truly just recovery from COVID-19 must address these intersecting issues.

The panelists asked the audience to grapple with questions such as:

• How has the San Diego tourism economy exploited land and people?
• How do we build a future for those who have historically been denied a future?
• How can we shift to creating non-oppressive relationships between communities?

What would a just recovery look like and how do we get there?

The panel reminded us that while “recovery” implies a return to a previous state, the prior economic status quo was not healthy or just for all. Rather, we must re-imagine an economy with sustainable climate opportunities focused on communities of color. Moving forward, the needs and opinions of our frontline communities should be considered in the solution. As we restructure, we must engage with and listen to these community members.

To do so, we must be bold and push the dialog for regional change. Panelists suggested working with, and financially supporting, social movements based on intersectionality on both local and national issues.

How can we as climate activists use this discussion to become engaged and effect change?

The panelists’ knowledge and experience were not only extensive and impressive, but I was most appreciative of their wisdom to ask questions of the audience and to ask us to be active participants. As to how we, as climate activists, can take action, the panel reinforced the importance of actions such as lobbying, petitioning, and voting.

This work is not new. This moment simply feels new in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. We must always continue working toward a reimagined society and economy that eradicates the injustices felt by underserved communities. The resounding remarks from the Just Recovery Panel tell us that recovery cannot be a return to previous conditions. Instead, a true just recovery must redesign a new normal that supports communities at the forefront of current environmental, racial, economic, societal and health injustices.

When: Tuesday, August 18th, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Where: Zoom (virtual)
What: We're excited to welcome high school and college age climate leaders to discuss: the Youth4Climate virtual Summer Camp program, student participation in the camp and the youth leader's main takeaways, and youth's work on direct actions that can be taken to address climate issues. Attendees will also learn about the upcoming youth fellowship program that SanDiego350 is putting on in the fall.

If you have PR or communications experience—or if you’d like to learn—contact us about volunteering with our communications team. You will help:

• Develop consistent messaging for SanDiego350 and reach more people with our messages.
• Create powerful social media posts, emails, news releases, website content, and videos.
• Develop and manage relationships with local news media.
• Train SD350 volunteers and teams on these skills.

If you enjoy creating a welcoming environment for others and connecting about Climate Action—contact us to volunteer with our Member Engagement Team. You will help:

• Reach out to new members of SanDiego350 and help them feel welcomed into our community
  
• Assist with planning the content and activities of Monthly Membership Meetings
  
• Develop content that helps new members learn more about SanDiego350
  

For all volunteer opportunities, please email Zoe at Zoe@SanDiego350.org.

• California oil production limits stall in Legislature, leaving the issue to Newsom (The La Times)
• Faulconer goes ahead with potential bidding on new San Diego franchise agreement ‘in the coming weeks’ (The Union Tribune)
  
• Greenland's ice sheet has melted to a point of no return, according to new study (CNN)
• Baghdad’s record heat offers glimpse of world’s climate change future (The Washington Post)
• Trump Administration Abandons Obama-Era Curbs on Methane Leaks (Bloomberg Green)
• Kumeyaay Tribes Seek Pause in Border Wall Construction to Save Cultural Sites (Times of San Diego)