Connecting with Delta communities and youth is crucial for building advocates who understand the Bay-Delta estuary and its importance for local communities and wildlife. Restore the Delta attends various community-based events in the surrounding Delta region throughout the year. We share vital information about the history and health of the Bay-Delta, program and project updates for our organization, and promote effective mitigation efforts to protect the Bay-Delta’s ecosystem and its communities.
Our goal is to bring community and the next generation of Bay-Delta estuary leaders together to ensure that our collective future is protected, for everyone.
The Estuary Youth Council is a pilot program created by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP) focusing on environmental/climate leadership development for BIPOC youth from frontline communities in the Bay-Delta region. To fully envision and implement this program, SFEP recruited three community-based organizations from across the Bay-Delta to serve on the Advisory Committee: Restore the Delta, Mycelium Youth Network, and Nuestra Casa. The program launched in July, with Restore the Delta recruiting three youth from Stockton with various academic backgrounds and interests.
The Estuary Youth Council program lead with the first Summer Session in San Francisco to learn about the “Living Sea Wall Project” from the Port of San Francisco, it followed with the second Summer Session taking place in Stockton along the San Joaquin River to learn about water quality and how to test for harmful cyanobacteria using test kits that identify microcystins, and concluded the Summer Sessions with a tour of the Alviso Salt Ponds on a pontoon boat learning about environmental restoration in the area. The Estuary Youth Council’s long-term project is aiding in the State of the Estuary Conference resulting in planning a concurrent session as a group, engaging in outreach for panelists and a moderator, and conducting research on the topic they’re focusing on.
Not only is this program for leadership development in these environmental spheres, but it’s also exposing them to green spaces, discussing what academic and career opportunities align with the work they’re interested in for professional development, and fostering community across regions and building solidarity surrounding the topics and issues the Estuary Youth Council have learned about with their peers.
Deborah, one of Restore the Delta’s Estuary Youth Council members, said this about the program, “[The Estuary Youth Council] has allowed me to access green spaces that are not available in my community. I am glad I have an opportunity to grow my skills to implement spaces like those visited in the future.”