If California is to meet its ambitious climate goals, education and youth engagement cannot be treated as afterthoughts. It must be a central strategy. The Santa Clara County Youth Climate Initiative is a promising, replicable model for developing a regional ecosystem that efficiently reaches and engages more youth than a single organization or agency could alone.
California must continue investing in youth climate initiatives like these to reach our climate goals and prepare the next generation to lead. Here’s what we learned from the process, and the impact we made together.
The Vision: Building an Ecosystem for Youth Climate Action
In 2023, the Santa Clara County Office of Sustainability and Resilience (SCOOSR) faced a pivotal opportunity. Backed by a $2 million grant from the California Natural Resources Agency—a victory made possible by Senator Dave Cortese—the county sought to advance youth engagement in climate literacy and action. However, rather than directing these funds to a single organization or a siloed project, SCOOSR envisioned something more ambitious: strengthening the entire ecosystem of youth-serving partners across the region.
Ten Strands’ technical assistance team provided strategic facilitation and interim staffing to engage school districts, community-based organizations, and government agencies in achieving that vision.
The Foundation: Aligning on Goals
Santa Clara County Youth Climate Initiative (SCCYCI) emerged through a structured discovery process. We supported mapping existing programs and surfacing partners who were ready for deeper collaboration.
What we found was a county rich in opportunity but in need of alignment. We brought partners together from various organizations to form an alliance, and facilitated discussions to help them identify four strategic pillars to guide their collective work:
- Youth-Informed Assessment: Ensuring students are co-architects of the climate policies that affect them.
- Leadership and Civic Engagement: Providing pathways for students to move from learning to action
- Climate Literacy and Educator Capacity: Supporting teachers and informal educators to integrate climate related topics and issues into solutions-oriented learning.
- Career Awareness: Building the bridge to the emerging green economy.
The Impact: Youth and Educators Flourish
Over three distinct phases, the initiative moved from exploration to formal implementation. Core Alliance partners—including Acterra, Climate Resilient Communities, Community Agency for Resources Advocacy and Services (C.A.R.A.S.), Fremont Union High School District, San Jose Conservation Corps, Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE), Santa Clara Unified School District, Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, and Tenacious Group—launched coordinated pilot projects. The projects focused on youth leadership for climate action, climate literacy in 9th–12th grade curriculum, and pathways to climate-focused careers, including:
- Focus groups to uncover whether youth were learning about environmental issues in school or aware of careers in sustainability
- Outdoor field trips for students in Sunnyvale, Alviso, Alum Rock, and Eastside San Jose, such as a visit to Jasper Ridge ‘Ootchamin ‘Ooyakma Biological Preserve in partnership with Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability to learn about the role of academic and scientific research in advocacy
- Earth Day events hosted by Fremont Union High School District featuring 70 youth-driven projects and 400 student presenters on innovative solutions for local and global climate issues
- The creation of five green teams at Santa Clara Unified School District with over 65 students working on sustainability initiatives, such as waste audits and greenhouse development
- Working with students on education and outreach initiatives to nearby cities and organizations to drive participation in local environmental events
The results demonstrate the power of this “connective tissue” model. By March 2026, SCCYCI generated more than 7,200 youth impact moments, ranging from internships and summits to community focus groups. Simultaneously, 200 educators were engaged through various professional learning opportunities, ensuring that climate-aligned instruction is embedded in the county’s educational infrastructure.
“Throughout this project, I’ve seen so many youth flourish in their leadership skills and their initiative to actually want to participate in these conversations, to participate in leading certain climate opportunities.”
–Jesse Santos: Community Agency for Resources Advocacy and Services (C.A.R.A.S.)
“It’s helping us build a pipeline of climate leaders for the next generation.” –Christine Zack: Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action (SVYCA)
“We found that some organizations are great with the literacy and science aspect. And other organizations are really strong working in communities, and with connecting. What we were able to create was a real connection to people, utilizing incredible knowledge and literacy. This wasn’t just a one-time thing. You’re seeing the seeding and now some growth and that I’m excited about.” –Adam Ybarra: Tenacious Group
The SCCYCI model proves that scaling youth climate opportunity is less about replicating individual programs and more about strengthening the regional ecosystems that support a diverse range of opportunities.
What’s Next: A Model for the State
The success of SCCYCI offers a clear roadmap for other regions who are ready to expand youth climate engagement. Although the initial grant period has concluded, the work continues. SCCOE and Acterra have committed to ongoing backbone leadership, sustaining the monthly coordination and spearheading shared fundraising efforts established during the pilot.
This transition from a grant-funded project to a self-sustaining regional alliance is a victory for the field. It proves that when we invest in the connective infrastructure of an ecosystem, the impact outlasts the funding cycle.
If the Santa Clara County Youth Climate Initiative inspires you, we encourage you to:
- Share this story with education and youth-serving organizations in your region to spark a conversation.
- Read the full case study to get more details on how the collaboration worked.
Contact Ten Strands’ Technical Assistance team to explore how to bring this model to your region.
