At Ten Strands, we believe change is strongest when it’s woven together. Our work connects education, environment, and community, and young people are at the heart of that connection. Our youth programs exist to foster the next generation of changemakers leading climate action across California.
We take a whole systems approach to youth leadership. Lasting change happens when students understand how their campus, school board, community, and state all fit together. Our programs help young people gather real data about their schools, turn what they find into solutions, and bring those ideas to the decision makers who can act on them. Along the way, they build leadership skills, confidence, and connections to keep leading long after a program ends.
Explore our programs below and meet the young leaders shaping a more sustainable California.
The California Youth Climate Policy (CYCP) Leadership Program
A collaboration between the Sierra Club, Ten Strands, and UndauntedK12, the CYCP Leadership Program empowers high school students to drive climate action in their schools. Students move from knowledge to action, learning how education policy is made and how to influence it. They then put that learning to work by leading campaigns to pass or strengthen climate policies in their schools and districts, helping create lasting change in California’s education system.
Meet a Changemaker
Aahaan Jain
Aahaan’s work grew from concerns about air pollution and the environmental burdens some communities face. He founded ConServe, a youth-led nonprofit focused on air pollution, and turned to school district policy as a path for climate action. Through CYCP Cohort 3, he developed a districtwide campaign around environmental literacy and climate action, building a coalition and refining policy language.
Meet a Changemaker
Mahi Mekala
Mahi’s CYCP Cohort 3 campaign moved from a solar energy focus to zero waste after she adapted the program materials to her private school setting. The profile describes partnerships across her school and three community centers, and a campaign that supported compostable alternatives to plastic. It reports about 70,000 compostables used in place of plastic.
Meet a Changemaker
Raymond Li
Raymond’s CYCP Cohort 3 project explored renewable energy use in San Ramon Valley schools. He researched district charging infrastructure and developed a proposal to install electric vehicle charging stations across district schools. Mentors helped him evaluate constraints, including funding, and prepare to present the project to district leaders.
California Youth Environmental Data (CYED) Leadership Program
The CYED Leadership Program empowers California high school students in grades 9 through 12 to become community scientists and environmental data leaders. In this statewide co-curricular program, students assess environmental conditions and climate action on their own school campuses through guided, data-driven projects. They meet twice a month in virtual sessions, conduct fieldwork at their school sites, and create a School Environmental and Climate Action Baseline Report and a case study presentation. Along the way, students build skills in data literacy, systems thinking, and civic leadership while contributing real data that supports climate-ready school policy.
Summer Student Internship Opportunities
Ten Strands offers summer internships that give students hands-on experience supporting environmental and climate action in California schools. Interns work on real projects in data analysis, research, synthesis, and communications, gathering and analyzing data, conducting research, and helping with outreach. Each internship is a chance for students to grow their skills and explore their interests while contributing to our work, in an experience built on our commitment to equity and inclusion.
