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BAYCS 2025
Our 6th annual Bay Area Youth Climate Summit was generously held on September 21th, 2025, by Fort Mason in San Francisco.
6th Annual Bay Area Youth Climate Summit
Saturday, 9 AM - 3:30 PM, September 21, 2025
On September 28th, we had our 5th annual Bay Area Youth Climate Summit, hosted at the Gentech Hall in San Francisco! Youth, educators, & climate leaders from the Bay Area & beyond came together for an incredible day of knowledge-building, community resilience, & change-making! The summit included guest speakers, workshops, & lunch activities!
Location:
Keynote Speaker
Aditi Desai (she/her)
Aditi Desai is a sustainability practitioner working at the intersection of innovation and climate justice. She is a founding team member of Voltpost, an award-winning startup with recognition from Fast Company and Forbes.
Workshops & Speakers
Check out our many different workshops and speakers!
Morning Workshops
Documentary Video Editing Concepts: Paper Editing
Presented by E’jaaz Mason
This workshop teaches participants how to create a “paper edit” to plan and structure a documentary film edit using transcribed interviews and editing techniques. The project students will create a paper edit for centers on crafting a compelling proof-of-concept trailer that highlights the environmental and socioeconomic challenges faced by residents of Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco’s last predominantly Black neighborhood.
This workshop teaches participants how to create a “paper edit” to plan and structure a documentary film edit using transcribed interviews and editing techniques. The project students will create a paper edit for centers on crafting a compelling proof-of-concept trailer that highlights the environmental and socioeconomic challenges faced by residents of Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco’s last predominantly Black neighborhood.
Community advocacy to prevent a proposed 55% increase in OAK air traffic
Presented by Stop OAK Expansion Coalition
Oakland Airport (OAK) is proposing to build a new terminal and increase air traffic over nearby neighborhoods by 55%. Find out about the health and environmental harm that such an air traffic increase would cause and what 80 community organizations are doing to stop OAK expansion from being implemented.
Oakland Airport (OAK) is proposing to build a new terminal and increase air traffic over nearby neighborhoods by 55%. Find out about the health and environmental harm that such an air traffic increase would cause and what 80 community organizations are doing to stop OAK expansion from being implemented.
SF Environment: Climate Action Across Careers
Presented by SF Environment
Come participate in a series of fun guided activities that explore the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can actually get paid to do (often emphasized by the adults in your life). Leave the workshop with new perspectives around how to integrate different climate actions into your personal and professional life, regardless of the major or career path you choose.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Come participate in a series of fun guided activities that explore the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can actually get paid to do (often emphasized by the adults in your life). Leave the workshop with new perspectives around how to integrate different climate actions into your personal and professional life, regardless of the major or career path you choose.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Sustainable Transportation - How can you advocate for more?
Presented by SF Transit Riders
Advocacy organizations, like San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Walk San Francisco and San Francisco Transit Riders all exist because people want a more sustainable and livable city with better transportation options. Come learn how San Francisco has over the years changed the way people get around our city and how you can contribute to make change happen. Make a fun zine to tell your transportation story!
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Advocacy organizations, like San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Walk San Francisco and San Francisco Transit Riders all exist because people want a more sustainable and livable city with better transportation options. Come learn how San Francisco has over the years changed the way people get around our city and how you can contribute to make change happen. Make a fun zine to tell your transportation story!
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Ocean Conservation Through Education
Presented by MESA
Come by the Ocean Conservation Through Education Workshop to learn about the importance of climate education, the power of learning through play, and how our own local organization, M E.S.A., is practicing these elements! We'll be creating a recycled jellyfish suncatcher/ornament out of plastic bottles and other recycled materials!
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Come by the Ocean Conservation Through Education Workshop to learn about the importance of climate education, the power of learning through play, and how our own local organization, M E.S.A., is practicing these elements! We'll be creating a recycled jellyfish suncatcher/ornament out of plastic bottles and other recycled materials!
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Periods, Pollution, and Policy: Taking Action for Menstrual and Environmental Justice
Presented by Project SF Flow and USF Period Project
Join us to explore the true impact of period products and take action by advocating for policy change! In this session, you’ll discover the benefits of sustainable options, then put your knowledge into practice by writing letters to school leaders and policymakers. Together, we’ll tackle inequities and empower you to become a changemaker for a more just and sustainable future.
Join us to explore the true impact of period products and take action by advocating for policy change! In this session, you’ll discover the benefits of sustainable options, then put your knowledge into practice by writing letters to school leaders and policymakers. Together, we’ll tackle inequities and empower you to become a changemaker for a more just and sustainable future.
Climate Wayfinding for Systems Change
Presented by Sierra Club Bay Area Climate Literacy & The Climascope Project
This workshop about connecting your passions, your strengths, and the change you want to create. Together, we’ll explore what brings you joy, what’s worth protecting, and the skills you already have (or want to build) to make an impact. Through interactive activities and hands-on reflection, you’ll:
- Connect your interests and talents to real opportunities for climate action.
- Use the iceberg model of systems thinking to dig beneath the surface of climate issues and uncover the deeper forces that drive them.
- Identify the “levers” where you can focus your energy for the greatest impact.
- Begin sketching out your own personal roadmap for action.
This workshop about connecting your passions, your strengths, and the change you want to create. Together, we’ll explore what brings you joy, what’s worth protecting, and the skills you already have (or want to build) to make an impact. Through interactive activities and hands-on reflection, you’ll:
- Connect your interests and talents to real opportunities for climate action.
- Use the iceberg model of systems thinking to dig beneath the surface of climate issues and uncover the deeper forces that drive them.
- Identify the “levers” where you can focus your energy for the greatest impact.
- Begin sketching out your own personal roadmap for action.
Afternoon Workshops
SF Trash Talk & Cigarette Butt-Can Activity
Presented by Refuse Refuse San Francisco
SF Trash Talk is a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation that discusses why San Francisco is littered and what can be done about it. The cigarette butt-can activity will have people decorate and prepare butt-cans that participants can take back to their own neighborhoods to place out for smokers to use.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
SF Trash Talk is a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation that discusses why San Francisco is littered and what can be done about it. The cigarette butt-can activity will have people decorate and prepare butt-cans that participants can take back to their own neighborhoods to place out for smokers to use.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Finding Your Voice: The Power of Storytelling as a Climate Solution
Presented by NorCal Public Media
NorCal Public Media invites YOU to join us in co-creating a new story of climate change – one that's hopeful, empowering, and innovative. During this workshop, we'll watch an episode of the Emmy-winning PBS docuseries, Climate California, chat about bringing together the scientific and the personal to craft a compelling story, and share those ideas with others by creating your own original content!
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
NorCal Public Media invites YOU to join us in co-creating a new story of climate change – one that's hopeful, empowering, and innovative. During this workshop, we'll watch an episode of the Emmy-winning PBS docuseries, Climate California, chat about bringing together the scientific and the personal to craft a compelling story, and share those ideas with others by creating your own original content!
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
From Idea to Impact: Climate Mindmapping & You
Presented by Cynthia Leung
Every day, headlines about the climate crisis feel inescapable. From West Coast tsunamis to record-breaking heat, the weight of the climate crisis can feel crushing -- especially when it seems like it’s up to us, the youth, to "fix" it. While the goals ahead feel urgent and overwhelming, we don't have to face them all at once. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn how to break down climate goals and visions into focused, manageable steps with mind mapping! By shifting your mindset and narrowing your focus to what you can control, you’ll walk away with practical ways to move from anxiety to action—and start writing onto your climate story.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Every day, headlines about the climate crisis feel inescapable. From West Coast tsunamis to record-breaking heat, the weight of the climate crisis can feel crushing -- especially when it seems like it’s up to us, the youth, to "fix" it. While the goals ahead feel urgent and overwhelming, we don't have to face them all at once. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn how to break down climate goals and visions into focused, manageable steps with mind mapping! By shifting your mindset and narrowing your focus to what you can control, you’ll walk away with practical ways to move from anxiety to action—and start writing onto your climate story.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
BAYCS-Run Climate Action Plan Workshop
Presented by BAYCS Team
The bridge between identifying an issue and taking action to address it can often feel insurmountable, especially in the climate space. In this workshop, we aim to help participants create such a bridge. Led by our very own BAYCS team, this workshop is a step-by-step experience that offers the opportunity for youth to create their own climate action plan and walk away feeling inspired to take initiative.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
The bridge between identifying an issue and taking action to address it can often feel insurmountable, especially in the climate space. In this workshop, we aim to help participants create such a bridge. Led by our very own BAYCS team, this workshop is a step-by-step experience that offers the opportunity for youth to create their own climate action plan and walk away feeling inspired to take initiative.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Plastic Fashion: Unraveling microplastics and making art
Presented by DNA Sustainable Threds
Look at fashion’s microplastics under the microscope. Clementina “Sustainable Latina ™️” will be sharing her knowledge on fashion’s dirty little secret of toxins & microplastics. Explore fashion’s impact on human health and the planet, and transform textile waste into art that stays out of landfills. Take home your own art.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Look at fashion’s microplastics under the microscope. Clementina “Sustainable Latina ™️” will be sharing her knowledge on fashion’s dirty little secret of toxins & microplastics. Explore fashion’s impact on human health and the planet, and transform textile waste into art that stays out of landfills. Take home your own art.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
How Can Youth ACT to "Speak Truth to Power"?
Presented by Tri-Valley Air Quality Climate Alliance
Are you alarmed at what you are hearing in the national news? Do you want to do something, but don't know where to start? In this workshop, get some background on the progress of our bedrock environmental laws, learn effective strategies to bring your essential youth voice to the attention of decision makers and voters, and plan actions that can amplify your voice, such as writing letters and comments, lobbying elected officials, creating videos, art, teach-ins, rallies, finding allies, and more. Speak Truth to Power!
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Are you alarmed at what you are hearing in the national news? Do you want to do something, but don't know where to start? In this workshop, get some background on the progress of our bedrock environmental laws, learn effective strategies to bring your essential youth voice to the attention of decision makers and voters, and plan actions that can amplify your voice, such as writing letters and comments, lobbying elected officials, creating videos, art, teach-ins, rallies, finding allies, and more. Speak Truth to Power!
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Building a Resilient Bay Area: SPUR's Approach to Decarbonization and Adaptation
Presented by SPUR
Colleen Corrigan, a Sustainability and Resilience Policy Manager at SPUR, is hosting a workshop on the organization's equitable decarbonization and hazard resilience/disaster preparedness work, focused on how the Bay Area can both curb emissions and mitigate climate change while adapting to and preparing for its effects. This includes threats like sea level rise, flooding, earthquakes, air pollution, extreme heat, and wildfires. The workshop will also include an interactive portion on advocacy and how youth can engage in the policymaking process at the state and local level.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Colleen Corrigan, a Sustainability and Resilience Policy Manager at SPUR, is hosting a workshop on the organization's equitable decarbonization and hazard resilience/disaster preparedness work, focused on how the Bay Area can both curb emissions and mitigate climate change while adapting to and preparing for its effects. This includes threats like sea level rise, flooding, earthquakes, air pollution, extreme heat, and wildfires. The workshop will also include an interactive portion on advocacy and how youth can engage in the policymaking process at the state and local level.
Credit: ProBonoPhoto.org/Gary Oehrle
Special Thanks to Our Raffle Donators
if you attended 🧚♂️
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