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Bay Youth for the Environment
 California State Parks Foundation is actively funding a 34-acre wetland restoration project at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, reviving a once thriving wildlife and natural habitat in what is known as the Yosemite Slough, a tidal channel that opens out to the San Francisco Bay. Community involvement and education is an important aspect of the Yosemite Slough Restoration project. One way we have done this is through the Bay Youth for the Environment Program.
In August 2004, CSPF in conjunction with Literacy for Environmental Justice, an urban environmental education and youth empowerment organization, launched Bay Youth for the Environment, a unique science-based, after-school work program for young people ages 16-20 in the Bayview-Hunters Point community. The program is designed to provide youth with environmental knowledge, employment experience, and important life skills, while they work to restore local wetlands, build community support for the restoration project, and promote long-term community stewardship for Candlestick Point SRA. The youth team will build a native plant nursery located in the park’s community garden and initiate a monthly volunteer program.
The youth team works year-round (48 weeks per year) up to six hours per week on a regular schedule Monday through Saturday. Each student receives $9/hour for time spent on the project. The numerous program benefits include providing youth with valuable scientific, group decision-making, public speaking and work-related skills, along with helping them gain knowledge of animal and plant species diversity and inspiring them to pursue college degrees and successful careers.
The program is supported through grants from the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, Walter and Elise Haas Fund, Safeway Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, California Coastal Commission, San Francisco 49er Foundation, Bothin Foundation, Kimball Foundation, Patagonia, J.M. Long Foundation and CSPF.
To learn more about Bay Youth for the Environment, please contact Cecille Caterson at cecille@calparks.org or by calling 415-262-4406.
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