2024 Green New Year Celebration!
Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action’s 2024 Green New Year Celebration took place on January 13th, 2024. This event served to celebrate the youth advocacy movement in 2023 and highlight plans toward 2024's progress. In addition to recognizing the efforts of SVYCA youth throughout the year, we welcomed new partners to our innovation going into the next.
I’m Jayden Wan, a junior at Burlingame High, a Co-Lead of SVYCA’s San Mateo County team, and an organizer for this event. I’ll be sharing a bit about the event from my perspective, reiterating the reception we received from the audience.
To begin, this event was packed with content – roughly three hours to overview a whole year, and plans going forward. After a warm welcome from Rohan Pandit, SVYCA’s Executive Director, Berkeley student Diya Kandhra provided a recap of her experience attending 2023’s COP28, alongside other fellow student delegates from SVYCA – nothing short of inspiring. Following that was a segment on SVYCA’s new “Intergenerational Innovation” program, presented by myself and Bill DeVincenzi. Elisa Floyd, a student advocate in the Fremont Union High School District, subsequently led a presentation describing her work in FUHSD for improved sustainability-oriented infrastructure, which 100% impressed everyone!
The updates from various SVYCA advocacy teams on their environmental initiatives showcased the impact of collective effort:
Cupertino Team:
2023: Made public comments on local concerns, held the first Earth Day Festival.
2024: Planning a Walk-Transit Tour, continue climate education efforts.
San José Team:
2023: Onboarded new members, conducted climate literacy presentations, met with council members.
2024: Expanding climate curriculum, collaborating on tree planting.
Saratoga/Los Gatos Team:
2023: Improved recruitment, investigated solar panels on new residential buildings, acquired new three-way bins for Saratoga High School.
2024: Expand on the solar panel initiative, spread climate literacy to schools, organize a cross city Earth Day between Los Gatos and Saratoga.
Sunnyvale Team:
2023: Improved recruitment, climate literacy initiatives.
2024: Improving recruitment, climate literacy initiatives.
Morgan Hill/Gilroy Team:
2023: Integrated new members, led clean-ups, engaged local leaders.
2024: Focusing on recruitment, educational presentations for sustainability.
Santa Clara Team:
2023: Advocated for green legislation and community outreach.
2024: Planning to create more bike lanes and host climate literacy events.
San Mateo County Team:
2023: Hosted events/workshops, enhanced civic engagement.
2024: Improving recruitment, enhancing policy advocacy (electrification, divestment), tackling new climate literacy initiatives.
State Advocacy Team:
2023: Advocated for bills such as AB1167, AB285, AB363, and many more!
2024: Planning for the upcoming legislative season and preparing further advocacy.
The event showcased a series of insightful presentations by local leaders, each highlighting their unique contributions to environmental initiatives. J.R. Fruen, the Vice-Mayor of Cupertino, opened the discussion, emphasizing the crucial role of local support in climate action and detailing Cupertino's environmental initiatives. Following him, Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein shared the city's sustainable development efforts, notably the new net-zero City Hall, a commitment to sustainable urban planning.
Continuing the theme of local efforts, San Jose City Councilmember David Cohen, a climate champion and partner of our San Jose team’s efforts, highlighted his dedication to comprehensive climate and sustainability initiatives such as urban forests, clean energy, electrification, and more. Tiffany Hudson, the City of Campbell’s Environmental Programs Specialis, updated attendees on the city's progress in environmental policy, stressing the importance of local actions in the broader fight against climate change.
The focus then shifted to educational impacts, with Julie Hilborn, SMCOE's Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Coordinator, presenting the achievements and future plans of her department in fostering environmental literacy. Tara Sreekrishnan, Vice President of the Santa Clara County Board of Education, and co-founder of SVYCA, discussed her advocacy for eco-friendly infrastructure in educational settings, underscoring the role of schools in environmental stewardship. Jennifer Mutch, Santa Clara County Office of Education's Science Coordinator, continued this theme by emphasizing the prioritization of climate literacy in their educational programs.
A special feature of this event was Monica Padilla, the incoming CEO of Silicon Valley Clean Energy, who spoke about her crucial role in securing renewable energy contracts, a significant step towards a more sustainable energy future.
The presentations concluded with Linda Hutchins-Knowles from Mothers Out Front, who emphasized the impact of community-based environmental advocacy, and Jordan Tachibana, representing Congressman Ro Khanna's office, who highlighted the Congressman's commitment to environmental policy and community support.
Despite some technical difficulties along the way, these sessions received much appreciation from youth and adults alike. Personally, viewing the work of these great figures has inspired me to continue toward my cause, and mission.
As the event drew to a close, the networking session was a buzzing hive of interaction, ideas, and plans for future collaborations. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed, especially to Councilmember Fruen for helping us secure the venue. It's clear that our community is united in the fight against climate change, and this event was a testament to that. Here's to doing even bigger and better things in the future!
