The New Green Generation
Last month, ademas participated in the Youth Action Matters Environmental Youth Summit at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles. The event was available to students who had previously participated in Generation Earth, a program sponsored by Tree People, and was attended by different schools from around Los Angeles. Generation Earth is an environmental education program that seeks to help students explore and understand waste, water, and forestry topics and how to take action. Attendees were spread across different grade levels though most were from local high schools.
The event was also attended by various organizations with interactive activities set up for the students. además shared a table with GrowingGreat, one of our partners. GrowingGreat provided seed packets which were distributed to students, as well as an interactive exhibit: a container filled with compost and red wiggler worms which assist in speedy decomposition of organic waste products. además provided two books, Overstory: A Novel and The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World, for distribution to teachers and school representatives.
Photo by Meghan Nealon
Students shared personal stories about their environmental projects and aspirations. One student mentioned her frustration about how their school continues to spray glyphosate-based weed killers, which are known to be poisonous to both humans and other plants. When they attempted to talk to school administrators, they were told that nothing could be done.
How to Help:
If you notice that glyphosate-based weed killers, such as Roundup, are being sprayed either at your school or in your vicinity, you can lodge a complaint with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation at this phone number: 1 (877) 378-5463
Tree People offers regular forest and trail cleanups for volunteers on their website. You can find the signups here: https://www.treepeople.org/volunteer/
