President Joe Biden announced a new nationwide initiative aimed at training and employing youth to mitigate effects of climate change called “The American Climate Corps” on Sept. 20.
The corps aims to put a new generation of Americans to work on tackling climate change, according to The American Climate Corps website,
More than 20,000 Americans will do work conserving and restoring our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies and advancing environmental justice, according to a Sept. 20 White House fact sheet.
California was the first state of the nation to establish a state-level Climate Corps program in 2020 with funding from AmeriCorps, according to a Sept. 20 article by the Washington Post.
AmeriCorps is a federal agency that provides national service and volunteerism, according to their website.
Eight states have established Climate Corps programs since 2020 and each receives federal funding from AmeriCorps, according to the same article.
Nia Combs, environmental studies and anthropology graduate from Whitman College, said she served for California Climate Action Corps this past summer.
California Climate Action Corps (CCAC) is a national service program that offers fellowships to lead projects related to urban greening, organic waste and edible food recovery and wildfire resiliency, according to its website.
Combs said she was matched with San José based non-profit organization Our City Forest, a nonprofit urban forestry and environmental stewardship according to its website.
She said Our City Forest plants trees in low income areas in San José.
“Their work is important because planting trees is very integral in mitigating the effects of urban heat island,” Combs said.
Urban heat islands occur when cities replace natural land cover with pavement, buildings and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat, according to a website from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Combs said as a California Climate Action Corps member, she was doing urban forestry work including drafting and writing emails for parks and neighborhoods, finding organizations to partner with and holding events.
“I literally was in the ground digging holes to plant trees,” Combs said. “I could theoretically walk around San José and see some of the different trees that I have planted or that I have helped schedule a planting for.”
Combs said Climate Corps being implemented as a nationwide program is an amazing idea because a lot of people beyond her focus are also interested in doing climate change work.
“For me, I knew that I wanted to (do California Climate Action Corps) because I wanted to do climate action work, planting trees, and field work,” Combs said.
She said her advice to applicants is to talk about what you’re passionate about in climate, what got you into climate work and what you want to do.
“If you have an idea, they will give you the space you need to work out that idea and make it into a reality,” Combs said.
Economics junior Jimena Silva said she had no idea what she was getting herself into when she signed up.
She said it was fun because she never knew if she would be working in the office working on research, doing outreach or working in the nursery.
“You usually test the waters (to see) if it’s actually for you,” Silva said.
Geology senior Ellis-Hardin said he’s really glad to hear that there's government sponsored initiatives like this that are going to provide a lot of young people from various backgrounds.
“To work and do things that will overall benefit the earth. And as a result, in the long run, I think that it's really important work,” Ellis-Hardin said.
