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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2607-6571CITY OF PALO ALTO Climate Action and Sustainability Committee Friday, August 07, 2026   Agenda Item     1.Youth Climate Advisory Board Annual Report; CEQA Status – Not a Project Late Packet Report Added Climate Action and Sustainability Committee Staff Report Report Type: ACTION ITEMS Lead Department: City Clerk Meeting Date: August 7, 2026 Report #:2607-6571 TITLE Youth Climate Advisory Board Annual Report; CEQA Status – Not a Project This item will be a late packet publication on 7/30/26. 1 0 2 0 0 Climate Action and Sustainability Committee Staff Report From: City Manager Report Type: ACTION ITEMS Lead Department: Public Works Meeting Date: August 7, 2026 Report #:2606-6485 TITLE Youth Climate Advisory Board Annual Report; CEQA Status – Not a Project RECOMMENDATION This is a discussion item; no action or recommendation is requested. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Palo Alto Youth Climate Advisory Board (YCAB) is an advisory body of high school students dedicated to sustainability and climate stewardship. Members contribute to and provide feedback on Palo Alto’s climate initiatives and policies and bring Citywide sustainability efforts to local high schools. The YCAB was developed in partnership with the Palo Alto Student Climate Coalition. The inaugural YCAB meeting convened in September 2024. This staff report summarizes the accomplishments and achievements of the eleven members of the 2025-2026 Youth Climate Advisory Board. BACKGROUND In the fall of 2023, Palo Alto Student Climate Coalition (PASCC) members Julia Zeitlin, Angelina Rosh, and Theo Waltuch met with staff to discuss their proposal for creating a Palo Alto Youth Climate Advisory Board (YCAB). Their idea was to create a student board, similar in structure to the Palo Alto Youth Council, that would address issues about sustainability and climate action that are relevant to the youth community and support the work of the Office of Sustainability. Staff worked with PASCC to develop and refine the YCAB proposal, resulting in the adoption of the Youth Climate Advisory Board By-laws in April 2024. YCAB members are expected to dive into complex issues and invest time and energy into making the City and Palo Alto schools more sustainable. Board members must attend high school in Palo Alto and are expected to attend monthly board meetings as well as additional subcommittee meetings. Board members commit to a full, year-long term, from September of the year they are appointed to August of the following year. The YCAB is led by a Chair and two Vice Chairs, elected by the student board members. The Chair facilitates board meetings, with the Vice Chairs recording attendance and minutes. The Chair and Vice Chairs serve as youth liaisons and attend City staff’s Sustainability 1 0 2 0 0 Leadership Team meetings. YCAB also nominates a member to serve as the High School Representative on the Climate Action Working Group. ANALYSIS Aiden Miao, Chair Chanew Kim, Vice Chair Jenna Mu, Vice Chair Caitlin Hopkins Alida Cuttriss Anika Agrawal Donovan Carlson Maya Mazin Elsa Lagerblad Will Stover Kiara Yoon FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT 1 0 2 0 0 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT Stakeholder engagement regarding the Youth Climate Advisory Board is wide-reaching and coordinated with multiple departments, the Palo Alto Unified School District, and the Palo Alto Parent-Teacher Association. Efforts include direct engagement, social media and other digital marketing/outreach, website updates, leveraging the City’s communication platforms, and more. Stakeholder engagement by the Youth Climate Advisory Board members included direct engagement with Palo Alto high school students, the Palo Alto Unified School District, community members, and local agencies and businesses; participation in City and school events; social media and other digital marketing/outreach; providing content for website updates; providing content for the City’s communication platforms; and more. This report is for informational purposes only, with no action required by the Council, and is therefore not a project subject to CEQA review. Attachment A: Youth Climate Action Board 2025-2026 Annual Report : Brad Eggleston, Director Public Works/City Engineer Yo u t h C l i m a t e A d v i s o r y B o a r d 2025 - 2026 Annual Report INTRODUCTION PREFACE Over the City of Palo Alto Youth Climate Advisory Board’s (YCAB) second term, the eleven members—both returning and new—furthered Palo Alto’s sustainability efforts across the areas of Adaptation, Electrification, Media, Mobility, and Zero Waste. The combination of experienced members and new perspectives fueled the Board’s focus on education for this term. We are incredibly proud of the work we’ve accomplished. What follows is a report by each subcommittee on its accomplishments. We hope that this report will serve both as an update on what we’ve done this term and as a guideline for what youth in Palo Alto want and need when it comes to climate action. We hope that our efforts will help the City and others make more intentional decisions that reflect the needs of the next generation, taking steps to protect the city and planet that we will inherit. Members Aiden Miao Alida Cuttriss Anika Agrawal Caitlin Hopkins Chanew Kim Donovan Carlson Elsa Lagerblad Maya Mazin Jenna Mu Kiara Yoon Will Stover Aiden Miao Chair Jenna Mu Vice Chair Chanew Kim Vice Chair ZERO WASTE SUBCOMMITTEE Summary This term, Zero Waste hosted the succulent planting activity at the Clay Sustains Family Day event, launched the Green Heroes program, presented about zero waste practices at Fletcher Middle School, tabled at Palo Alto’s Teen Arts Council’s Clothing Swap, met with PAUSD to audit lunch waste, and collected data from over 200 Bay Area students to gain insight on their exposure to climate education. In the future, Zero Waste hopes to use this data in order to analyze how various socio-economic factors affect access to climate education,and possibly present our findings to the Palo Alto City Council so the City can help take steps in order to fill educational gaps. Members Maya Mazin Jenna Mu Kiara Yoon Anika Agrawal Impact ●Clay Sustains Family Day event with 100+ participants ●Presented to 200+ students through Zero Waste Presentation @ Fletcher ●Reached 300+ youth with zero waste education through Zero Waste Survey, tabling at Teen Arts Council’s Clothing Swap, and more! MAIN INITIATIVES Zero Waste Presentation at Fletcher Presented to 200+ students at Fletcher Middle School about what zero waste it and how to engage in it. Zero Waste Survey Surveyed 220+ local students on what they believe zero waste is, whether they had access to compost/recycling bins at home, if they composted/recycled at home, and previous zero waste education. Responses are currently being analyzed to understand gaps in zero waste education and access in Palo Alto and surrounding areas, guiding future education work for next term. The team is actively working on writing a paper analyzing how socioeconomic factors correlate to access and beliefs about sustainability. Our literature review suggests that education is a consistently strong predictor of pro-environmental attitudes. Extremely low- and high-income individuals displayed disregard for sustainability while middle-income individuals correlated to pro-environmental mindsets. ELECTRIFICATION SUBCOMMITTEE Summary YCAB’s Electrification Subcommittee has focused on educating students and families about the importance of electrifying buildings and homes for sustainability. Members Aiden, Chanew, Elsa, and Will have tabled at elementary schools and events with an interactive activity teaching the benefits of electricity compared to gas. We have also provided handouts for students to take home to their families with a worksheet that prompts students to learn about electrification in their own home, as well as additional information on Palo Alto’s electrification programs for parents to learn from. We have reached 100+ students and their families at four elementary schools. In the future, the Electrification Subcommittee hopes to educate middle school students, high school students, and the broader Palo Alto community about the importance of electrification. We thank Sustainability Program Administrator Olivia Trevino for her insight and support on our work this term. Members Aiden Miao Chanew Kim Elsa Lagerblad Will Stover Impact ● Taught 100+ students at 4 elementary schools about the importance of electrification ● Distributed handouts for families to learn about the City ’s electrification programs Main Initiatives Activities at elementary schools Tabled at Duveneck, Juana Briones, Nixon, and Palo Verde during lunch. Led an interactive activity where students guessed objects inside a box based on feel, and connected each object to an aspect of electrification such as efficiency or safety. For example, a lightbulb is safer than a candle. Broke down the complex topic of electrification into something kids could understand. Activity Sheet and Handout Designed activity sheet to guide students through learning about electrification at their own home. Included information and links to Palo Alto’s electrification programs for parents to see. Distributed 100+ sheets. MOBILITY SUBCOMMITTEE Summary Last term, the Mobility Subcommittee surveyed 220+ Palo Alto students from 10 Palo Alto middle and high schools to assess youth transit needs. This term, we used that information for recommendations for safer streets and improved bike and pedestrian corridors with the City and the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), specifically focusing on improving biking accessibility with the new San Antonio Road Area Plan through a formal YCAB recommendation. In an effort to educate youth about public transportation in the city, we’ve also given a presentation to 150+ students at Hausner Jewish Day Middle School and created a three minute video demonstrating how to use VTA buses and Caltrain which will be distributed across PAUSD and several private schools in Palo Alto the following term. Members Aiden Miao Caitlin Hopkins Elsa Lagerblad Jenna Mu Will Stover Impact ● Presented to 150+ students at Hausner Middle School and received 30+ Youth Clipper Card signups from the QR code distributed ● Formal written recommendation for San Antonio Road Area Plan ● “Palo Alto Public Transport 101” Video: how to use VTA buses and Caltrain presented to 200+ students at Castilleja ● Led education and engagement at 3 PAUSD middle and high school bike repair events ● Aided Safe Routes to School Program with bike repair workshops at PAUSD middle and elementary schools Main Initiatives Presentation at Hausner Presented to 150+ students at Hausner Middle School about the climate benefits of public transportation, local transport options, and the Youth Clipper Card, and answered questions about accessibility and how to use transport. Handed out informational flyers and received 30+ Youth Clipper Card signups from the QR code distributed. San Antonio Road Area Plan Used last term’s Youth Transportation Survey data to inform this term’s City recommendations for the San Antonio Road Area Plan in a formal written recommendation, urging the plan to adopt protected bike lanes in the area. “Palo Alto Public Transport 101” Video Scripted and filmed a short video on how to use VTA buses and Caltrain to get from Palo Alto Transit Center to Cal Ave Farmer ’s Market, encouraging and teaching youth how to use local public transit. Presented to 200+ at Castilleja. Will work with PAUSD and local private schools to screen video at schools across Palo Alto next term. ADAPTATION SUBCOMMITTEE Summary This year we transitioned from the Water Subcommittee to the Adaptation Subcommittee to account for broader adaptation and climate resilience initiatives. The team explored an educational campaign to warn against pet tick sprays polluting water, pushed forward a rain barrel program at PAUSD schools, and helped organize a group tour of the Wastewater Treatment plant and the Clay Sustains Family Day succulent event. Members Anika Agrawal Donovan Carlson Kiara Yoon Alida Cuttriss Chanew Kim Caitlin Hopkins Jenna Mu Impact ●Collaborated with Zero Waste to host succulent planting activity at Clay Sustains Family Day event at Palo Alto Art Center ●Explored rain barrels and water education programs Main Initiatives Clay Sustains Family Day event The Clay Sustains Family Day event was an event hosted by the Art Center focused on environmentalism and upcycling. We co-hosted a succulent planting activity with the Zero Waste Subcommittee for 100+ Palo Alto families, encouraging best practices for keeping succulents and plants at home and creating a culture of environmentalism for even the youngest of Palo Altans. Rain Barrels Although we faced challenges acquiring and implementing barrels at school due to finances and logistics, we will build on our learnings from this term to hopefully finish this project next term. Flea/Tick Spray We explored the possibility of limiting the usage of flea and tick spray after learning about the adverse impact of flea and tick spray on the Regional Water Quality Control Plant, but we decided to not further the project due to lack of feasibility. MEDIA SUBCOMMITTEE Summary The Media Subcommittee works to engage with the Palo Alto community, particularly youth, through social media and printed infographics. We create both digital and physical media to further YCAB’s goals. Members Donovan Carlson Maya Mazin Kiara Yoon Impact ● Thousands of views across platforms inspiring the next generation of climate activists ● Updating the climate and larger city community about YCAB’s actions Main Initiatives Newsletter and Instagram Posts Wrote and designed Meet the Team social media post, subcommittee updates, and event recap posts with the goal to inspire Palo Alto youth about climate action. Posters and Physical Media Designed and printed 10+ posters, pamphlets, and physical media publicizing YCAB events and initiatives. IMAGE GALLERY Planting activity at the Zero Waste and Adaptation succulent planting event. YCAB booth at the Earth Day Festival, including a poster from the Mediateam. Electrification and Zero Waste teaching students at Duveneck. Palo Verde students learning from the Electrification activity. The Mobility team presents about public transportation to Hausner Middle School.