Environment Department expands school programs and a high‑school Climate Action Fellowship with SFUSD

The San Francisco Department of the Environment presented an update March 25 on its environmental education work with San Francisco Unified School District, spotlighting classroom programming, multilingual delivery and a pilot Climate Action Fellowship for high‑school students.

Shraddha Mehta introduced Esther Tang, the department’s senior environmental education strategist, who said the team has been rebuilt over the past year and now offers assemblies, grade‑specific classroom lessons, field trips and lunch‑sorting support. Tang noted multilingual staff are available to deliver curriculum in English, Spanish and Cantonese/Mandarin and that field‑trip slots are reserved for underserved and Title I schools when capacity is limited.

Tang described hands‑on programs and follow‑up strategies to encourage behavioral change: multi‑visit engagements, green team support, student internships and the Solutionary Teacher Fellowship. She highlighted a pilot Climate Action Fellowship run in partnership with SFUSD; a written statement read at the meeting from Vanessa (listed as Vanessa Louise/Lewis Carter in materials) said the pilot includes 12 students from seven high schools this spring, with plans to expand recruitment districtwide.

The department previewed an April 25 Climate Week youth summit at Yerba Buena Gardens (children’s garden amphitheatre) for about 1,000 invited students in a field‑trip format. Roughly 20–30% of the attendees will present projects developed during the program; others will attend to learn. Tang said the fellowship provides professional coaching, college and career readiness credit, and a stipend for participants.

Commissioners praised the outreach and asked about scale and measuring behavioral impact. Tang said the team is shifting to whole‑school relationships, tracking which schools have been served and planning follow‑up visits to reinforce behavior change. The department also described plans to partner with youth and community groups to broaden participation and to host 'Phoebe the Phoenix' mascot appearances at events to engage students.