Grades of Green  Youth Corps Eco-Leadership program students participated in their first meet-up of the year at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Eco-Leaders were guided through a leadership workshop, and then discussed their next steps in their chosen Grades of Green Activity. The theme of the day was creating a vision, which included a session on crafting goals to meet each student’s vision for their activity. Of course, everyone got to go on a tour to explore the beautiful arboretum, and to check out the peacocks roaming the property! Take a look at photos from the afternoon here.

Thank you to the incredible sponsors who help us make this program possible:  City of Santa Monica,  County of Los Angeles 3rd district, County of Los Angeles 4th district,  Arconic Foundation, Continental Development, Subaru Pacific, Klean Kanteen, Fresh Brothers, and Grow.

Are you a student who is ready to take on a Grades of Green Activity in your school, but you don’t live in Los Angeles? Not to worry; Grades of Green offers support to students across the globe! You can schedule a meeting with one of our Advisors anytime by clicking here.

Grades of Green is proud to congratulate the exceptional students who participated in the 2016-2017 Youth Corps Eco-Leadership program! Over the weekend the students and their families gathered for a celebration event to conclude the year. The celebration took place at TreePeople’s beautiful space, and delivered a fun filled afternoon including a yummy lunch provided by Fresh Brothers and Grow, a photo booth, games, and presentations from each Youth Corps Eco-Leader about the Grades of Green Activity they implemented in their school community over the past year. In the past nine months, Youth Corps leaders have accomplished some amazing environmental feats including installing drought tolerant gardens at their schools, rolling out No Idle Zone programs, teaching Eco-Lessons in their classrooms, launching Grades of Green Teams, and more.

Each student was presented with a certificate of recognition from Grades of Green, as well as a certificate from their respective Los Angeles County District office. In addition, the Grades of Green Youth Corps Eco-Leadership program was honored to be presented with a certificate of congressional recognition from Ted Lieu’s office of California’s 33rd district. To check out photos from the celebration, click here!

This year’s Youth Corps Eco-Leaders are leading the way in environmental stewardship, and we could not be more proud! Thank you to the incredible sponsors who help us make this program possible: Arconic Foundation, City of Santa Monica, Murad Family Foundation, Earth Friendly Products, County of Los Angeles 3rd district, Metropolitan Water District, Beach Cities Health District, the Vanderbilt Family Foundation, and Southern California Edison.

Are you a 4th-12th grade student located in the greater Los Angeles area who is interested in applying for the 2016-2017 Youth Corps Eco-Leadership program? Applications are open now! Click here to apply!

Grades of Green Youth Corps Eco-Leadership student Johanna J. wrote an article and created a video on ocean pollution that were both featured on Supervisor Kuehl’s website and newsletter!  Check out her fun and informative video and learn about her firsthand experiences with Grades of Green by clicking here. Supervisor Kuehl and the Los Angeles County 3rd District support Grades of Green’s Trash Free Lunch Challenge and Youth Corps Eco-Leadership Program. Want to lead an environmental project in your own school community like Johanna but don’t know where to start?  Learn more about Grades of Green’s Youth Corps Eco-Leadership Program by clicking here! My Grades of Green Story by Johanna James.