UPAL's EJ Youth Academy

Designed to bring youth to the forefront of the fight for environmental justice, the UPAL EJ Youth Academy Initiative brings together community service and environmental justice education to foster a keen sense of social responsibility and civic engagement. Youth members will learn how to use critical thinking skills to identify and analyze environmental hazards that need to be addressed in their communities and how to do so by utilizing their interests, skills, and talents. They will also learn the importance of collaborative problem-solving; how to identify and engage community partners in the creation of plans of action that will address identified environmental hazards. Members will be prepared to act through community service to gain the knowledge and skills needed to be effective environmental justice advocates in ways that are creative and speak to their interests. EJ Youth Academy members receive an annual (parent or guardian approved) subscription to Masterclass to whet their creative and entrepreneurial interests.