Youth as Experts Who knows a community better than the residents who live there? That's the question that the Climate Impact Innovators set out to answer during the December 9th community asset mapping workshop. The belief that community members, including youth, are experts of their own community is the foundational idea of asset mapping. A tool used by planners and community engagement practitioners, asset mapping allows residents to identify the resources that strengthen t

Youth Heat Monitoring Results The November 18th meeting kicked-off with a dive deep into the results of last month's heat monitoring activity. Cesar Estien from Second Nature presented the findings, which confirmed what many had suspected: impervious surfaces like pavement trap heat, – increasing temperatures – while tree and shaded areas have a cooling effect. These maps show the average temperature, amount of vegetation (NDVI), impervious surface, and canopy cover in Sout

Youth Led Heat Monitoring In Action In October 2025, the Climate Impact Innovators reconvened for a hands-on community heat monitoring workshop. Greenbelt Alliance and Latino Service Providers, working with Second Nature, hosted a workshop to allow the youth to explore their neighborhoods and observe how different environmental features, such as tree canopy and impervious surfaces, such as driveways, roads, and parking lots, influence how we experience heat. Using hand held

In September 2025, Latino Service Providers and Greenbelt Alliance kicked off the Youth Advisory Team for the Southwest Santa Rosa Extreme Heat Action Plan. This cohort of thirteen youth will engage in a nine-month-long program to learn about the impacts of extreme heat in their community and the role of policy and planning in creating a more heat resilient Southwest Santa Rosa.The goal is to empower local youth to become the next generation of climate leaders and play an int