Empowering the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders
The 2025 Future Green Leaders Summit was a groundbreaking event that brought together over 500 middle school students from San Bernardino and neighboring Rialto school districts to learn about the latest developments in the green economy and explore potential career paths. The day-long event, held at the Historic Enterprise Building in San Bernardino, was organized by the Southern California Regional Energy Network, which is administered by Los Angeles County and funded by California Public Utility ratepayers.
The summit was designed to address the disconnect between the green economy and the communities that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. According to the U.S. Census, the San Bernardino and Rialto school districts have a high percentage of low-income households and a diverse population, with over 80% of residents identifying as Latino, Black, or Asian. However, people from these communities are underrepresented in green industries, with the U.S. solar workforce being 73% white and 70% male.
AY Young, right, a musician, founder and CEO of the Battery Tour and former U.N. youth ambassador, powers his live shows with solar batteries while talking to middle school students at the Future Green Leaders Summit in San Bernardino on Wednesday.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Breaking Down Barriers and Building Opportunities
The event featured a range of interactive workshops and activities designed to make the green industry more accessible and relatable to the students. According to Ben Stapleton, executive director of U.S. Green Building Council California, the goal was to break down big concepts like climate change into smaller, more manageable components, such as air quality, biodiversity, and access to green spaces.
One workshop, led by Marcela Oliva, a professor at the Los Angeles Trade-Tech College, showed students how to use digital visualization and 3-D simulation tools to design homes and landscaping that incorporate wildfire-resilient building materials and plantings. Elsewhere, students learned about energy-saving appliances, brainstormed solutions to problems like plastic waste and deforestation, and explored internship and professional job opportunities.
