The Climate Action Pathways for Schools (CAPS) program provides students with the resources to reclaim their futures from the threat of climate change while also introducing them to green career opportunities through paid internships and work-based learning programs.
For young people, planning for the future always entails the looming uncertainty brought on by climate change. Faced with the most to lose, students also stand with the most to gain from taking action for climate justice. For young people, charting their futures requires a livable planet sustained by a generation that understands the consequences of inaction.
Empowering student leaders is the most critical component of the CAPS program. Our goal is to help students earn on-the-ground experience to prepare them for future educational and career opportunities while also making strides in cultivating meaningful action on climate change.
HOW WE WORK WITH STUDENTS
PROJECT AREAS
The CAPS program facilitates student-led projects at the school-district level, designed in close collaboration with the relevant district and school departments, in the following areas:
TRANSPORTATION
BUILDINGS DECARBONIZATION
WATER CONSERVATION
ZERO WASTE
SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS
STUDENT OUTCOMES
Students report gaining a range of valuable, applicable skills through their work in the CAPS program. Below, learn more about the categories of skills they develop, and hear about the impact of this work in students’ own words.
Student Leadership
Students take the lead on outlining their district’s climate action plan to implement practical steps that help lower greenhouse gas emissions, conserve energy, reduce waste, and create greener campuses. CAPS participants are hired on as paid interns to help see their projects through at the beginning of their Sophomore year. These project-based learning programs provide professional training and hands-on experience with problem-solving, data processing, analytics, and presentation skills through climate-related sustainability projects.
“I really liked improving my presentation skills. It’s a skill you use quite often, whether in school or in other situations, so it’s nice to get more experience with that. The pointers that came out of it were really helpful.”
~ Student Participant
Complementing Career Pathways
The CAPS program is designed to integrate with student learning by showing how classroom concepts can apply to real-world solutions to climate change. By applying their education to hands-on solutions that they can achieve, students can develop increased engagement in their school work and begin to explore potential career paths through impactful projects. The rapid growth of green career opportunities helps illustrate the tangibility of project-based learning for students and introduces them to a meaningful way they can reclaim control of their climate future.
“I’m more of a hands-on person, and so I really enjoyed figuring out the energy audits… Diving in deeper into those calculations really gave me insight into how bad pollution really is… it was like a big light bulb just lit up and I was like ‘oh my god, I didn’t know that before’.”
~ Student Participant
College & Career Coaching
Students in the CAPS program gain valuable, on-the-ground experience in the rapidly growing and lucrative clean technology career pathway through career panels, career fairs, and connecting students to professionals in green sector careers. In 2019, California saw over 500,000 people working in clean energy industries, compared with 110,000 fossil fuel jobs combined.
After students graduate, CAPS provides access to a growing alumni network to stay connected as we expand opportunities for post-graduate alumni.
After completing projects or internships through the CAPS program, students are also provided with letters of reference and recommendations to help assist them with college and career applications.
“The program greatly influenced my studies — I’m now looking at colleges that have good engineering programs and environmental studies…and then maybe law school afterward, but I think the work I did [with CAPS] will influence my career.”
~ Student Participant
THE TYPES OF PROJECTS PERFORMED BY STUDENTS —
Students in the CAPS program develop, implement, and monitor projects in their own school communities to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Here are just a few examples of the types of projects that CAPS students have completed:
Conduct comprehensive energy audits of their schools
Help transition the school district’s bus fleet to electric
Create marketing tools to promote the climate action program
Lead school conservation competitions
Conduct ASHRAE-level 1 audits
Support the development of the climate action plan
Help students' nutrition services procure local and climate-friendly food
Track monthly energy usage using utilities data and solar monitoring software
Develop active transportation routes to schools
Are you a student interested in getting your school involved in CAPS? Email us to connect CAPS leadership to your school.
