Teen Programs
Bay Area Environmental Youth Quest
Youth Quest 2008
(click here for details on this year's conference)
The Bay Area Environmental Youth Quest is an inspirational 2-day, overnight conference for high school students. It is hosted by Headlands Institute's Teen Environmental Action Mentorship (TEAM) program.
- Conference Overview
- Workshops and Criteria
- Groups and People Who Attend
- Registration and Scholarships
Overview
Over 200 high school youth leaders from across the Bay Area lead and participate in interactive workshops about environmental science and current environmental and social justice issues at Youth Quest. Participants gain new knowledge and action strategies to implement in their home communities. Guest speakers, performers, games, guided hikes, and stewardship projects round out this amazing community-building experience. Often providing first time environmental leadership exposure and experience, Youth Quest promises to be an eye-opening and motivational experience for all who attend.
Workshops and Criteria
What happens at Youth Quest? What activities are offered?
Youth Quest kicks off with an opening ceremony introducing all participating groups and featuring a performance and a youth key-note speaker. In addition to workshops, youth participate in team building groups, also called “break out groups," to help process the conference and get to know their fellow conference participants. Saturday
evening activities include performances, a camp fire, open mic, and dance party. Sunday focuses on action strategies and park stewardship projects, such as:
- Building and maintaining trails
- Removing invasive exotic plants such as ice plant
- Cleaning up litter
The weekend ends with a closing ceremony, slideshow and an all-conference photo.
Last year's conference theme “Livin’ La Vida Verde”, aimed to provide conference participants with a life greening experience. Some sessions focused on green living, science, leadership and social justice. Others provided opportunities for outdoor play and exploration.
Workshops titles included:
Saving Energy in Your Home
Environmental Racism
What Bugs Can Tell You about Your Watershed
Cooking with Local Foods
Eco-Consumerism
Using Geospatial Technology
Community Action
Green Building
Environmental Justice
Global Warming
Youth and Politics
Outdoor Accessibility for People with Disabilities
Environmental Health of the Delta Watershed
Rescuing Marine Mammals
Native Plants of the Marin Headlands Walk
Smart Hiker 101
Ultimate Frisbee
Yoga
Self Defense
Basketball
2008 workshops have yet to be announced.
How do you select workshops and what are the criteria?
Our youth planning committee will select workshops from the submission pool. Workshops should be youth led or co-led, interactive in nature and offer the opportunity for both the learning of new skills or information as well as group discussion around the issue. We encourage groups new to Youth Quest to submit workshop proposals, but ask that all groups have some prior presenting experience. For more information or to submit a workshop proposal for our next conference please click here.
Groups and People Who Attend
Who attends Youth Quest?
A diverse representation of high school youth attend Youth Quest. Any high school group, club or youth organization with high school aged participants may attend. Typically these groups are from the Bay Area but groups from other parts of California have attended.
Youth Quest welcomed the following groups in 2007:
- Boys and Girls Club of the South Bay
- California Academy of Sciences, Intern Program
- Canal Alliance
- California Youth Energy Services
- City Year, City Heroes Program
- Contra Costa Middle College High School
- Covenant House (Cov Records)
- The Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin
- Delta VISTA Academy
- Ecovillage
- Environmental Traveling Companions/ETC Youth Fellows
- Farm Fresh Choice
- Girl Ventures
- Inspiring Young Emerging Leaders (I-YEL)
- Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ)
- Marin Youth Center (MYC)
- The Marine Mammal Center
- Norcal Environmental Student Network/Rio Linda High School
- Pioneer High School
- San Francisco Youth Commission
- Skyline ECO of Skyline High School
- Teen Environmental Action Mentorship (TEAM)
- Teen Environmental Media Network
- Urban Watershed Project WISE
- YWCA of San Francisco and Marin
Does every group that attends present a workshop?
No, but all groups actively participate in the conference and learn from one another.
What constitutes a group?
At least one high school aged youth and one adult chaperone.
Is there a limit to the number of participants a group can bring?
In an effort to ensure participation by as many groups as possible, each group may bring up to 10 participants and 2 adult chaperones.
Can youth attend by themselves?
No, for safety and accountability reasons as well as the overnight nature of the conference, all youth must attend with an adult chaperone.
Can a group come for just 1 of the 2 days?
Youth Quest is a 2-day overnight conference. We strongly believe that a successful experience is contingent on full participation in the entire conference. Other groups are depending on your complete participation and attendance. We ask that all groups make every effort to participate in the full weekend.
Registration and Scholarships
What time does the conference begin and end?
The conference begins with onsite registration at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 1, and concludes after the all conference photo at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday, March 2.
What is the cost to attend?
Early registration: $55 per participant. General registration: $60 per participant. Registration fee covers all workshops and activities, room and board (3 meals).
To register for this year’s conference, please click here.
Are scholarships available?
Yes, scholarships are available. Group chaperones/leaders should fill out one scholarship application for their group. To find out about scholarship opportunities for this year’s conference, please click here.
For further details on this year’s conference, click here.
