Empowering the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders in South LA

To shape a more sustainable future, creating access to environmental education and leadership is essential. When the next generation is given the tools to lead—especially those closest to the challenges—the impact can be transformative. 

Still, a critical gap exists: Black communities are disproportionately impacted by environmental injustice, yet they remain underrepresented in climate leadership and related STEAM fields. Nowhere is this more evident than in South Los Angeles, where decades of discriminatory policies have led to higher exposure to air pollution, toxic soil, and related health risks—making access and representation all the more urgent.  

Our VB Gives Back partner, Women’s Earth Alliance, is working to close this gap through its Black Girls, Green Futures initiative. Launched in partnership with Environmental Charter Schools (ECS) and Seeds of Carver Urban Farm Collective, the program empowers young girls across South LA to become environmental changemakers in their communities. Through hands-on experience and mentorship from WEA’s network of women leaders, participants build confidence, expand their perspectives, and begin to see what’s possible for their future. 

“Without the knowledge and lived experiences required to think critically about environmental issues, young people won’t possess the skills needed for a future green economy. Providing them with equitable access and early exposure to this work helps build that foundation intentionally.”

— Tashanda Giles-Jones, ECS Environmental Education Program Lead

In its first year, students engaged directly with the challenges shaping their communities—testing soil, grafting trees, preserving wetlands, exploring eco-entrepreneurship, and more—connecting science to lived experience. This approach was especially urgent in the wake of California’s 2025 wildfires, which had lasting impacts on environmental and public health in the area. Through bioremediation, a natural process that detoxifies soil, students gained tools to support recovery in real, tangible ways. 

“At the heart of the program are three key elements: building trust and community, sharing knowledge and expanding access, and creating space to listen. This comes through in how we support the girls as they dream and cast a vision for themselves.”

— Kiya Leake - WEA Program Manager of Learning, Events & Alliance

The program culminated in a summer apprenticeship, where students were guided by mentors to apply their learning across fields such as environmental mapping, conservation, and eco-literacy. The result was not only skill-building, but also a deeper sense of agency—the ability not only to imagine, but to actively shape a more sustainable future.

“It starts with a passion. It starts with a dream. And when you steward that in girls, especially in Black girls, you're stewarding the future.”

— Kiya Leake - WEA Program Manager of Learning, Events & Alliance

Now through the end of June, a portion of every online order will be donated to Women’s Earth Alliance, helping further its mission through training, funding, and amplifying grassroots efforts.

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