During a warm and windy day at Coyote Point Recreation Area, a group of middle school students sits overlooking the San Francisco Bay on a low wall of concrete built along the shoreline. Planes are flying overhead as they approach the San Francisco International Airport just across the water from San Mateo, and the students gather to watch them fly over the Bay. 

These students are on a Youth Exploring Climate Science (YECS) field trip, hosted by the San Mateo County Sustainability Department and Parks Department. On this trip, they are learning about climate change impacts, sea level rise, and local solutions to environmental issues. The low concrete block that they sit on is a sea wall, which was constructed in 2019 to protect the inland park areas from rising tides and storm surges. Further down the shore, students see a collection of rocks and concrete meant to act as a buffer against large waves that will pull the shoreline further underwater with increased storm surges and higher tides. These infrastructure features protect our communities and ecosystems against the impacts of rising sea levels, and students learn about these meaningful solutions when they attend these County-hosted field trips.  

About the Youth Exploring Climate Science (YECS) Program

The San Mateo County Sustainability Department hosts the YECS program every year for students across the county to participate in climate science field trips and learn about sea level rise adaptation, biodiversity protection, and wildfire mitigation. Since 2016, nearly 6,000 middle and high school students across the county have participated in the YECS program to learn about local climate solutions and community efforts towards creating a more resilient county. Throughout the 2024-25 school year, half of all YECS trips were attended by students who attend equity-priority schools, defined as schools whose student population consists of at least 50% of youth who are either English language learners, foster youth, or eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

A San Mateo County teacher remarked that the YECS program has been “a valuable opportunity for students to connect closely with nature, observe the local impacts of climate change firsthand, and see real-world mitigation efforts in action”. Providing climate education that focuses on local solutions is one way that students can be inspired and see themselves building a resilient future, no matter where they reside.

Launching Climate Science Field Trips in Your Community

The YECS field trip program is featured in a special issue of the Parks Stewardship Forum, which spotlights inspirational examples of park-based learning and strategies for engaging youth in climate education from across the country. The article, titled “Engaging Students in Solutions-Oriented Climate Science Field Trips Through Local Partnerships”, explores the field trip program in-depth and provides educators, organizations, and jurisdictions with inspiration for building their own climate science field trip programs beyond San Mateo County.

The Parks Stewardship Forum journal provides other jurisdictions and educators a foundation for leading their own climate science field trips in their own communities. Excerpted below from the journal article, there are three major considerations for launching climate science and solutions-oriented field trips in your own community:

1. Experiential, place-based learning

Experiential, place-based learning is essential because it allows students to directly connect with their environment, fostering a deeper understanding of climate challenges and solutions. Field trips offer a hands-on and memorable way to engage students by immersing them in local sites that are directly experiencing the impacts of climate change. For San Mateo County, the impact is primarily sea level rise. However, for other educators looking to replicate this program, look for the local impacts that can be visually seen or experienced. Possible impacts could be from stronger tornados or hurricanes, increased fire severity, flooding, loss of biodiversity, or drought. 

2. On-site impacts and solutions

What does six feet of sea level rise look like? During the YECS field trip, students are shown projected models of future sea-level rise in the exact location they’re standing, along with models of the larger San Francisco Bay Area. Students are asked to identify important features on the landscape that would be impacted by increasing sea levels, including major highways, shipping ports, airports, homes, businesses, wetland habitats, and more. The students are introduced to local solutions at Coyote Point Recreation Area, including soft and hard engineering, and to other local projects. Students are asked to think about what solutions they might come up with for other important areas that will need protection in the future. 

The ever-increasing threat of climate change on our ecosystems, infrastructure, and communities can be a distressing theme for many students, but by teaching them about adaptation and mitigation strategies, environmental educators can empower and inspire hope. The key is to find a location that has a clear, visual representation of the impacts and begin a discussion with the students about the potential solutions. During this discussion, it is important to weigh the pros and cons and help students understand that there might not be a one-size-fits-all solution for the various impacts locally or globally. 

3. Collaborative Partnerships

Effective partnerships are critical to success. In San Mateo County, the Parks Department provides site-specific expertise, while the Sustainability Department contextualizes broader regional strategies. Replicating programs elsewhere will require similarly aligned partnerships between local government, environmental organizations, and schools to provide a comprehensive and place-based curriculum. Teachers are also crucial partners in sharing YECS information, as they must integrate the video lesson and discussion curriculum into their own course schedule. Aligning the trips with their lesson plans allows for the curriculum to be seamlessly integrated into topics already discussed in the classroom.

The YECS program is a model for solutions-oriented climate science field trips in San Mateo County and beyond, providing a foundation for trip structure and engaging activities that can be implemented across the nation. No matter what climate risk a community may face, there are solutions to be shared with young generations in order to inspire them and build community awareness of local topics. San Mateo County is dedicated to environmental stewardship and building resilient futures, and the field trip program we provide to students is just one of the avenues we take to engage and inspire community members. Check out the entire Parks Stewardship Forum article to learn more about the YECS trip structure and curriculum. 

For more information about the YECS program and information about how to book a trip, please visit the Youth Exploring Climate Science website.