Next Generation to Answer the Questions We Cannot - Youth Climate Practitioners

After studying architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, Ana returned to her homeland, working as a legislative analyst in Congress. She was struck hard by the destruction of the natural environment for commercial development, further compromising a land and its people already ravaged by climate change. When she eventually came back to the U.S., becoming an urban planner in Pasadena, CA, she appreciated the importance of her work even more after what she had witnessed at home. As a side project, she developed a climate action plan for the city. 

Ana would later join AmeriCorps VISTA, a national service program initially proposed by President Kennedy. As a member of the program, she came to Kauaʻi in February 2021, looking to learn how an island community addresses sustainability. By August, Ana’s strong background in climate advocacy enabled her to create a position for herself with the County of Kaua’i. 

Her first project in her new post was the Youth Climate Practitioners program. Over the course of three months, students meet with people from a wide variety of businesses who are committed to island sustainability and climate resiliency. The program is the antithesis of a classroom education—students get outside and put learning into action, taking a systems thinking approach to help define the complexities of sustainability and how to address it. Students also receive a $500 stipend for participating in the program. This cultivates their initial interest into a kind of contract, adding a fabulous dynamic to their involvement by making it their job to learn. 

In looking over the program’s agenda, I was immediately riveted by a part of the program dealing with sea level rise. Large land masses can’t possibly appreciate the deadly consequences of melting glaciers and warming oceans in the same way a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean might. Ever so slowly, Kaua’i will begin disappearing into the sea. I particularly wanted to attend this sea level presentation to see how the students would respond.

We took a field trip to Brennecke’s Beach, Poipu. I rode to the site in a van with the students, my first interaction with them. For an old guy, it was such a treat to be around their energy. Ana was at the wheel, and Ruby Pap, Coastal Land Extension Specialist with University of Hawai’i Sea Grant College rode along with us. I happen to have known Ruby for years—that’s how it is on Kauaʻi.

More students were waiting for us at a picnic table, close to the road. Ruby spread huge maps across the table that showed south shore beach erosion and sea level rise, measured over time. She talked about the catastrophic flooding on the north shore a number of years ago and how the community came together, an example of both climate’s impact and this island’s resiliency. There were several pauses during the presentation to engage the students, inviting them to express their thoughts and observations. I loved hearing them.

The highlight of the presentation was a discussion about the value of using drones to measure sea rise because conventional measurement is only done every five years. After a talk about the licensing procedure, it was time for Ruby to fly her drone. I stayed back at the table and watched the whole group, close to the ocean, following its flight; it was truly mesmerizing.I hope you enjoyed this piece for Kui Kauaʻi Stories. It was truly a pleasure sharing it with you. If you are a student or know a student who cares about the future of Kauaʻi, please contact Ana Española for more on next year’s program.