Establish a university student "climate corps" that builds on student investments in the community like Pittserves, but focuses on climate adaptation and mitigation efforts (e.g., tree planting, recycling, habitat restoration, stormwater management, etc.).
- Young people are particularly focused on climate change and environmental justice issues.
- Throughout the planning process, students have commented and asked to participate in elements of the planning work and activities in the neighborhood focus on climate change, adaptation, mitigation, and overcoming environmental inequities.
- There are excellent programs at CMU and Pitt that offer students an opportunity to actively participate in climate change mitigration efforts on-campus, but fewer consistent opportunities for this work to expand into the community.
- OPDC has run various programs and initiated projects that have successfully utilized Pittserves students, but again, this is not an ongoing climate change program.
- Local universities to continue and expend their work with local communities to leverage the climate interest and volunteering opportunities from students to positively impact the community.
- A dedicated program that continues every year would allow for lessons to be learned and improve the program each subsequent year. Funding could also better follow a program model than one-off projects.
- Pittserve and CMU-PACE provide a great basis for such a program but the climate corps would have an added focus on climate impact in Oakland and mixing students from neighboring campus.
- This climate corps could be actively involved in the resident education program or the “butterfly pollinator angel” program.
- Could be used as part of university's marketing to attract students to study there.
When to start: 3-5 years
Duration: Ongoing
Estimated costs: $ (out of $$$$)
Project lead(s): Institutions, Student Governments
Project partner(s): DCP, OBID, OPDC, neighborhood associations
Potential funding source(s): None needed
