Y-PLAN (Youth - Plan, Learn, Act Now)
An award-winning K-12 civic youth engagement initiative run by UC Berkeley's Center for Cities + Schools, in which students research real local challenges (like sea level rise, housing displacement, or transportation) and pitch concrete redevelopment proposals to actual city officials and planners. The program has partnered with schools in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, East Palo Alto, San Rafael, and San Jose.
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UrbanPlan for High School (ULI San Francisco)
A project-based learning curriculum unit, created with UC Berkeley's Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, in which student teams role-play developers, city officials, and community members to redevelop a fictional neighborhood called Elmwood. Bay Area volunteers from the Urban Land Institute's San Francisco chapter run the simulation in economics and government classrooms at schools such as Piedmont High School and Eastside College Preparatory School.
Robbin Mackbee Firefighter/EMS Youth Academy
A nine-month youth academy in Vallejo run in partnership with the Vallejo Fire Department, Vallejo Unified School District, and Medic Ambulance, offering mentorship, CPR/First Aid/disaster-medicine training, and structured career exploration for youth interested in firefighting or EMS careers.
SFMade FlexFactor
SFMade's flagship in-classroom program where student teams identify a real-world problem, design a hardware-based solution, build a business model around it, and pitch their venture to industry professionals, exploring manufacturing and entrepreneurship career pathways.
SLEWS Program (Center for Land-Based Learning)
The Student and Landowner Education and Watershed Stewardship (SLEWS) program engages cohorts of about 30 high school students in hands-on habitat restoration on working farms, ranches, and open spaces across Yolo, Solano, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Butte counties. Over three to five field days per cohort, students plant native vegetation, build irrigation systems, conduct ecological studies, and hear from natural-resource professionals about careers in agriculture and conservation.
ACE Mentor Program - San Francisco Bay Area
A free after-school mentorship program pairing Bay Area high school students (grades 9-12) with volunteer architects, engineers, and contractors. Teams work through mock building-design projects, visit real job sites and professional offices, and present their solutions at a year-end showcase.
BAVC Media Next Gen
Next Gen is a free semester-long after-school media program at BAVC Media in San Francisco for youth ages 14-17, distinct from BAVC's other youth offerings like Climate Warriors. Students choose a track in DSLR video production/cinematography (Factory) or frame/stop-motion animation, meet twice weekly, and can earn a $300 completion incentive while building a college-application portfolio.