Oakland Peace Center launches 'Youth Sustaining Peace' Program this month

This month's Youth Sustaining Peace Workshop includes practical grass roots activities like neighborhood litter pick up (with analysis of the types of waste collected and its likely source).

Kalynn Blakely, the OPC's Executive Director, wants to do more innovative educational programming and hopes "Youth Sustaining Peace" is the first of many similar efforts.

The Oakland Peace Center, founded in 2013, includes 35+ community partners including educators, community advocates, publishers, artists, musicians who all combine to pursue equal access, opportunity and social justice throughout the Bay Area.

Environmental Superhero "Resilience" to co-produce documentary with teen students

ALAMEDA, CA, UNITED STATES, June 12, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- San Francisco Bay Area environmental leader and performance artist/educator Jessica Jane Robinson is collaborating with the Oakland Peace Center (OPC) to launch a summer workshop series called “Youth Sustaining Peace” (YSP) that starts this month. YSP is designed to empower middle and high school students in Alameda County through hands on education in zero waste practices, food systems, sustainable gardening and community outreach in the form of a documentary film project that the students would self-produce with help from Robinson.

“Storytelling is an essential part of community building and advocating for change,” says Kalynn Blakely, Executive Director of the Oakland Peace Center. “I’m excited to have some of Oakland Peace Center’s story captured while helping young folks learn about media production, communications, and the importance of their own stories.”

The program includes a series of four workshops held on Saturdays all month at OPC, where participants will engage in interactive learning, real-world service projects, and leadership development. At the end of the month some of the students will join the student-led documentary production team which will bring the impact of the program to life while gaining skills in film and media. The exact idea and framework for the film will be developed during the Saturday sessions.

“I recently completed a similar project with students from Alameda, and it resulted in the completion of a well-received 16-minute film called the Story of the Cup,” says Robinson. “It’s very gratifying to see the young people I worked on the film take ownership of their learning and grow so much. Their goal became inspiring people to rethink their consumption habits and embrace reusable solutions.”

Story of the Cup was released nationally on YouTube & Instagram in celebration of the 55th Earth Day earlier this year. Robinson, best known for the graphic novel character/environmental superhero she created and often plays in person named Resilience, produced and co-directed the film with four high school interns in Alameda, CA, in late 2023 and early 2024. The 16-minute film can be seen by going to this page: https://youtu.be/JzujmCrtRnA?si=T0gENhC53Ob8djVv .

“Working with Jessica gives us a great opportunity to reactivate our youth and sustainability programming,” says Blakely, which had gone on hiatus during the COVID lockdown. “Clean air, water and equitable access to resources are essential to peace, so it’s important that the young – our future leaders – are educated and empowered to make our communities more sustainable. Programs like this one can help young people take part in leading sustainable change now.”

OCP’s community garden is likely to be a key part of the program and perhaps the film. Blakely says the organization started the garden a few years ago to create an opportunity for “intergenerational community building” and education about food as medicine and environmental justice. The garden functions not only as a teaching tool but as a source of fresh fruit and vegetables for those in need, and to provide herbs for seasoning and for their healing qualities.

Robinson, best known for the graphic novel character/environmental superhero she created and often plays in person named Resilience, has published several books, put out music videos and developed teaching tools such as her “Earth Warrior Carbon Calculator” which is part of many of her programs. She routinely runs programs in dozens of public and private schools, as well as a variety of other non-profit organizations in several states around the country.

“I want to inspire a new generation of potential environmental leaders to take their place in protecting the future of the planet,” says Robinson. "I think we can help save the planet in small ways every day by practicing sustainability and conscious daily choices. Education is the key, and younger people are great because they are quick learners and eager to take positive action because they want to make a difference."

The OCP summer project is being funded by the Northern California Recycling Association (https://ncrarecycles.org). For more information about the non-profit programs of Resilience Birthright go https://www.resiliencebirthright.org . For more information about the Oakland Peace Center, go to https://www.oaklandpeacecenter.org .

Richard Matthews
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