Centering Youth Voices in Environmental Action

Through photovoice and community-based participatory research, we partnered with minoritized high school youth from East Austin and the Rio Grande Valley to examine youth experiences of environmental burdens and hazards, their impact on health and wellbeing, and youth ideas for environmental action. Youth shared from their experiential knowledge and engaged in activities to strengthen their awareness of historic and contextual dynamics framing their lived experiences. In this workshop, the audience will engage in some of the activities in which the youth participated. We will share what youth identified as environmental burdens in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods and their proposed solutions. We will reflect on the impact of youth-engaged research and discuss how participants can incorporate this knowledge to both amplify youth’s voices and incorporate youth proposed solutions.