Engaging Students in Local Climate Solutions
During a warm and windy day at Coyote Point Recreation Area, a group of middle school students sits overlooking the San Francisco Bay on a low wall of concrete built along the shoreline. Planes are flying overhead as they approach the San Francisco International Airport just across the water from San Mateo, and the students gather to watch them fly over the Bay.
These students are on a Youth Exploring Climate Science (YECS) field trip, hosted by the San Mateo County Sustainability Department and Parks Department. On this trip, they are learning about climate change impacts, sea level rise, and local solutions to environmental issues. The low concrete block that they sit on is a sea wall, which was constructed in 2019 to protect the inland park areas from rising tides and storm surges. Further down the shore, students see a collection of rocks and concrete meant to act as a buffer against large waves that will pull the shoreline further underwater with increased storm surges and higher tides. These infrastructure features protect our communities and ecosystems against the impacts of rising sea levels, and students learn about these meaningful solutions when they attend these County-hosted field trips.