Award-Winning YES Conference Returns to the San Francisco Bay Area

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Middle- and high-school students from across the region will gather to take action on environmental sustainability issues at the second Youth for the Environment and Sustainability, or YES, Conference on February 7, 2015, in Oakland. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) have issued a Call for Session Proposals inviting students, youth-leaders, teachers or youth advisors to present at the YES Conference.

The goal is to encourage students from the nine Bay Area counties to share their work on youth-led activities that aim to improve air quality, community safety and environmental health in the region. The deadline to submit a proposal is Wednesday, January 7, 2015. The proposal form is available at http://www.sparetheairyouth.org/call-session-proposals.

"Our goal is to empower youth to make healthy transportation choices for the benefit of their future and our environment," said Amy Worth, chair of MTC and City of Orinda councilmember. "We want to encourage collaboration between students who live in very different parts of the region so they can learn from each other."

Students are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal to present their work at the conference. Presenters can share their local or school's efforts to encourage walking, bicycling, carpooling and taking transit to school; find youth-led solutions to improve air quality and combat climate change; or teach their peers what they can do to promote a healthy and thriving natural environment. Interested applicants can register to present individually, join a panel discussion or lead an interactive session.

"Today's youth can have a large impact in shaping our future," said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Bay Area Air District. "The YES Conference is a great opportunity for Bay Area students to learn from each other and demonstrate their passion for sustainability issues." 

The conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 7, 2015, at the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter, 101 Eighth Street, Oakland, next to the Lake Merritt BART station. Registration is free and open to students, parents, teachers and youth leaders in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Students under 18 years of age must have their parents' permission to attend. For complete conference information and to register, visit http://www.sparetheairyouth.org/2015yesconference/.

Part of the Spare the Air Youth program, the YES Conference is sponsored by the Air District and MTC. For more information about the Spare the Air Youth Program, visit sparetheairyouth.org. MTC is the regional transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The Air District is the regional agency responsible for protecting air quality in the nine-county Bay Area.

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SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission