Next class of EnviroLeaders steps up

The EnviroLeaders program provides Sonoma Valley teens with essential job and life skills through practical environmentally-focused training. Mentored by the Sonoma Ecology Center, the program puts an emphasis on sustainable agriculture, community building, and park stewardship over a semester-long employment program. 

“Over the next three months, our team of six will be busy with various tasks — tending to the fall harvest, constructing our composting system, aiding in the planting of winter crops, nurturing the native plants garden, and ensuring the well-being of our feathered friends, the chickens,” said Tony Passantino, Education Program Manager. “Many of these young leaders have discovered their calling in sustainable agriculture and ecology, leaving behind lasting projects like our native bee ‘hotel,’ the arbor, lavender labyrinth, and the delightful children’s play area.”

EnviroLeaders are paid hourly and mentored by Sonoma Ecology Center educators and other professionals in the environmental field. They meet twice a week, at Sonoma Garden Park and other sites around Sonoma Valley.