Owen Ziliak

From left: CCAC fellow Matt May, 23, talks with fellow Sophia Strena, 24, about water use in the permaculture garden while fellow Julien Luebbers, 23, rolls a water tote and hose towards plants in need of water on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 at REAP Climate Center in Alameda, Calif. They spend much of their time at the center together, working on various physical and digital tasks to fulfill the needs of the nonprofit. CCAC works to get state funding to local climate efforts. At REAP, the fellows work on projects such as waste reclamation, urban greening and regenerative agriculture.

Volunteer Finn McGuire, center, 12, smiles after being handed a hoe by CCAC fellow Julien Luebbers on Sunday, June 2, 2024 at REAP Climate Center in Alameda, Calif. “It’s better than adults because adults are boring,” said McGuire of the fellows leading volunteers through activities. “They (adults) don’t make it more interesting. They just say stuff.” The volunteers were on their way to tear open and break up mushroom blocks, which are recycled organic materials that fungi farmers use to grow mushrooms. The practice is a part of the organization’s regenerative farming efforts, which use fungus to create nutrient-dense foods and cleanse soil. 

CCAC fellow Sophia Strena sprays herself with sunscreen before going out on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at REAP Climate Center in Alameda, Calif. Strena, who grew up in Alameda, found her love for climate work in her backyard. “There are so many things happening in the world that when you're getting slammed with it all the time, it becomes untouchable,” said Strena. “And when I found myself working in the garden it felt so manageable and the more I learned about regenerative practices, the more I learned how much can contingently be done in the climate world. Starting from your backyard, your own community and working its way up rather than only being blasted all the time with federal level problems, and world level problems.” B CCAC fellow Sophia Strena sprays herself with sunscreen before going out on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at REAP Climate Center in Alameda, Ca. Strena, who grew up in Alameda, found her love for climate work in her backyard. “There are so many things happening in the world that when you're getting slammed with it all the time, it becomes untouchable,” said Strena. “And when I found myself working in the garden it felt so manageable and the more I learned about regenerative practices, the more I learned how much can contingently be done in the climate world. Starting from your backyard, your own community and working its way up rather than only being blasted all the time with federal level problems, and world level problems.

CCAC fellow Lily Garcia-Daly, 25, second from left, helps volunteers spread soil around a large garden plot on Sunday, June 2, 2024 at REAP Climate Center in Alameda, Calif. Garcia-Daly finds the environment created by the volunteers to be a powerful one in the fight against climate change. “It’s like a pressure valve for just general climate anxiety where high schoolers come in, parents and their kids come in and they can work on the land and work on environmentally-based projects for their own sanity,” said Garcia-Daly. “I think it's really cool because maybe it's something as small as weeding a part of a garden. But think of how much that can do for somebody's outlook. At least they spent two hours doing this thing. And maybe the thing was small, but isn't that awesome?”

Volunteer Mateo Brown, 20, breaks down mushroom blocks with a hoe on Sunday, June 2, 2024 at REAP Climate Center in Alameda, Calif. “There’s always something we can do,” said Brown. “Pick a piece of trash off the street, that can have a lasting impact. Cause if you don’t, who will?”

Lily Garcia-Daly, hanging from a metal beam, grabs Sophia Strena’s hat off her head with her feet during the fellow’s lunch break on Sunday, June 2, 2024 at REAP Climate Center in Alameda, Calif. Gen Z, while already dealing with climate change, has an epidemic going on- loneliness. According to a Cigna study, “73% of Gen-Z report sometimes or always feeling alone.” The REAP Climate Center has helped some overcome that. “Having a consistent group of people that I can consider peers and would go out and have drinks with and that kind of thing, and having a long time span to work with them on things like permaculture and food forests and like just different regenerative things has been amazing,” said Strena. “I’ve gotten so close to these people.”

CCAC fellow Matt May walks past a solar trailer on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at REAP Climate Center in Alameda, Calif. REAP is completely off-grid, according to co-founder and executive director Jonathan DeLong. All of the center’s power comes from solar panels. The only assets that use non-renewable energy are the truck and tractor, which are used to maneuver about the area and do heavy lifting.

CCAC fellow Matt May gestures to a whiteboard of CCAC fellow digital “to-do’s” on Monday, June 3, 2024 at REAP Climate Center in Alameda, Calif. The fellows are responsible for a number of additional jobs beyond field work, which include brand marketing and management, volunteer planning, community growth and preparing curated experiences. Fellow Lily Garcia-Daly credits Gen Z’s general digital prowess with their ability to make big change at the nonprofit that goes beyond field work. “I think that's a big difference when it comes to Gen Z, because we're digital natives,” said Garcia-Daly. “We understand that. There's not going to be a day when large tech companies fail at grabbing our attention. We might as well use those same tools to do what we want with them… with the influx of fellows, we've essentially redesigned how this nonprofit approaches digital communications.”

CCAC fellow Sophia Strena and volunteer Leia O’dell, 25, both from the Bay Area, talk about aqueducts in Los Angeles while weeding foxtails from the REAP Climate Center patio on Sunday, June 2, 2024 in Alameda, Calif. “A lot of us are are craving community,” said Strena. “I think part of that is having land-based practices and having land-based work where you're literally tied to your region.”

CCAC fellows David Diaz, left, 30, and Matt May embrace in the middle of the road of the REAP Climate Center on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 in Alameda, Calif. “I think because we’re all similar ages and we’re doing this fellowship together, there’s this undeniable sense of camaraderie in the sense that we’re in it together,” said May. “When you have this many young people that are working together, you feel like you have people to lean on.” B CCAC fellows David Diaz, left, 30, and Matt May embrace in the middle of the road of the REAP Climate Center on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 in Alameda, Ca. “I think because we’re all similar ages and we’re doing this fellowship together, there’s this undeniable sense of camaraderie in the sense that we’re in it together,” said May. “When you have this many young people that are working together, you feel like you have people to lean on.”