The Solano Committee on Land and People (facilitated by Solano Land Trust) is undertaking an initiative to provide equitable access to all kids in Solano County (ages 0-24). In partnership with First 5 Solano, Solano County Behavioral Health, and the Solano County Office of Education, Solano Land Trust (SLT) conducted a study, called Pathway to 100% Solano Youth Outdoors, to understand which Solano communities lacked access to parks, open space, and programming. Their analysis accounted for a variety of equity factors, including: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color populations, poverty rate, physical health, behavioral health, and education. As a result, SLT and partners have been able to identify high priority communities that would benefit from park development and improvement, safer park access, and/or additional youth programming. In the next several months they hope to release a draft report to share findings and receive community feedback on the next steps.
The Solano Land Trust is not only a key land steward in the region, but also offers a range of outdoor education opportunities on their properties, with a particular focus on STEM programming (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). They are also working with the Fairfield Suisun Sewer District and Workforce Investment Board to create a Climate Transition Summer Youth Work experience program.