Art for Earth: Oakland Teen's Upcycling Initiative Encourages Waste Transformation

The Climate Leaders Fellowship program teaches students about climate change and environmental sustainability, and guides them in designing and launching a project in their own communities.

The fellowship is offered as a collaboration between the Stanford University Deliberative Democracy Lab and the Rustic Pathways Foundation.

Read about Clara’s efforts below.

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Clara Linde
Age 16
Oakland, California
Oakland Technical High School

My name is Clara Linde. I’m 16 years old and live in Oakland, California. I currently attend Oakland Technical High School as a junior. I enjoy spending time with friends and my sister, going to the beach, listening to music, and doing art.

When I began the Stanford-Rustic Pathways Fellowship I was excited to incorporate my love of art into helping the climate. The project I designed uses waste/old materials in order to upcycle these items and turn them into art that can be revalued and loved.

This summer, I spent a lot of time taking walks and being in nature. I was upset to see the amount of litter and garbage on the sides of hiking paths and roads. I was inspired by an idea from my elementary school art class where we turned trash into fashion. I wanted to take something I enjoy doing (art) and incorporate it into an action that could positively impact the environment. And hopefully, it would be something people enjoy doing.

I struggled at first with how to turn this from an idea into a physical project. During online meetings with other fellows and leaders, I was able to hear lots of cool ideas and also get feedback on my project, which was super helpful. I later created an Instagram account (@art_forfuture3) where I brainstorm ideas and share ways people can take materials that would otherwise be discarded and turn it into something beautiful!

I want everyone of all ages to be inspired by this project and learn that caring for our planet isn’t just about carbon emissions and saving sea animals but it can also be about turning a hobby into something that can help make an impact on slowing/stopping climate change. I also didn’t want to base this project around raising contributions because again I want people to understand how easy and fun it can be to help our earth be a better place.

After brainstorming ideas, I create the media to post. This includes writing a brief caption to explain the steps, and finding images of already completed versions of these projects for examples. I encourage people to send in their completed versions, because it’s super cool to see everyone’s own renders and enthusiasm towards this project.

The feedback I’ve gotten on this project has been important to me. I was told by one of the fellowship’s student ambassadors that even though my project may not be BIG, it is valued because, if we all do something – even something with a smaller impact –  when we bring our efforts together, it has made a big one.

I have really enjoyed getting to be a part of this. I believe that hundreds of students coming together once a week to contribute ideas is just the beginning of our generation learning to heal the planet.