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Greenhouse South LA youth spotlight climate resilience and safe‑streets advocacy
Summary
Students and staff from Greenhouse South LA presented hands‑on electrification training, climate advocacy and a 'Normandy Beautiful' safe‑streets campaign that presenters said helped secure a $27 million public grant and a project manager for corridor safety work.
Leaders of Greenhouse South LA and student participants told the committee how a youth‑led, community‑rooted hub provides electrification and green‑jobs training, serves as an emergency cooling and support site, and advances neighborhood safety campaigns.
Founder Kenneth Galbrath and program director Wendy Salvador joined students Emily and Isabella to describe workforce pathways (power‑tool and heat‑pump installation training), community response during fires and extreme heat, and patient advocacy on local oil‑drill impacts. “Our youth should be on the forefront of the green revolution,” a student presenter said, describing hands‑on training that aligns with career and CTE pathways.
Student leaders recounted the Normandy Beautiful safe‑streets campaign, walk audits and civic meetings that they said helped secure a $27 million public grant and a project manager to begin safety improvements on Normandy Avenue and other high‑injury corridors near schools. Presenters urged more visible signage, speed mitigation measures and improved lighting; committee members recommended physical protective elements (bollards) and described city channels for design and implementation.
Committee members and local nonprofit leaders praised the program’s public speaking and advocacy outcomes, asked about organizational structure and funding, and explored formal connections to trade unions and apprenticeship programs. Greenhouse representatives said the hub has existing pathways to unions (IBEW) and can act as a conduit to training and apprenticeship applications.
Presenters also described community supports they provide — food pantry distributions, shelter during raids or fires, and a mentoring environment that they said helps students persist academically while engaging in advocacy.
The committee asked how district partnerships could scale community hubs for emergency response; presenters requested more formal school‑CBO coordination and funding referrals. The city and district members offered to follow up on connections to local labor partners, funding sources and project managers.
Next steps: Greenhouse staff asked the district and committee to help identify funding opportunities and partnership pathways so the hub model can scale to additional neighborhoods and formally align with LAUSD workforce pipelines.
