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Menlo Park Youth Advisory Committee urges inclusion in AI policy, proposes sustainability projects
Summary
Members of the Menlo Park Youth Advisory Committee presented their 2025–26 work plan, described volunteer outreach (Photos with Santa, Halloween Hoopla), proposed sustainability and arts projects in partnership with the Environmental Quality Commission, and asked to be involved in the city/library AI policy process.
Members of the Menlo Park Youth Advisory Committee told the Parks and Recreation Commission on May 27 that they want a greater role in city policy and programming for young people.
"We are a group of Menlo Park youth who advise and collaborate with the Parks and Recreation Commission," said several YAC members during a joint presentation. Committee members described a work plan that prioritizes member participation, completion of mid‑ and end‑year reflections and improved documentation of YAC activities.
YAC members listed recent volunteer work and outreach, including Photos with Santa, Halloween Hoopla and the Love Our Earth Festival. They said those events helped them learn how to connect youth audiences to city programming and broadened the committee’s high school representation.
After hearing a presentation from the Environmental Quality Commission, YAC proposed several sustainability projects: a community art installation inspired by “solar punk” themes, a repair‑and‑reuse fair, and a youth climate ambassador program to visit local schools. They said they promoted EQC events on social media and volunteered at the Love Our Earth Festival.
A YAC member described taking part in Yak Attack, a Bay Area parks and recreation conference, and said workshops on marketing and on AI in media informed their ideas about youth outreach. "Yak Attack was overall just a very fun, and very well‑rounded event," one member said.
Several YAC members asked the commission to involve youth directly in drafting the city’s and library’s AI policy. They argued that AI will affect education and everyday life for young residents and recommended using surveys and interviews to collect broader youth input.
Commissioners praised the committee’s outreach and urged continued collaboration. Vice Chair Joseph Grass contrasted adult and youth adoption of AI during a brief show‑of‑hands and encouraged the group to share concrete recommendations for safe, limited uses of agent‑style AI. YAC members recommended sandboxed tools rather than granting full access to personal accounts.
The committee also asked about opportunities to produce YAC merchandise (t‑shirts, water bottles, hats) to help publicize their work.
The presentation closed with staff and commissioners inviting YAC to return for future meetings and to help shape marketing and outreach plans for commission initiatives.
