A group of East Bay high school students spent their summer gardening, learning about saving electricity and speaking their minds to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District board of directors.

They are participants in a project called New Voices are Rising, a summer program from the Rose Foundation that teaches students about the environmental conditions in their cities and that they can advocate for positive change.

"It's about empowering students through information and then giving them a chance to be apart of the decision making process." Said Myesha Williams, program associate of the New Voices are Rising Project. "Our goal is to start instilling in them the idea that they can have access to decision making people and that their voice is valued and needed."

On August 4th the students took a trip to visit The Bay Area Air Quality Management District in San Francisco to Participate in their Board of Directors Meeting.

Focusing on a few key issues - refineries in Richmond, diesel pollution in east and West Oakland, and pollution caused by public transportation, the students opened the meeting with the results of their research and the realities they face on a daily basis. 

See the complete photo set here.