Ironwood Tree Experience: Amplifying Youth Voice and Action for Climate Resilience

Throughout the summer of 2025, local environmental education non-profit, Ironwood Tree Experience – a 2025 award recipient of SCORCH's Community Implementation Pilot Project – collaborated with U of A MEZCOPH SCORCH faculty to engage 60 youth across Tucson and Southern Arizona to learn how rising temperatures and the effects of climate change are impacting young people and their communities. Youth highlighted issues affecting physical and mental health, declining health of local flora and fauna, and resulting social isolation. Mattie, age 17, noted, “I am an outdoorsy person and know a lot of others who are and even with lots of water it is not safe to go into the desert during summer. I also know that I and my friends and family get seasonal depression in the summer, not the winter, and less happens in the community since it's too hot to meet outdoors." Results from the survey administered to capture youth perceptions of how climate change is affecting their lives indicated that they are concerned and care deeply about the impacts of heat to the health of their communities. Youth are interested in taking action and also noted that their community does not stop at their human neighbors but extends to native plants and wildlife that are suffering.

After analyzing survey responses, Ironwood Tree Experience invited 11 of the 60 youth to participate in a Youth Climate Health Workshop where they explored the themes most cited and identified four solutions. These solutions are to 1) expand access to cooling centers & shaded spaces, along with accessible water stations, 2) provide targeted support for vulnerable populations, including unhoused individuals, the elderly, and pets, 2) launch community education programs on heat safety, hydration, and climate resilience, and 4) invest in green infrastructure and long-term climate action to reduce urban heat risks. The youth then developed a series of steps and pathways for implementing these solutions and identified community individuals and organizations that are already working towards these solutions in their communities with whom they can partner. Final takeaways from the survey and workshop: Youth are aware, impassioned, and dedicated to their communities and to the environments they care for and inhabit. Young people deserve platforms to not only uplift their truths and experiences, but also effective platforms that value their care and strong diligence.

Mission: To inspire youth to connect with their community through experiences in nature.