Spare the Air Youth

Spare the Air Youth educates and inspires Bay Area youth and their families to walk, bicycle, carpool and take transit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Credit
Noah Berger

Spare the Air Youth is a partnership between MTC and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District).

The Spare the Air Youth program is designed for K-12 students and their families. Currently, MTC funds:

  • Family Biking Workshops, which are run locally by each county’s bicycle coalition
  • The Bay Area BikeMobile, which brings free bike repair to local schools and communities
  • Additional programs to expand the high school Safe Routes to School program
Safe Routes to School

MTC's One Bay Area Grant program funds Safe Routes to School programs, offering safer routes for walking or biking to school, training, education and encouragement for biking and walking.

Staff Contact

Leslie Lara-Enríquez, Spare the Air Youth Program Manager
Phone: 415-778-5258
Email: llara-enriquez@bayareametro.gov

Spare the Air Youth Website

Visit the Spare the Air Youth website for workshops and other programs.

Spare the Air Youth on YouTube

Kids are making changes and saying YES to a better world. (English/Spanish)

Get Spare the Air Alerts & Forecasts

Get alerts and five-day air quality forecasts and plan to “Spare the Air.”

Technical Advisory Committee

The Spare the Air Youth program hosts a quarterly Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The TAC brings together providers who implement transportation-, climate- or air quality-focused youth programs throughout the Bay Area. The TAC is open to relevant program practitioners from the nine-county Bay Area.

YES Conference

A highlight of the Spare the Air Youth program has been the annual Youth for the Environment and Sustainability (YES) conference. The YES conference is a full-day event where middle- and high-school students from around the Bay Area come together to:

  • Discuss transportation issues
  • Learn how their decisions can impact climate change
  • Discuss solutions to the climate crisis
  • Share ways of encouraging others to walk, bike, take transit or carpool to school