The conference was a success!

Thank you to all the 6,000 teens and their teachers who came out to the 2009 Environmental Youth Conference! We hope you found the conference fun and educational. Kudos to Jordan Howard, our keynote speaker, the seven workshop panelists, and the volunteer celebrities led by Tyrese Gibson and Rob Dyrdek for the awesome job!

Check back for more photos later. Meanwhile, here are some. Please post your comments on this blog, or find us on Facebook under "Million Trees LA."

Let's all get our green on today. Start Local, Impact Global!

Strike A Pose, Score Some Swag

Want to know how to get a free LA Stormwater t-shirt or tote bag? It’s easy. Just bring your camera and your smile to the LA Stormwater booth at the Environmental Youth Conference and pose with the stormdrain monster for a photo.

Post your photo to the LA Stormwater Facebook Fan Page and tell us one thing you’ve done to protect water quality. Then, we’ll send you a free LA Stormwater t-shirt or tote bag.

We’re looking forward to seeing your smiling faces and hearing about how your keeping LA safe and clean!

Connect with Million Trees LA at the 2009 Environmental Youth Conference

Through the use of AIM/iChat, a free service that offers free video conference calls for up to three users, the 2009 Environmental Youth Conference (EYC) will be able to be seen worldwide. This application will allow participants at the EYC to share their stories and insights with other youth from around the world during the conference. Through the use of video conference calls youth from around the globe will also be able to share their responses and opinions on what they are viewing from the participants at the EYC. The EYC will have a profile on AIM/iChat that will be accessible to schools and individuals on the day of the conference. Youth then will be able to video conference call back to the EYC using their own AIM account after they have listened to the reporting of EYC participants on site. The use of this new technology will allow the EYC to reach and interact with an international audience.

Requirments for AIM/iChat
An internet connection
An AIM screen name or Mac member name
A computer, specifically a Mac with OS X 10.5 Leopard
A microphone
A webcam (optional)



Directions for set up

o To register for an AIM screen name go to www.aol.com. You can get a screen name the first time you start AIM by pressing the "Get a Screen Name" button.

o After you register, AIM sends you an e-mail allowing you to confirm your registration request.

o For Mac OS X users, your .Mac member name (membername@mac.com) is a valid screenname on the AIM network, even if you no longer subscribe to .Mac. iChat to iChat conferences use the AIM network.

o Once you have set up an AIM account, with username and password, add milliontreesla to your buddy list.

o Users will sign into their AIM account, with their username and password, and can start either a video call or chat with MTLA, with the supplied MTLA account name, milliontreesla.

o Users will be able to use the video conference call features to connect with MTLA during the day of the EYC

Young fashion designers to be highlighted at the EYC

Don't forget to swing by the Fashion Lane at the EYC's exhibit area, and meet our young fashion designers that are able to come up with unique fashion styles from recycled materials. Their creativity is a unique way of expressing their commitment to the environment. Here are your green runway maestros from R'Ashion Eco Friendly Designs, a group partially sponsored by Green Ambassador Products.

Genesis Godoy, R’Ashion Team Leader, 17 years of age. She is a senior at Environmental Charter High School. Genesis is a creative, savvy designer. She is also a maestro at finding resources that are eco friendly.

Tiffany Tam, 16 years old and a junior at Environmental Charter High School. Tiffany has been designing since last year and is passionate and creative about all her designs.

Catherine Delima, 16 years old, a junior at Environmental Charter High School. Catherine's hobby is fashion design and she can create a breath taking piece from an old t-shirt.

Tania Gonzalez, 15 years old, a junior at Environmental Charter High School. Tania is an amazing designer who can add her own style to everything she touches.

Simone Schulz, is the individual responsible for helping each of our presenting eco-designers designs come to life. She loves working with her hands, shaping fabrics into custom translations of personality, silhouette and function to a unique clothing canvas.

Hear it from one of you!

One of the best things about the Environmental Youth Conference is that the workshops are conducted by youth presenters. No adult speakers here. Attendees will hear from their peers about green projects that they initiated, and hopefully be inspired to start their own environmental initiatives at home, in school or in their neighborhood.

Meet this year's dynamic youth panel that will highlight projects related to eco-consumption, water conservation, alternative energy and urban forestry:

Lauren Gutierrez is a college student who received TreePeople’s Youth Leadership Award last year for her project about the importance of trees.

Megan Kilroy is 17 years old and a student from Santa Monica High School. She has worked on several eco-projects such as a solar powered boat, water quality and recycling.

Rudy Sanchez is 16 years old and a student from Environmental Charter High School. He has raised public awareness about reducing plastic consumption and using reusable alternatives.

Daniela Martinez is 17 years old and a student from Gabrielino High School. Through her participation in Green Team, she helped organize an environmental festival at her school to raise funds for LifeStraws which buys water purifiers for developing countries.

Raphael Mawrence is 17 years old and a student from Santa Monica High School. He promotes alternative energy like solar power and biking to school.

Victoria Sun is 17 years old and a student from Walnut High School. She helped to build a solar-powered car called the Green Turtle.

Joe Hernandez is 16 years old and from Vaughn International Studies Academy. He worked on a carbon and water footprint project.

Come and hear from all of them on Wednesday, the 4th of November at the LA Convention Center!

Senior at Environmental Charter High is conference keynote speaker

Meet Jordan Howard, a dynamic 17-year-old senior who was first skeptical about the environmental problem and is now one of the most active green teens in Los Angeles.

Jordan is a Green Ambassador Youth Leader who went to Costa Rica with the group and came to understand the truth about the environmental problem and how it is the youth like her that can make the difference. Since then, Jordan started a battery recycling campaign for her community, created a speakers series for a plastic free world, and directed a student-powered film that provides tips on going green. Jordan embodies the change she wishes to see as a powerful and creative leader for her peers and community.

Get to know more about this year's powerful conference keynote speaker at www.jordaninspires.com.

EYC Artist Alley to feature ArtStorm talents

Three talented young artists from the community group Art Storm LA will participate at this year's Environmental Youth Conference Artist Alley. Their art form is called "Masterpiecing" or graffiti art.

Art Storm LA changes taggers into artists by providing canvases, paint and safe and legal locations for young people to pursue their art. The organization keeps helps youth develop their talents, and provides opportunities for expression.

Here are the three artists participating at the EYC:

RAMON ROBLES, Age 20
Ramon, a native of Cypress Park in Northeast Los Angeles, demonstrates a unique leadership ability that translates into his art. An accomplished track and field athlete, Ramon also races past his partners in the skills department. He uses colors, image and lettering, a superior imagination and brings an intellectual and funny, spontaneous quality to his masterpieces.

BRAULIO MENDIVIL, Age 19
Braulio, a native of Cypress Park in Northeast Los Angeles, is a natural talent hidden in the guise of his personality, which could be described as 'the trickster.' He puts as minimum an effort possible in all things, including aerosol art. But his lazy, selfish and stubborn independence are quickly forgiven when his canvas comes to life. With minimal effort, he makes it look so easy, and while his exterior personality may be an untamed practical joker, his inner mind is actually quicker and smarter than a lot of artists.

MICHAEL ANDRADE, Age 18
Michael brings excitement. His ability to let his unprepared first aerosol paint strokes lead him into any direction and the skills to pull it off is amazing. Like an abstract thinker, or someone who has traveled deep into the interior of the self, Michael is determined to push the envelope and keep on painting long after the piece is `finished.' I have seen canvases morph into 2nd or 3rdthemes and structures, and all with an exacting eye. Exactly exact with an exacting excellence.

See more of Ramon, Braulio and Michael's artwork at http://s610.photobucket.com/albums/tt187/ArtStorm/Available%20Office%20Art/.