Resilient Roots: Oakland Shoreline Leadership Training Kicks Off!

Building Community Through Environmental Justice

The Resilient Roots Oakland Shoreline Leadership Training is officially underway! The training is led by partners Greenbelt Alliance, Hood Planning Group, and Ninth Root, and its purpose is to support frontline community members in understanding climate risks, interpreting technical information, and communicating adaptation strategies to peers, decision-makers, and the broader public. Participants will immerse themselves in climate justice principles and engage with the themes covered in the Port of Oakland’s Waterfront Resilience Plan, including coastal flooding, nature-based solutions, and shoreline ecology.

Our first session brought the cohort together for an engaging introduction to environmental justice principles, facilitated by equity and community engagement specialist Phoenix Armenta. This first session set the stage for a cohort of 22 participants, 5 of whom are Spanish-speaking, to begin building relationships, sharing experiences, and thinking collectively about what climate and environmental justice mean in their own communities, spanning from Deep East Oakland to West Oakland and back around!

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Starting With Environmental Justice

The session laid the foundation for this eight-month program by introducing environmental justice principles and inviting participants to consider how environmental issues connect to history, race, health, access, displacement, and community power.

Participants used digital tools like Envirostor and Flood Explorer to visualize their communities in a different light, then reflected on the environmental challenges affecting their own neighborhoods while considering an important question: What role can each of us play in creating a more just and resilient future?

Through discussion and reflection, participants began identifying their environmental learning interests, which ranged from environmental justice, flooding/sea level rise, trash, pollution, and water quality.

From Participants to Trainers

A key component of the training is developing a train-the-trainer mindset. Participants are not simply receiving information; they are developing the knowledge, confidence, and relationships needed to share what they learn with others.

This approach recognizes that community resilience grows when knowledge moves beyond the classroom. Each participant has the potential to become a connector, educator, advocate, and resource within their own community.

Building the Cohort

The first session also established the foundation for the cohort experience. Participants learned more about the program structure, expectations, upcoming activities, and the final capstone project while getting to know one another.

Creating a strong cohort is essential to the program. We believe leadership development happens through relationships, clear, open communication, and hands-on experiences. We are able to be stronger advocates and build a shared vision of a better Oakland when we have a community of peers to learn from, collaborate with, and support. 

What’s Next

This session is just the first of twelve training modules from August 2026 through March 2027. The second session will take participants beyond the classroom for a tour of the Port of Oakland, providing an opportunity to explore the intersection of industry, transportation, environmental health, climate resilience, and the communities surrounding the Port. Through site-based learning, participants will connect the concepts discussed in the first session to the real-world environmental and economic systems shaping Oakland’s shoreline.

As the program continues, participants will deepen their understanding of climate and shoreline issues, explore community-based solutions, and develop projects that connect their learning to action. Participants will gain invaluable knowledge in various chosen adaptation strategies throughout a series of workshops, field experiences, conversations, and collaborative learning opportunities that help with the development of their capstone projects.

The first session was just the beginning. We’re excited to see where these Resilient Roots grow.