Senior Arianna Macias Recognized as Environmental Steward

This summer, Oak Grove senior Arianna Macias was recognized for her work as a member of the environmental restoration group Green Valley Project Youth Council and her dedication to protecting public health in Ventura County with Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas (CFROG).

CFROG is an environmental non-profit advocating for a transition away from oil and gas. It advances its mission through its youth program, the Environmental Voices Academy, which helps to empower young people through a combination of climate justice curriculum and real-life advocacy tools to take action on environmental issues affecting their communities.

Arianna says she found out about CFROG through Oak Grove’s student environmental club. “I thought it was amazing how they were getting young people to advocate, and I wanted to get involved,” she says.

“They’re trying to pass a law so that California doesn’t allow oil drilling companies to drill close to people and frontline communities. The pollution that drilling causes affects these communities’ health, especially kids’, and they want to impose restrictions to reduce the pollution in the air.”

Thanks to Arianna and other student activists’ involvement in CFROG, Ojai City Council recently voted unanimously to adopt a resolution calling for the end of oil and gas drilling in California and urging Governor Newsom to immediately implement SB1137, the 2022 law requiring a 3,200-foot distance between oil and gas drilling and sensitive sites.

“When I spoke with Ojai’s mayor, Betsy Stix, she told me that when she sees young people advocate and get up and speak it really motivates her to do something. So, I want to do more,” says Arianna. “After school, I’d like to become an environmental lawyer.”

This summer, Oak Grove senior Arianna Macias was recognized for her work as a member of the GVP Youth Council, and her dedication to protecting public health in Ventura County with CFROG (Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas). Her participation in both the Green Valley Project’s Youth Council and CFROG’s Environmental Voices Academy has established her as an accomplished environmental steward.

Read the full Green Valley Project article»