San Mateo's young climate activists are hitting the pavement again this Sunday, leading hundreds of community members on a march through downtown before gathering at Central Park for speeches, live music and free food. The event, themed “Stronger Together,” is organized by the Citizens' Climate Lobby San Mateo Youth group and aims to push local leaders toward climate action while drawing newcomers into the movement.
According to NBC Bay Area, the group will host its annual youth climate rally at San Mateo Central Park on Sunday, with the march winding through downtown San Mateo before organizers expect hundreds of community members to join in. The march is designed to raise awareness about climate change and urge leaders to act. NBC Bay Area reports that the event will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Central Park stage.
Once the march winds down, participants will regroup at the park's main stage, where a speaker is set to speak, along with elected officials, about climate policy and local action. Organizers say the rally is open to people of all backgrounds and experience levels, including those who have never attended a climate event before, and attendees will have the chance to connect with local climate organizations and learn how to stay involved after Sunday wraps up.
A Youth-Led Tradition With Growing Reach
This isn't the first time San Mateo's young organizers have pulled off this kind of event. NBC Bay Area previously reported that young members from Citizens' Climate Lobby organized the community gathering in 2024. The downtown-march-and-Central-Park format appeared at the 2024 rally and is planned again this year. The Downtown San Mateo Association also noted that local businesses have chipped in with food, live music and informational tables in past years.
Attendance at these rallies has fluctuated depending on who's counting. The Downtown San Mateo Association cited organizers saying more than 100 people showed up in a prior year, while Aragon High School's student newspaper, the Aragon Outlook, put the 2024 crowd at closer to 50 to 70 attendees, describing a mix of teenagers, adults and families. That same account detailed a program featuring youth co-chairs, Citizens' Climate Lobby members and County Supervisor Noelia Corzo addressing the crowd after the march.
Part of a Broader Youth Climate Push
San Mateo's rally fits into a wider pattern of youth-driven climate organizing across the Bay Area. Just this past January, the Bay Area Youth Climate Summit held its second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Climate Rally, drawing what the group described as climate activists ranging from elementary schoolers to retirees, according to the Bay Area Youth Climate Summit. That event combined poster making, banner painting, screen-printing and poetry with more traditional speeches and a march, blending creative expression with advocacy.
Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action's 2025 summit drew more than 500 attendees, a sign of how far the local movement has grown beyond any single rally.
For Sunday's event, organizers say the goal remains the same as in years past: inspiring people, and especially young people, to turn climate concern into sustained action rather than a one-day appearance. Whether this year's crowd matches the higher or lower attendance figures reported from previous rallies remains to be seen, but the march-and-rally format that's defined San Mateo's youth climate movement looks set to continue downtown this weekend.
