Hidden Villa is excited to introduce Content Corps, a unique volunteer opportunity for young leaders just like you! We’re seeking 10 youth content creators to join our January cohort.
Content Corps builds on the 5 pillars of our summer teen leadership programs. (Environmental stewardship, race and class equity, food and farm, lgbtq+ inclusion, and the Duveneck family legacy).
During the 10 week cohort, you will develop your creative voice, meet new peers, unpack intersectional environmental topics, and craft a compelling social media campaign that inspires positive change. Build your digital portfolio while you earn volunteer hours and inspire a more just and sustainable world.
Interested? Apply today! Have questions? Sign up for an information session or email zkane@hidden villa.org. We look forward to seeing what you may create! Also, be sure to scroll below to check out content created by Hidden Villa teen leaders.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
THE WHY:
Hidden Villa understands the power and influence social media has on society and culture. Social media is by far the most influential author of the culture of our time. Now more than ever it is important that we get the story right!
THE WHO:
With the right authors in place…YOU, we can leverage the power of social media to amplify conversations about environmental sustainability, climate change, and a host of other important topics under the intersectional environmentalism umbrella. Together, we have the power to popularize sustainable practices and influence a greater love for the environment! Together we can author the culture of our time.
THE WHAT:
Over the course of ten weeks, with support from Hidden Villa mentors, you will build out a week-long social media campaign giving a deep dive into an environmental topic of your choosing using short-form video content, photography, and graphic design. Along the way, you will learn the fundamentals of digital marketing and digital content creation.
THE WHERE:
Hidden Villa’s Content Corps program is committed to fostering a safe online digital space for Bay Area high school youth. Content Corps meets online for weekly “Ideas Labs”. During the weekly meetings, you meet with Hidden Villa mentors and peer content creators to learn digital media skills and unpack intersectional environmental topics.
THE WHEN:
January 14, 2025 – March 11, 2025
ONLINE (Date & Time TBD)
THE HOW:
Interested? Complete the Content Coprs winter session application. Hidden Villa will welcome 10 high schoolers from across the Bay Area to join the cohort. We look forward to working with YOU to author the culture of their time!
YOUTH CREATED CONTENT
To Hidden Villa by Kathleen Zhu
Pictured: Hidden Villa summer camp counselors-in-training carry their acrylic legacy mural they dedicated to Hidden Villa, a piece that highlights Hidden Villa’s five pillars and their shared social ideals.
Phot0 by Kathleen
Hidden Villa,
I wonder if many who visit know about your origins. Do they know about the native Ohlone people, Hidden Villa’s earliest known settlers? Or that the creek once ran year-round? Do they know about Frank and Josephine Duveneck and their four children who chose to create Hidden Villa with their land? How about how much of a feminist and knowledge-lover Josephine was?
There is a lot to unpack with Hidden Villa. With their history in mind, this will be a love letter to Hidden Villa, those who came before, and those who helped build it.
First, to the Ohlone who came before, I will forever think of Hidden Villa in memory of you. As I walk near the creek, I can see you fishing in the creek. As I walk in the valley, I can see you gathering bunchgrasses in the valley for basket-weaving. As I walk on the hill, I see you hunting deer and gathering acorns. I feel your presence on this land, and thank you for taking care of it.
Second, to the Duvenecks who built Hidden Villa, I will forever thank your generous, compassionate family for seeing your property as an opportunity to improve the land by creating a watershed, advance social justice by housing World War II refugees and Japanese-American victims, and promote environmental education for children. Thank you for creating such an inclusive and beautiful space.
Lastly, to those at Hidden Villa, thank you for carrying on their mission. As I work with Hidden Villa, I feel their values in the people on this land. Here, there are people who love and respect nature just as much as I do, and those who share my views. Here, I feel at home and at peace. Thank you for making this the space I see it as today.
To Hidden Villa’s 100th anniversary and continued flourishment…
Love,
Kathleen Zhu
A poem to Mother Earth by Kathleen Zhu
The following is a poem (read left to right) by Kathleen. Kathleen is one of our rising leaders and is a counselor in training and a prolific Content Corps creator. The following is 100% original. The artwork and the poem were created by Kathleen.
Snake Facts by Rene Oseguera
Rene attended one of the Herptiles classes offered by Hidden Villa senior Naturalist, Garth Harwood. After the class, he designed this carousel to share what he learned. Rene even went a step further and gathered some additional research to include in his carousel.
