The City of Lodi has a lot to be proud of. At the recent League of California Cities’ annual conference in Long Beach, Lodi was honored with the Ruth Vreeland Award for Engaging Youth in City Government.
The reason? Lodi’s successful Storm Drain Detectives program, which encourages teens at Lodi and Tokay high schools to help monitor water quality at Lodi Lake and the Mokelumne River, learn about issues that affect the local watershed, and share their knowledge through the Mokelumne Current newspaper.
In recent years, Earthkeepers at Heritage Elementary and students at Reese Elementary and Lodi Middle have also participated in the Storm Drain Detectives program.
The award is part of the Helen Putnam Award program, and celebrates city programs that:
- Provide youths a chance to participate and have a voice in their city’s public decision making.
- Promote collaboration between cities and other agencies — in this case, Lodi Unified School District — to inform and engage youths in city government.
- Engage students in the community and teach them about good citizenship.
Read more about the award, the creation of the Storm Drain Detectives and the teachers and city employees who keep the program running at the Lodi News-Sentinel. The award will be presented to the city by a League of California Cities representative at the Lodi City Council meeting at 7 p.m. Nov. 2.