Bluedot Institute: Our Story

Our story began with a catastrophe. Climate change came knocking at the door of our founder, Victoria Riskin. It came in the shape of fires, followed by, in the early days of January 2018, floods and mudslides in which her close-knit community in Santa Barbara faced tremendous loss.

In the aftermath, an idea was born. Vicki — an author, television writer and producer, psychologist, and human rights activist — knows the power of storytelling in bringing people together. And the stories that she wanted to hear and to share are those of everyday people taking on hope-filled, solutions-based approaches to climate change and sustainability.

So she founded Bluedot Living, a group of locally based magazines and newsletters where readers could learn about and be inspired by the many people around the world who are pushing back against climate change in their daily lives.

But Vicki saw a gap. She wanted to create a platform especially for youth voices to share their experiences and ideas around climate solutions. So, in 2021,  she brought together a small but dedicated team to create a high school age program, the Bluedot Institute, to fill that need. Since then, the Bluedot Institute has grown from an organization working with a handful of high schools and students, to a network of more than 30 schools and over 100 students. Our three programs offer experience in leadership, communication, and community-building, and equip students to engage in local solution-oriented climate action projects.

• Share their experiences and ideas
• Take positive solutions-based action, and
• Shape the future of the world they will inherit with excitement and hope