After more than two decades of bringing urban environmental education, outdoor adventures, and youth leadership programs to New Haven neighborhoods, Solar Youth is closing its doors. We are deeply grateful to our founder, staff, board members, donors, partners, and most of all, the youth and families who made this mission come alive — exploring forests, leading community projects, and carrying the spirit of "Kids Explore! Kids Do! Kids Teach!" forward in their own lives.

While Solar Youth is sunsetting, the mission lives on. Our remaining assets are being distributed to Common Ground and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater New Haven, both of which are already welcoming Solar Youth families with financial aid and expanded programming. We encourage all Solar Youth families to reach out to these organizations directly to stay connected to the community and opportunities you know and love.

This past summer marked the end of an era for Solar Youth. To best serve the youth of Westville Manor and the surrounding neighborhoods, we have made the difficult, strategic decision to wind down Solar Youth as an independent organization after this winter season. The spirit of Solar Youth's mission to provide empowering nature-based programming needs to be carried forward through collaboration.

We are planning for Solar Youth to officially close later in 2026, once this new collaborative model is fully in place. In March we will provide an update with more details.

Candace Wright shares the impact of receiving the NBCUniversal Local Impact Grant in an interview with CT LIVE!