Best of 22’ and Hopes for 23’!
Friday, December 16, 9:00 am - 10:00 am, Zoom Recording, E&S Surprise 2022 video, Slides
MEETING RECAP
The first Environmental & Sustainability Thrive Action Group meeting was held in 2018. As 2022 comes to a close, we want to recognize and celebrate the many accomplishments of community-based organizations, academia, philanthropy, and government working to make San Mateo County a more resilient place in our final meeting of the year. We discussed our organizations' stories of growth, successes, and challenges, and shared what we have in store for 2023.
We gathered virtually to share updates, celebrate, congratulate, and solidify partnerships as we bring our important work into the new year.
Presentations:
MenloSpark presented by Executive Director, Diane Bailey
For more information and details about the amazing work Menlo Spark has done this year, please visit the link below:
Climate Neutral for a Healthy, Prosperous Menlo Park Progress on Climate Action in 2022
Bellehaven Community Development Fund presented by Board Member, Juanita Croft
A place-based nonprofit organization focused on Belle Haven and about to celebrate its 10th anniversary. They have been working with Climate Resilient Communities as a Climate Change Community (CCC) team member. The first major project that brought everyone together was working on the City of Menlo Park general plan, specifically the environmental justice and safety elements part of the plan. The project concluded by presenting the reports to the city from focus groups and surveys. In February, the plan's draft will be presented to the community to see what the city has generated from the report. This year the most exciting project is around air quality, with over 100 air purifiers distributed to East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, and North Fair Oaks community members. Another significant ongoing project affecting not only Belle Haven but also East Palo Alto is the Safer Bay project, where an advisory committee was formed.
Midpeninsula Open Space District, presented by Governmental Affairs Program Manager, Joshua Hugg
Midpeninsula Open Space District celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. They also achieved a new milestone and now own and manage over 70,000 acres of land in three counties San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz. With the fantastic assistance of partners, Midpen will acquire a 6,300-acre Cloverdale Ranch near Pescadero in two phases. Another program ramped up this year is the Wild Fire Resilience Program (WFRP), which provides prescribed burns to benefit natural ecosystems, training burns, traditional ecological knowledge burns, and fuel reduction burns. Midpen understands the need for housing in the area and is working on protecting future resident homes from being part of wildfire disasters by indicating appropriate housing development areas and being conscious of open space and agricultural land conservation. They have also been working on a generational project to extend a trail from EPA to the Pacific Ocean. They have made significant progress over on the coast side.
Peninsula Clean Energy, presented by Community Outreach Specialist, Vanessa Shin
For more information and details about the amazing work Menlo Spark has done this year, please visit the link below:
Peninsula Clean Energy 2022 Recap
Acterra, presented by Executive Director, Lauren Weston
Acterra, offer multiple programs, one of them being electrification. They have expanded their efforts to East Bay in electrification with the inductions cooktop program. The food programs they offer have a recent launch called Climate Friendly Kitchens. Acterra has partnered with mom-and-pop restaurants to help them design vegetarian and vegan options for their menus as well as how to incorporate food waste. The success of the food program has led Acterra to work with SFO and figure out how to manage their food waste and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Part of their legislative work includes the Homegrown Bay Area coalition, which supports cities in handling food and food waste ordinances. Another vital front they are covering in youth education this their youth programs involved civic participation education and have expanded their reach through new virtual tools for training and education. One of the biggest wins for the Acterra community was reaching over 350,000 people throughout six months to prevent rolling blackouts is a huge electrifying win!
Thrive Alliance, presented by Director of Community Resilience, Ana Miscolta
A new special initiative launching early next year is the coalition of Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD). Thrive RISE (Resilience in Shared Emergencies) is a Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) coalition for San Mateo County. It will enhance community resilience and facilitate communication, coordination, and collaboration among non-profit and faith-based organizations, government agencies, and the private sector during all phases of a disaster.
It was amazing to share a space to celebrate, congratulate, and solidify partnerships as we bring our important work into the new year. We cannot wait for what is to come next year.
Resources:
