Last Thursday, Thrive had our first in-person TAG meeting at the CZI Community Space in Redwood City. As this event was a combination of both the Environment & Sustainability (E&S) and the Basic Needs & Safety Net (BN & SN) TAGs, it was fantastic not only seeing people together in-person, but also seeing the mingling between both the environmentally and socially-focused organizations. This event focused on food recovery efforts in San Mateo County and we brought together six speakers from three sectors, each with a different perspective on food rescue: Tracy Weatherby, Vice President of Strategy & Advocacy, Second Harvest, Jack Steinmann, Resource Conservation Specialist-Waste Reduction, San Mateo County Office of Sustainability, Sonia Escobedo, Food Recovery Program Coordinator, Nuestra Casa, Mauricio Cordova, Chief Operations Officer, Loaves & Fishes, Constance La Trice Taylor, Associate Director of Program & Services, Samaritan House, and Ryan Bailey, Food Management Coordinator, Flagship Culinary.
Legislative Updates & Advocacy Opportunities
On March 17th, Thrive brought together leaders and organizations involved in environmental legislation space to speak about what they and their organizations have been working on and how the audience can get involved in the legislative space and participate in their programs. Our panelists for this event were Josh Becker, California State Senator along with Helen Wolter, District Representative, Josh Becker's office, Allison Chan, Policy Director, Save the Bay, Linda Hutchins-Knowles, Karl Knapp GoEV Senior Manager, Acterra, and Josh Hugg, Governmental Affairs Specialist, Midpeninsula Open Space District (Midpen).
Safer Streets & Public Transit Fleets
On February 24th, Thrive brought together six speakers working in the transportation sector to discuss the current state of transportation, what programs currently and will exist, how these programs include equity, and what we can do to ensure climate change and climate justice are a part of these conversations. A year ago, Thrive held an event focusing on transportation and plans for a more equitable and sustainable transit system for the Bay Area. In addition, transportation was one of the primary climate issue areas brought up in our Collective Climate Goals in our meeting in December.
Energy Efficient Homes & Net-Zero Buildings
On January 20th, Thrive brought together five different organizations working in the buildings and energy world within San Mateo County. Seeing the different organizations and the work they are currently implementing was eye-opening and created a sense of urgency to push for gas phaseouts, electric appliances, grid resiliency, and so much more while also recognizing the extensive need for equity, practicing inclusion, and serving under-resourced communities. Even as this was a critical, pressing matter, it also showed a hopeful outlook for the future as we heard about so many other organizations involved in this space, all of the collaboration work between these organizations, and the ideas they have for future projects.
Collective Climate Goals : Next Steps
This meeting was a culmination of all of the work Thrive's Environment & Sustainability group has done to create collective climate goals for San Mateo County and their community. As the past meetings have been focused around creating systems based on the audience's priorities and looking at areas for collaboration, the overarching goal for this meeting was to determine whether the narrowed down themes and their goals were the right objectives we want to collectively accomplish.
Continuing the Discussion on Planning for Collective Climate Goals
In a continuation of our previous Environment & Sustainability TAG meeting, Thrive progressed the conversation on creating collective climate goals with the San Mateo County community and various organizations. We were once again joined by Matt Biggar, PhD., founder of Connected to Place.
Planning for Collective Climate Goals
At the last Environment & Sustainability meeting, Thrive Alliance brought together the San Mateo County community to bring together their priorities on climate change and climate justice. This was a fantastic opportunity to hear from local community members, different environmental justice organizations, and others involved in this space.
Summer at the Beach
At our last Environment and Sustainability event, Thrive Alliance brought together eight fantastic speakers from different organizations to discuss the issues of beaches and coastlines. Several of these organizations have collaborated on different solutions and policies to address the issues of single use plastics, transitioning to reusables, and keeping our beaches and waters clean.
Youth Climate Action in SMC
On Thursday, May 20, Thrive convened 7 local youth climate action organizations to share their current projects and future goals. With over 40 in attendance, it was truly inspirational to learn about all of the advocacy and education efforts that the next generation is leading and the passion that drives their work.
San Mateo County Open Spaces & Natural Places
Water Access Gaps in San Mateo County
On March 25, Thrive Alliance and Sustainable Pescadero joined forces to create a focused discussion on water issues in the South Coast region of San Mateo County. Over seventy local leaders and stakeholders from government, nonprofit, and business came together to discuss constraints, describe experiences, and explore possible solutions.
Story of Water in San Mateo County
Would you believe it if I told you that everyday the state of California discharges billions of gallons of water into the ocean? On February 25th, a brilliant group of sustainable leaders came together to discuss the hot topic of water, how it’s distributed locally, current challenges to access and maintenance, and innovative solutions.
Bikes, Trains, Automobiles
Thrive Alliance brought together transit sustainability leaders on Transit Equity Day February 4, 2021, to discuss the plans for a more equitable and sustainable transit system for the Bay Area.
The impact of COVID on transit systems has been immense. Panelists discussed ways to make more sustainable changes to keep pollution levels low and to decrease the transit inequities that the pandemic has magnified.
Menlo Park’s Recent CAP Adoption
At Thrive Alliance’s October 15 Environment & Sustainability panel “Menlo Park’s Recent CAP Adoption: Carbon Zero by 2030” (video replay) councilmembers, staff, and community leaders shared learnings and best practices on the path to groundbreaking climate action. The meeting was co-hosted by the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter.
“Think bold! It’s time to act in unprecedented ways,” said Josie Gaillard, Menlo Park Environmental Quality Commissioner (EQC) about the city’s recently adopted Climate Action Plan (CAP).
Sustainable Food for People, Planet, and Profits - Panel Summary
What a brilliant display of food innovation at the September 24, 2020 Thrive Environment & Sustainability (E&S) Community and SIAC co-sponsored panel – Sustainable Food for People, Planet, and Profits: How Innovation is Making the Food Business More Environmentally Friendly.
The event featured four amazing for-profit start-ups right in our backyard - Full Harvest in San Francisco, Impossible Foods in Redwood City, Ouroboros Farms in Half Moon Bay, and Plenty Inc. in South San Francisco.
Additionally, cross-sector audience members -- from business, government & nonprofit -- added their perspectives and discussed their organizations’ sustainable food solutions including Acterra, Food Shift, San Mateo Resource Conservation District, and TomKat Ranch.
Many thanks to Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and Peninsula Clean Energy for sponsoring Thrive E&S meetings.
