Welcome to the Yolo County Climate Action & Sustainability Newsletter! We are excited to share updates from our climate action and adaptation planning (CAAP) process, countywide sustainability efforts, upcoming events, and sustainability resources as we work to meet our goal of achieving a carbon negative footprint by 2030.

We are now on social media! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more updates on our CAAP process.

If you have resources or events you would like to be featured on the newsletter, submit them via email to sustainability@yolocounty.org for consideration.

 

 

The March YCCAC Hybrid/In-Person Meeting is a great opportunity to hear more about our 2030 CAAP and provide your input on critical components of out planning process. Starting this month, YCCAC meetings will be offered in a HYBRID format for members of the public, meaning you can listen and provide public comment via zoom, or in-person at the Yolo County Board Chambers at 625 Court Street, Room 206, Woodland, CA 95695. View the Zoom link here to join our monthly meeting and view the Agenda and Meeting Materials.

 

Are you interested in learning more about the 2030 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan? Do you want to provide your input into our planning process? Share how climate change is impacting you? Come to one of our upcoming CAAP outreach events! Be sure to follow our social media to get updates about these events as the dates grow closer!

🌱 Yolo County Library Día de los Niños Events:

April 7^th – Yolo Branch | 1:30 – 2:30 PM | 14320 Second Street, Woodland, CA 95695

April 8^th – Knights Landing Branch | 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM | 42351 3^rd St., Knights Landing, CA 95645

April 12^th – Esparto Branch | 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM | 17065 Yolo Ave., Esparto, CA 95627

April 15^th – Arthur F. Turner Branch | 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM | 1212 Merkley Ave, West Sacramento, CA 95691

April 22^nd – Winters Branch | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM | 708 Railroad Ave., Winters, CA 95694

April 25^th – South Davis Montgomery Branch | 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM | 1441 Danbury St., Davis, CA 95618

April 26^th – Clarksburg Branch | 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM | 52915 Netherlands Ave., Clarksburg, CA 95612

April 29^th – Mary L. Stephens Branch | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM | 315 E. 14^th St., Davis, CA 95616

🌱 April 15^th - Northern Valley Indian Health Fair | 10 AM – 2:00 PM | 1280 E. Gibson Rd., Woodland, CA 95776

🌱 April 22^nd – Yolo County Central Landfill Earth Day Celebration | 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM | 44090 County Road 28H, Woodland, CA 95776

🌱 April 28th - Woodland Public Library Día de los Niños Festival | 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Ferns Park, 750 W. Southwood Dr., Woodland, CA 95695

🌱 May 12^th - 2023 West Sacramento Senior Resource Fair | 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM | West Sacramento Community Center Resource, 1075 West Capitol      Ave., West Sacramento, CA 95691

 

 

NJ Mvondo was born in Europe but raised in the African continent, where caring for the environment was a way of life. She was taught to only take what was needed when farming and to respect the land and its resources. As a result, sustainability and environmental preservation became a lifestyle for her. 

When she moved to the U.S., she noticed mass production and soil exhaustion trends abound. She considers herself a caretaker of the environment and, while grateful for technology, she prefers a sustainable lifestyle. NJ prides herself on the values of her upbringing, implementing a deep appreciation for the environment and sustainable, regenerative practices in her day-to-day life as much as possible.

Because NJ believes that our impact on the environment is embedded in our everyday lives, she is eager to see that the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) in Yolo County reflects the voices of all communities, including small farms, disadvantaged communities, and indigenous people. As a result, she hopes to see more solicitation for green jobs, and for the Plan to connect with vocational schools and community colleges, for the creation of training opportunities that will benefit the County’s Just Transition journey. 

NJ aims for the CAAP to be accessible to everyone in the community, with easy-to-understand language to encourage a communal understanding and excitement for its goals, encouraging bottom-up solutions. She is honored to serve with hard-working Commission Members who are beyond passionate about this work and is most grateful to the members of the public who have been devoted and engaged, providing priceless input. 

As activists and the indigenous community pay attention to and provide feedback on the CAAP, NJ hopes that mutual trust and collaboration will continue throughout the process. She believes that the CAAP could have a positive impact on the local economy, and she is excited to be a part of the movement towards a greener Yolo County. 

As NJ advocates for the environment as the Chair of the Yolo County Climate Action Commission and the Environmental Justice Lead, she believes that small actions can make a big difference, especially when everyone contributes to the effort. She hopes that through the Yolo County Climate Action Commission’s efforts, more people will be inspired to care for the environment and make positive change in their daily lives. 

 

 

🌱 Are you a farmer, rancher or forest manager? Please share your vital feedback with USDA by taking a nationwide survey at farmers.gov/survey! The deadline for the USDA Prospective Customers Survey is March 31^st  2023. The survey is completely anonymous and focuses on gathering feedback about the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Risk Management Agency.

🌱 Early Bird Registration for the Collective Impact Action Summit ends March 31^st! Spanning three days and featuring over forty virtual sessions, the 2023 Action Summit will elevate cutting edge thinking and lessons learned on how collaboration can help the climate challenges we are facing. The Summit will take place April 25 – 27. To learn more and register early, go to their website.

🌱 The deadline for applications to participate in the Senior Resources Fair is Friday, April 14^th 2023! Applications are free and can be requested from/emailed to christinep@cityofwestsacramento.org or downloaded from www.westsacfun.org.

🌱 The California Air Resources Board has extended deadlines for AB617 Community Air Grant Applications. The purpose of the grant is to provide community-based organizations with logistical and technical assistance to support their efforts in improving local air quality. Applications must be submitted by April 24^th, 2023. For more information, visit their website.

🌱 The regional Creative Corps program is now live! Funding is available for local nonprofits and artists to support creative outreach and artist-led campaigns. Climate is one of the several key focused projects for this funding. Applications are due May 1^st, 2023 and there will be a mixer to network and learn more on Wednesday, March 22^nd from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the 1913 Lounge on Del Paso Blvd. To read more about this grant program, visit their website and sign up for updates and upcoming webinars here.

🌱 The Yolo Solano Air Quality Management District has recently opened their 2023 Solicitation for Projects. Applications are being accepted for the FARMER, Carl Moyer, and Community Air Protection Incentives Program! The application deadline is Friday, May 19^th, 2023, at 4:00 PM. To learn more about the different applications, go to their website.

 

 

March 27^th, 2023         Yolo County Climate Action Commission (YCCAC) Virtual Meeting | 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Hybrid/In-Person | Zoom or Yolo County Board Chambers | 625 Court Street, Woodland, 95695

Join us at the March YCCAC Meeting to hear more about our 2030 Climate Action Plan and provide your input on critical components of our planning process. View more information and the agenda and meeting materials at the top of this email.

March 28^th-29^th, 2023 Collective Impact Forum – Introduction to Collective Impact and the Backbone Role Online Workshop | Zoom

To learn about the collaborative impact approach and receive a foundational overview of collective impact and the role of the backbone, join this two-day workshop. Registration closes March 24^th, so be sure to sign up and learn more information on their website.  

April 1^st-30^th, 2023     Yolo County Vegan Chef Challenge | Yolo County Restaurants

There’s never been a better time to try vegan! Local chefs in Yolo County will be competing for your votes with creative and delicious plant-based options. Follow @YoloVeganChefChallenge on Instagram to vote for your favorite restaurants and learn more about the challenge.

April 3^rd, 2023              Collective Impact Forum Webinar – How to Support a Sustainable and Resilient Collaboration | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET | Zoom Webinar

Join this free webinar to discuss practices that can support a sustainable collaborative and explore Tamarack Institute’s new free resource guide, “10: A Guide for Building a Sustainable and Resilient Collaboration”. To register, view this link.

April 5^th, 2023              State of the Yolo Nonprofit Sector | 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM | Zoom

Join the Yolo Community Foundation as they share the findings of their third annual State of the Yolo Nonprofit Sector report. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 5, 9 AM – 10:30 AM at Veterans Memorial Center in Davis. It is free and open to all. Registration will open soon.

April 8^th, 2023              West Sacramento Earth Day Spring Celebration | 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Byrte Park, 1225 Carrie St., West Sacramento, CA, 95605

Join the City of West Sacramento as they celebrate Earth Day and Spring! Learn, play, shop, eat and have fun at this FREE community event! The first 50 families that arrive after 10:00 AM will receive up to 4 FREE Chando’s Tacos. The first 50 people to visit the River Cats booth & sign-up for the newsletter get a FREE ticket to the April 22 Earth Day Game.

April 15^th, 2023           Northern Valley Indian Health’s Community Health Fair | 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM | 280 E. Gibson Rd., Woodland, CA, 95776

Increase health awareness and disease prevention by attending the Northern Valley Indian Health’s Community Health Fair! Activities include health screenings and education, resources to promote healthy living, raffles, swag items, and so much more! View their promotional flyer here or go to www.nvih.org for more information.

April 15^th, 2023            Earth Day Forum and Community Health Fair | 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Robertson Community Center | 3525 Norwood Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95838

Come check out the Earth Day Forum and Community Health Fair sponsored by the Latino Leadership Council. There will be activities for youth, food, a nutrition demonstration, and more! To learn more, view their website.

April 18^th, 2023           Collective Impact Forum Webinar - Exploring the Racial Equity Toolkit | 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM ET | Zoom Webinar

Discuss the Racial Equity Toolkit by Dominique Samari, JD, and Paul Schmitz and how teams can practice with it to advance their own equity work. To register for this webinar, visit this link.

April 22^nd, 2023           Yolo County Central Landfill Earth Day Festival | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Come to the Yolo County Central Landfill’s Earth Day festival! Learn about the various programs at the Landfill, win prizes, provide your input on the CAAP process, and visit The Big Blue Barn Thrift Store!

April 25^th-26^th, 2023   Community Litter Pick Up | 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Meeting Point at Eastern End of County Road 32A

Join a team of passionate volunteers from Davis in picking up litter along County Road 32A this Saturday and Sunday. Come prepared with buckets, work gloves, and litter grabbers if you have them, as well as plenty of water! There will be signs along the road indicating towards the meeting spot. Contact davispickitup@gmail.com or sacramentopicksitup@gmail.com for any questions.

 

🌱 A Pathway for the Future: Sustainable Groundwater management in the Sacramento Valley. As part of ongoing efforts to achieve regional water sustainability, leadership in the Sacramento Valley is dedicated to address all the undesirable results described in the Sustainable Groundwater management Act (SGMA). This document offers a path forward for groundwater sustainability in the Sacramento Valley and calls upon the leaders in the region to utilize our extensive and valuable natural infrastructure, including the groundwater aquifers and recharge areas, as part of a healthy landscape necessary for a functional Sacramento and greater water supply resilience.

🌱 Federal Funding Program Offerings: Want to get a head start on grant planning for 2023? Join the Federal Funding Group to receive weekly updates on available federal funding in your inbox, or check out our resource page and grant trackers. You can also schedule drop-in hours to discuss specific needs, questions, and requests regarding federal funding.

🌱 Takeaways from New Federal EV Standards: On February 15, 2023, the White House made major announcements that are collectively enabling the build-out of a nationwide network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Most importantly, Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released comprehensive standards for EV charging infrastructure funded under Title 23 programs, which includes the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. The Electrification Coalition developed top 10 takeaways from the new standards.

🌱 Reshaping the City – Zoning for a More Equitable, Resilient, and Sustainable Future: This new report from the Urban Land Institute shares promising insights and examples of zoning updates from across the United States that have been crafted to promote healthy mobility, support increased housing affordability, build more resilient places, and accelerate climate action—among a host of other goals.

🌱10 of the best climate change documentaries to see in 2023. Need something to watch this weekend? Check out this comprehensive list by the Yale Climate Connection to pick a climate documentary to watch.

🌱 Ministries for the Future – Donna Haraway and Kim Stanley Robinson in Conversation. This opinion piece discusses a recent event held at UC Davis and includes a recording of the discussion between Donna Haraway and Kim Stanley Robinson on the important observations on UC Davis’s role in leading the way forward in greenhouse gas emissions reductions strategies in agriculture.

🌱 The Climate Center Webinar: Building Electrification – Stories from the Home Front. This webinar by the Climate Center explored the barriers and opportunities to electrifying California’s homes and buildings, with a focus on lower-income residents and economically challenged businesses. View the link above to listen to speakers such as Senator Josh Becker, Fatima Abdul-Khabir from the Greenlining Institute, Anthony Eulo from Silicon Valley Clean Energy, and Beckie Menten from the Building Decarbonization Coalition address solutions to clean energy transitions.

🌱PolicyLink: Guide, “Building for All”. View this guide for local, state, and tribal governments in the clean infrastructure movement.

🌱Five Priorities to Ensure Climate Action Benefits Low-Income and Disadvantaged Groups. View this article by GreenBiz that highlights prioritizing minority populations while transitioning to cleaner cities.

 

 

🌱 We passed a natural carbon sequestration law – now what? Among new laws signed in by Governor Newsom to accelerate California’s climate progress and protect frontline communities was AB 1757, which directs state agencies to scale up the use of nature-based solutions to meet California’s climate goals.

🌱 REI to ban PFAS in outdoor clothing and cookware. Outdoor retailer REI will ban the group of chemicals called PFAS (short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) linked to multiple health problems in all textile products and cookware from its suppliers starting in fall 2024.

🌱 Researchers find 26 Australian species recovered from the brink of extinction. A study published in Biological Conservation found that twenty-six Australian species which previously faced the likelihood of extinction have recovered to the point where they no longer meet the criteria to be listed as threatened.

🌱 Healing from ‘incredible sickness’: Cree author Clayton-Thoman Müller talks environmental justice. A Winnipeg author and environmental activist shares his vision for transforming colonial power structures to find climate solutions.

🌱 It would take less than 3% of Big Oil’s profits to clean up methane emissions. “Methane cuts are among the cheapest options to limit near-term global warming,” Faith Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, or IEA, says, “There is just no excuse” for the rise in methane emissions last year.

🌱 Once Scorned, Birds Are Returning to Farms. The Wild Farm Alliance is working with famers across California and beyond to help farmers take utilize birds as natural pest control.

🌱 The scientific case against gas stoves. Health experts have known for decades that indoor air pollution hurts children’s lungs. Now, there are good alternatives highlighted in this National Geographic article. 

🌱 Good news: Some toxic insecticides are vanishing from the atmosphere. Levels of three persistent chemicals in Great Lakes region are dropping sharply, says new study.

🌱 “Fractured” investigation found that families living near fracking wells are exposed to high levels of harmful chemicals through a first-of-its-kind study, raised awareness about the mental health impacts associated with fracking, and prompted lawmakers to demand further investigation. 

🌱 Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ about to get their first US limits. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose restrictions on harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water after finding they are dangerous for consumption even in amounts that are nearly undetectable. Experts say removing them will cost billions, a burden that will fall hardest on small communities with few resources.

🌱 As climate changes, climate anxiety rises in youth. A study conducted by The Lancet Planetary Health finds that 59% of youth and young adults are very or extremely worries about climate change and more than 45% said their feelings about climate change affect their daily life. Read this article by CBS news for more information as well as ways to reduce climate anxiety.

🌱 Can Artificial Intelligence Help Cool the Planet? To some activists, ChatGPT seems like a useful tool for the climate movement. But skeptics warn that the benefits are outweighed by the costs – including misinformation and increased emissions.