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.

Join us on Tuesday June 20^th, 2023 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at the Woodland Community & Senior Center 2001 East St, Woodland, CA 95776 for our first in-person Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) workshop! Learn more about the CAAP and share your vision for a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable Yolo County! Dinner and childcare will be provided!  For more information, email sustainability@yolocounty.org. Click on the images above to register for our workshop!

¡Únete a nosotros el martes, 20 de junio a las 6:00p a 8:00p en el Centro Comunitario y para Personas Mayores de la Ciudad de Woodland (2001 East St, Woodland, CA 95776) para un taller sobre el Plan de Acción y Adaptación al Clima. Comparta su visión de un condado de Yolo más resistente, equitativo, y sostenible. ¡ Se ofrecerá cena y cuidado de niños gratis! Si tiene preguntas, envíe un correo electrónico a: sustainability@yolocounty.org.

The May YCCAC Public Meeting is a great opportunity to hear more about our 2030 CAAP and provide your input on critical components of out planning process. The meeting will be held at 625 Court St, Woodland, CA with public participation available via Zoom. View the Zoom link here to join our monthly meeting and view the Agenda and Meeting Materials.

The Yolo County Climate Action Commission’s (YCCAC) Equity and Engagement Technical Advisory Committee (E&E TAC) is looking for Outreach Partners to support the following outreach goals:

• Engage the community in the unincorporated area of Yolo County in the CAAP development and implementation process;.
• Provide input on outreach activities and communications strategies that will promote and support community engagement in CAAP development and implementation;.
• Interact with communities and generate input on strategies, policies, and programs that will support a Just Transition to a net-negative and sustainable Yolo County.

Compensation is $5,000 per Community Based Organization/Partner. Monthly E&E TAC meetings are 90 minutes. Review of materials in advance of the monthly meeting and coordination in between monthly meetings is also anticipated. It is also expected that CBPs/CBOs will support coordination and/or attend community events throughout the development of the CAAP. CBOs/CBPs may spend 2 to 4 hours per month on average from June 2023 to August 2024. Click on the flyer above to be taken to our E&E TAC page!

🌱 Yolo Sustainability is recruiting TWO CivicSpark Fellows for the 2023-24 Service Year (starting August ‘23) to support our Climate Action and Adaptation Planning process! The priority deadline to apply is Friday, May 12^th, 2023! Help Yolo County meet our climate goals and learn about local climate action! To learn more and apply, view this link. We are looking for fellows to assist on two projects:

🌱 “Accelerating Equitable Electrification in Yolo County”

🌱 “Advancing Equity and Engagement in Yolo County Climate Action and Adaptation Plan”

🌱Embrace the challenge! Sign up for the Cool Davis inaugural Earth Day Pledge Challenge and complete at least six specific actions before Earth Day 2024 for the chance at a brand new electric moped! Click this link to sign up online.

🌱 May Is Bike Month! The Sacramento region’s favorite bike challenge is here, and you can take part by riding your bike! Log your prizes to earn points, climb the leaderboard, and win prizes! So, grab your bike and start pedaling. It’s NOT TO LATE TO REGISTER (hint: sign up here)! The competition runs until May 31^st.

🌱 The California Energy Commission (CEC) is launching the California Electric Homes Program (CalEHP). CalEHP provides technical assistance and financial incentives to residential developers and builders who construct all-electric market-rate residential dwellings with electric appliances and equipment, or energy storage. For more information on CalEHP, please visit the program website: California Electric Homes Program (CalEHP)

🌱 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is inviting applications for grants to strenghten rural cooperatives and expand access to new and improved markets for people in rural America. The $5.8 million in grants is available under the Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) Program to start, improve, or expand rural cooperatives and other mutually owned businesses that will help improve economic conditions in rural areas. To learn more, read the full Stakeholder Announcement.

🌱 The USDA is seeking qualified individuals to serve as peer reviewers to evaluate 2501 Grant Program proposals for the 2023 fiscal year. The peer review process ensures that grant projects are properly planned, competition is open and fair, proposed budgets are carefully examined, and grant awards are structured to protect the interests of the government. Visit the OPPE website for full details. If you are interested in serving on the peer review panel, and your affiliated organization is not applying for a 2501 grant, please send your resume and summary of qualifications to 2501grants@usda.gov no later than May 19^th, 2023 for consideration.

🌱 The Forest Service is requesting proposals from eligible entities that are working to provide equitable access to trees and green spaces and the benefits they provide. Learn more about this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The Forest Service is also allocating $250 million to state and territory forestry agencies that are working in disadvantaged communities to increase and maintain a healthy urban canopy and access to nature.  Learn more about these state allocations. 

May 22^nd, 2023            Yolo County Climate Action Commission (YCCAC) 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 May YCCAC Meeting to hear more about our 2030 Climate Action Plan and provide your input on critical components of our planning process. View the agenda and meeting materials at the top of this email. This meeting will be held in-person at the Yolo County Board Chambers but is available for virtual public participation via Zoom.

May 31^st, 2023             Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire | 4:30 PM – 6:30  PM | Manetti Shrem Museum Community Education Room 254 Old Davis Rd, Davis, CA 95616

The UC Davis Institute of the Environment, Environmental and Climate Justice Hub, Climate Adaptation Research Center, and Manetti Shrem Museum invite you to a very special presentation of a groundbreaking documentary urging us to rethink our relationship with wildfire. A screening will start at 4:30 PM followed by a panel discussion featuring the film’s director, Yurok Tribe members, and UC Davis faculty.

June 1^st, 2023             Coast-to-Coast EV | 9:30 AM – 2:00 PM | California Automobile Museum 2200 Front Street Sacramento, CA 95818

Sacramento Clean Cities is hosting its annual Coast-to-Coast event at the Sacramento Auto Museum! The free event will include a hands-on display of electric vehicles, including tractors, a bucket loader, and a mobile charging station.

Yolo County Office of Emergency Services’  Hazard Mitigation Plan Public Meetings:

Help reduce disaster impacts in your community! Attend Hazard Mitigation Plan Public Meetings to provide input, receive an updated list of hazards, assess the likely impacts of hazards, revise goals, and prioritize projects to reduce the effects of future disasters on our communities. Comments can be submitted virtually to OES@yolocounty.org.

June 5, 2023 | 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM | West Sacramento – Station 45 | 2040 Lake Washington Blvd West Sacramento, 95691

June 6, 2023 | 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM | Knights Landing Community Center | 42114 7^th St, Knights Landing, 95645

June 7, 2023 | 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM | Woodland Community Center | 2001 East St, Woodland 95776

June 7, 2023 | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Winters City Hall Conference Room (Downstairs) | 318 1^st St, Winters, 95694

June 8, 2023 | 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Virtual – Zoom | https://tinyurl.com/2023-Yolo-HMP

June 9, 2023 | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Davis Senior Center: Game Room | 646 A St, Davis 95616

June 20^th, 2023            Yolo County CAAP In-Person Workshop | 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM | Woodland Community & Senior Center 2001 East St, Woodland, CA 95776

Do you want to be involved in the County’s Climate Action and Adaptation Planning process? Attend our first workshop to provide your input and learn more about how the County is planning a Just Transition to a climate-safe future for all.

🌱Track wildfires across the west, including at home! Watchapp is a valuable and up to date free resource for tracking wildfires  that includes notice of dispatches and some fire-ground insights by town, county, region, state and by area of concern or responsibility. Click here to learn more.

🌱 Sign up for emergency alerts to know what to do in the event of an emergency:

Sign up for Yolo Alert at yolo-alert.org

Sign up for Alert Solano at solanocounty.com/depts/oes/alertsinformation.asp

Sign up for early alerts at CalAlerts.org

 🌱 LISTOS Disaster Readiness Resources (in multiple languages). Get ready and stay safe from wildfires, earthquakes, and floods with the Listos California Resource Hub. Let’s work together to establish more resilient communities tohelp all Californians prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters.

🌱 California Energy Commission (CEC) Equitable Building Decarbonization Program. The Equitable Building Decarbonization Program encourages resiliency to extreme heat, improved indoor air quality, improved energy affordability, electric grid support, and increased payment of prevailing wages to the implementing workforce.

🌱 Office of State and Community Energy Programs Request for Information & Notice of Intent Released for Technical Assistance for the Adoption of Building Energy Codes. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a Notice of Intent (NOI) and Request for Information (RFI) regarding $1 billion in funding for technical assistance in developing building energy code improvements in states and local governments with code-making authority.

🌱 UPDATE: Earthquake knocks out CHP Chico 911 dispatch. Residents unable to get through 911 with their cell phone may call 530-332-1200. A 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit the east shore of Lake Almanor on Thursday and its impact was felt in Butte County and beyond. The earthquake caused a disruption in CHP Chico Dispatch.

🌱 A Supreme Court Ruling the Fossil-Fuel Industry Doesn’t Like. Communities can now sue in state courts for compensation for the costs of climate change—something oil companies have fought against for years.

🌱 Facing the floodwaters in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The historically Black town of Allensworth tries to overcome a legacy of racist water policies and prevent a deluge from washing away its community.

🌱 Gas, carbon capture, and hydrogen are winners in EPA’s historic move to limit power plant pollution. EPA administrator Michael Regan spoke from the University of Maryland about the agency’s third attempt at regulating power plant pollution from existing plants, explaining “these aren’t restrictions, as some would say,” but about “seizing the moment and understanding that we have an obligation” to leave a healthier planet behind.

🌱 Chicago, HUD Settle Environmental Racism Case. City departments will be required to produce an environmental justice action plan to protect neighborhoods from “burdens associated with intensive industrial and transportation uses.”