2024 Tacoma Pierce County Climate Leadership Cohort Capstone Projects

Graduating Cohort with their certificates outside of Mi Centro on September 7, 2024. Photo: Julia Wolf.

This year marked the third time we offer this program and the first joint Tacoma - Pierce County Climate Leadership Cohort. The Cohort is organized by the Tacoma Tree Foundation on behalf of the City of Tacoma Office of Environmental Policy and Sustainability, and now it is also being offered on behalf of Pierce County Sustainability 2030.

This training emerged from community input and the City of Tacoma’s 2030 Tacoma Climate Action Plan (CAP). Applications prioritize frontline community members. The program is an educational opportunity to learn about climate change impacts and emissions sources in Tacoma, and to consider and help generate solutions through a social justice lens, as well as providing participants with the means to become engaged in public decision-making processes and community-building. Selected cohort members develop and present a capstone project and receive a $595 stipend for completion of the program. 

We received 20 applications from a very diverse group of prospective Cohort members. Through a blind review process, we selected a cohort of 15 members. These community members met on May 23, and from May 30-June 2 to learn about the climate issues impacting our region’s communities. They spent the summer developing capstone projects in the areas of highest impact for their neighborhoods, and presented these projects on September 7 to an audience of peers, speakers, mentors, and loved ones. Of the 15 Cohort members, 14 graduated, making it our most successfully training yet! Both the County and the City were well represented by the Cohort: Bonney Lake, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Spanaway, and East, Central, and South Tacoma.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 

Let’s Engage: Bringing City Council to City Residents

Shawn Hill

Motivated to make it easier for City and County residents to engage with local government, Shawn set out to organize a council meeting watch party. After listening to the panelists, Shawn decided to act on her understanding of how work and life can make it hard to stay informed, attend public hearings, and develop relationships with local officials. She created fliers and posted them in her neighborhood, inviting anyone interested in attending a watch party to join her on an afternoon in September, and she hosted the party at Mi Centro, providing a space for her neighbors to engage in the council meeting, ask questions, identify gaps, and support each other in becoming more civically engaged.

CLIMATE CHANGE 

Climate Catastrophe Ground Zero

Darren Moore

Motivated to address Tacoma’s vulnerability in the areas of climate resilience and health disparities, Darren drew on his lifetime experience as an organizer to create a coalition with local organizations, and launch the Climate Catastrophe Ground Zero campaign. It is a two-year plan aimed at uniting the community to address environmental degradation and improve public health. The campaign launched on October 5, and is working toward the goal of organizing multiple cleanups, creating small green spaces, hosting educational community workshops, and providing opportunities for advocacy work.

Climate Change Advocacy

Jasmine Dominguez

Motivated to actively participate in advocating for climate resilience, Jasmine set out to become involved in local climate action. In particular, she wanted to better understand why the Bridge Industrial mega warehouse is a focal point for local climate activists, and learn how she could support their efforts. She worked with Climate Alliance of the South Sound and 350 Tacoma, canvassing to bring awareness to local Tacoma residents about the impacts of the warehouse, and helped out in an art project for 350 Tacoma to showcase the importance of people advocating to end global warming. In the process, Jasmine cultivated new relationships and a sense of belonging in this active community.

Climate Education for Youth

Josie Crosbie and Kali Whalen

Motivated to fill the curriculum gap in climate change education, to educate local youth and encourage civic engagement at every age, and spread awareness, Josie and Kali collaborated on the development of a climate change curriculum for elementary school students, and presented it to a 2nd grade classroom in Gig Harbor. Their presentation introduced second graders to: urban heat islands, flooding, air pollution, and changing weather patterns.

Climate Resilience Hub

Kathy Wright

Motivated by the lessons of the pandemic, namely, that existing emergency and support systems do not serve everyone equally, Kathy researched how climate resilience hubs can support socioeconomically disadvantaged community members. With the help of LaKecia Farmer (CoT Senior Sustainability Analyst), Kathy worked with Delaney Morris (CoT, Resilience Manager) to begin developing a climate resilience hub in her place of work, Tacoma Community College. The goal is to provide opportunity, resources, and partnerships to the College’s community and surrounding neighborhoods. TCC serves diverse students, residents, and marginalized communities, and its central transit location makes it an accessible space, ideal for a resilience hub.

FOOD JUSTICE

Tacoma vs. Food Accessibility 

Bea

Motivated to make it easier for residents to access food, Bea researched food deserts in the greater urban area to address how residents with dynamic disabilities, limited mobility, homebound seniors, and individuals whose work schedules conflict with food bank hours are impacted by food deserts and existing disability-specific food access services. As a result, Bea is developing a collaboration with GoodRoots Northwest, Cascadia Produce, St. Leo’s, My Sister’s Pantry, and local colleges to install food lockers at the Tacoma Housing Authority properties and retail spaces, and at Tacoma Community College.

HOUSING JUSTICE

Sustainable and Healthy Built Environments

William Boogerd

Motivated to promote sustainability in the built environment, William researched sustainable transportation and environmental design. This led him to enroll in a LEED Green Associate certificate program to better understand how the materials used in buildings, the way they are powered, and the arrangement of buildings within communities can affect whether lifestyles and behaviors are sustainable or not. At his new and current position working for in a local county office, William is applying this knowledge in making decisions about sustainable building and urban design practices.

NATURAL SYSTEMS and RESTORATIVE JUSTICE 

Depaving Tacoma

Jaminah Shannon

Motivated to create greener and healthier spaces in her neighborhood, Jaminah set out to bring her community together for tree planting and education, and to align these to their Sacred tradition of planting seeds of goodness in community. Jaminah’s community members reside in Hilltop and South Tacoma, both are neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by climate change and low access to tree canopy, where majority black and brown communities must grapple with these impacts. To begin organizing around tree planting and depaving, Jaminah took the Tacoma Tree Foundation’s Tree Captain training and is planning a Depave block party. Jaminah will also host a tree planting presentation at the local Hilltop mosque to inform and align values while recruiting volunteers for planting trees/native plants at the depave block party.

ReGreening Lincoln

Michael Dorner

Initially motivated to bring more trees to Tacoma’s streets, Michael’s research led him to find two new correlated goals: reduce the urban heat island effect and improve natural stormwater filtration. In exploring Tacoma’s tree equity index, he realized that the Lincoln district is one of the hottest neighborhoods in Tacoma. He reached out to the Tacoma Tree Foundation and Pierce County Conservation District for support. To address this huge problem, he surveyed the blocks between I-5, Pacific Ave., and S 38TH St, for potential depave sites, and then canvassed at these sites to encourage residents to apply for a Stormwater Mini Grant. The project allowed him to realize the importance of community education and how valuable even the smallest green space can be for planting and stormwater filtration.

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable Fashion Symposium, Part 1

Esther Saint Eloi, Joy Mwangi, Kristen Kreiss, 

Motivated by the scale of waste and resource exploitation of the fashion industry, Esther, Joy, and Kristen, partnered to produce a free community event, called the Tacoma Sustainable Textile Symposium (part I). They recruited volunteers, developed discussion panels, promoted and executed the event. To do so, they joined The Chayah Movement, a Tacoma-based sustainability advocacy nonprofit. The symposium was a success: it brought a diverse crowd of like-minded members to join the movement. Attendees learned about the fashion industry and textile pollution, and how swapping pre-loved garments, clothing mending, care, & repair can reduce textile pollution. The community was encouraged to participate by placing their mark on a permanent art piece to be showcased at its future permanent home: the piece was made using all textile waste in the shape of wings to represent it takes a flock to support each other and navigate in a combined effort. Part II of the symposium will be held in Seattle later in 2024.