WHAT WE ARE SEEKING
Seattle residents are passionate, committed and creative when to comes to making Seattle—and the world—better places. As individuals and as a community, Seattleites have helped our community become a national and international leader in sustainability. And, we know the community has more great ideas about how we can continue to be leaders by taking action at the neighborhood level to address climate change.

The City of Seattle is seeking community partners to help residents and businesses take action for the climate. We will be awarding contracts up to $7,000 for the projects, and will be providing on-going project design support.

If you have an idea about how to inspire your community to make positive choices that support the environment, we want to work with you to make it happen! We are accepting applications for projects in the following categories:

Transportation
Energy
Food
Waste

WHO SHOULD APPLY
Organizations or individuals with a good idea who want to partner with the City to help their community take climate action.  No idea is too big or too small! More information at www.seattlecan.org

HOW TO APPLY
Download a proposal form and submit it by 4:00 pm on April 27, 2012
Email: Sara.Wysocki@seattle.gov
Fax: 206-684-3013
Mail: PO Box 94729, Seattle, WA 98124-4729

QUESTIONS?
Email Sara Wysocki or call 206.233.7014

Through eight sessions of hands-on workshops, lecture and discussion, Master Composter/Soil Builders learn to:

• compost a variety of organic materials through diverse approaches
• improve soil health and build soil life
• manage stormwater and protect water quality
• educate the public on a number of resource conservation issues and practices

Training sessions typically take place Wednesday evenings and Saturdays at Tilth’s Community Learning Garden at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford. 

Learn more here and get your application in by March 7.

Landscape Architects Kistler/Higbee Cahoot will facilitate three public workshops to design the new rooftop garden. Each session will build on the last, so attendance to all three meetings is encouraged.

Meeting #1: Saturday, Dec. 10; 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.      
Project overview, P-Patch site visit, and brainstorming

Meeting #2: Wednesday, Jan. 11; 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.    
Compare, rank and refine alternative design plans

Meeting #3: Tuesday, Jan. 31; 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.       
Presentation of final schematic plan                                                     

WHERE:

All workshops will be at Seattle Center in The Next 50 Headquarters located at the east end of the 3rd floor of Center House. Seattle Center House is located at 305 Harrison St., Seattle, WA, 98109.

For more information contact Phi Huynh at 206.684.4531 or phi.huynh@seattle.gov.

• Fall Bonus: $500 off the cost of an energy upgrade 
• Loan Fee Waiver: Waive $400 loan fee for people who receive the CPW Home Energy loan 
• Energy Performance Score Refund: Reimbursement of $95 EPS cost for homeowners who have electric heat.For more information on the Community Power Works program, visit www.communitypowerworks.org

Photo by Jacob Moyer

The Trees for Neighborhoods program provides free trees, waterbags and training to Seattle residents who’d like more trees around their homes. The application period is still open for trees to plant in yards, and a variety of large trees is still available. Learn more at the Trees for Neighborhoods website.

Healthy, mature trees provide many benefits to people and the environment, including wildlife habitat, stormwater management, and reduction in energy use. To maximize benefits, plant a tree with the largest mature size that fits your space. Large conifers grow so tall in our region and produce a larger volume of leaf area on a smaller footprint – using the same amount of yard space but working even harder to take in carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, and filter out air pollutants.

The application period for street tree permits has closed. We are currently out of Asian pear, paperbark maple, Japanese snowbell, and Eastern redbud. You may still apply for these trees, but will be placed on a waitlist.

 As part of the City’s efforts to reach this goal, OSE’s Urban Forestry team launched an exciting new Tree Ambassador program this spring in conjunction with the Cascade Land Conservancy. The Tree Ambassador program recruits volunteer residents to work in neighborhood teams. These teams act as stewards of the urban forest and serve as resources for their local community. Tree Ambassadors are trained in the basics of urban forestry, leadership, and community organizing. Each team then puts together projects aimed at engaging their neighbors in residential tree planting and care. The program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry program.

 In its initial year, the Tree Ambassador program has seven neighborhood teams. These teams began training just three months ago, yet have already accomplished a lot, with more great work on the horizon. Some of the great projects the Tree Ambassadors have already done include:

• The Capitol Hill team mulched, weeded and cared for 113 street trees
• The Greenlake team received a grant from the Department of Neighborhoods to develop a mobile application for a Tree Walk around Greenlake Park
• The Maple Leaf team presented at their neighborhood ice cream social on the importance of conifers to their neighborhood

OSE’s vision is to have Tree Ambassador teams active in every Seattle neighborhood. If you are interested in supporting the tree canopy in your neighborhood, consider joining the fun and applying to be a Tree Ambassador yourself. The next round of applications will be in the spring of 2012.

Speakers include Councilmember Hilary Franz, Bainbridge Island City Council, Stan Gent, President/CEO, Seattle Steam, Denis Hayes, President and CEO, The Bullitt Foundation, Andy Wappler, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Puget Sound Energy. The panel will be moderated by Grist staff writer David Roberts.

More information and registration information at City Club’s website.

Opportunities are in six categories: youth; technology; community building and organizing; physical improvements; arts and culture; and the environment. Visitors can also search by the name of the city department and funding program(s), or can view all the programs side-by-side in an easy-to-read matrix format.