MARYLAND LOCAL GOVERNMENT CLIMATE ACTION SUPPORT PROGRAM

Environmental Finance Center/Sustainable Maryland staff are now providing direct technical support to select counties and municipalities to help them access federal and state funding to address climate change. This assistance will be delivered at no cost to recipients, through an award from the Maryland Department of Environment. Available services include assistance identifying climate pollution reduction projects; developing plans; building technical, financial, and managerial capacity; and completing funding application materials. Assistance is available on a need basis to the following counties and municipalities located within the following counties: 

• Western Maryland (Garrett, Allegany, Washington counties) 
• Southern Maryland (Calvert, St. Mary’s counties)
• Eastern Shore (Kent, Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset, and Worcester counties)

To request climate action technical assistance for your municipality, please complete this form or e-mail efc_climateaction@umd.edu.

For more information click here.

SM SUSTAINABLE THURSDAYS IN OCTOBER:

GUIDED SUSTAINABILITY TOURS

Green roof at Riverdale Park Station

Join the SM Team and local experts on a series of guided tours aimed at elected officials, municipal staff and Green Team members. You'll get a chance to see up close what a sustainable town or city looks like, and here from the people who run them. You'll be able to examine sustainable developments and green infrastructure and learn from the people that built and maintain them. Hands on, real world sustainability projects, that you can take back to your community and replicate:

Thursday, Oct. 3, 4-6pm

Small Town Sustainability Tour - Washington Grove

REGISTER

Thursday, Oct. 10, 4-6pm

Small City Sustainability Tour - Takoma Park

REGISTER

Thursday, Oct. 17, 4-6pm

Mixed Use/Transit Oriented Sustainable Development - Riverdale Park Station

REGISTER

Thursday, Oct. 24, 4-6pm

Green Infrastructure/Pervious Intersection - Colmar Manor

REGISTER

Space is limited. Inclement weather cancels the event.

SM CLIMATE WEBINARS THIS SUMMER

Mark your calendars! SM will be hosting a virtual climate-related webinar every 4th Wednesday this spring and summer.

• August 28: Federal and State EV Funding Opportunities – Register
• September 25: Funding Sources for Building Decarbonization – Register

COLLEGE PARK ADVISES RESIDENTS ON CARING FOR TREES DURING HIGH HEAT

If you have a tree in your yard, it’s likely stressed from the heat and needs water. The City of College Park is offering these tips to residents:

When should I water?

Early morning or late evening. Avoid watering during the hottest part of the day — 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

How often should I water?

During this extreme heat, mature trees need to be watered about once a week, while younger, newly planted trees need to be watered at least twice a week. 

Give your tree 25 gallons of water weekly from early spring until the soil freezes in winter. Water deeply twice weekly during times of excessive heat.  

What is the best way to water my tree?

The most efficient method is to apply water directly to the soil by running a hose at a slow trickle around the roots of your plant. Or use a soaker hose.

What to avoid during high heat temperatures?

Avoid pruning or stressing the trees by digging under the canopy of a tree. 

More information is available on the University of Maryland Extension website.

APPLY NOW: RESILIENCE ACTION PLANNING FOR MD COASTAL COMMUNITIES

The University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center (EFC) is recruiting Maryland coastal communities to participate in a project to build adaptation capacity and identify nature-based projects to address flooding issues and enhance wildlife habitat. Over the next 16 months, community teams will participate in a coastal resilience training seminar, receive direct technical assistance, and develop fundable Resilience Workplans. Interested communities should submit the brief online application form HERE, with participant selections announced in early September. Preference will go to communities with limited in-house technical expertise and those that have underserved and overburdened populations disproportionately impacted by flooding.

Please review this information sheet for more details, including eligibility and selection criteria, and contact the EFC Climate Team with any questions: efc_climateaction@umd.edu.

A brief info session was held on Thursday, August 8 (a recording can be viewed here). The application deadline is Tuesday, August 27, 2024 by 5PM.

USDN SIGN ON LETTER OPPOSING BANNING FUNDING FOR DEI AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE

USDN is coordinating a sign on letter to oppose the proposed FY2025 Appropriations language banning funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion and climate resilience.

If you deem it appropriate, please share this sign on letter with your respective community networks so that they can lend their voice to this effort to maintain DEIJ as a priority at the highest level. 

Members of the House of Representatives have proposed harmful language, which would block funding in the FY 2025 appropriations for programs and activities promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and those related to climate resilience. This language will roll back the social, environmental, and economic benefits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and will be detrimental to the communities benefiting from these financial investments. The Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) invites you to join a coalition letter of local governments and local government facing organizations opposing House Republicans' FY25 proposed language cutting all funding for activities related to DEI and Climate Change.

The deadline to sign onto this letter is AUG 20. It will be sent to the House and Senate Appropriations Staffers on AUG 21.

Google form to sign on: https://forms.gle/vaQdBHTxcUDnp4mY9

Letter to House and Senate Appropriations Staffers: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pLHkYAwmB8eAjHW5TfuB35e5DNo5Uuv2/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110608914758734334444&rtpof=true&sd=trueefit)