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 (SOLD OUT - email SM to be on waiting List)

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.



FINAL SM CLIMATE WEBINAR

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

• September 25: Funding Sources for Building Decarbonization – Register

Previous Wednesday Webinars can be found here.

MD COMMISSION ON CLIMATE CHANGE WANTS YOUR INPUT

The public is welcome to attend, in person or online, for public comment. Upcoming 2024 meeting dates:

September 30, 1-3 PM

October 7, 1-3 PM

November 14, 10 AM-12 PM

Meetings are held at the offices of the MD Department of the Environment, 1800 Washington Blvd, Baltimore. Dates and times are subject to changes. All meetings are open to Marylanders.

Meetings are video recorded and can be found on the Commission's YouTube channel.

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 mid-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 Friday, September 6, 2024 by 5PM.

99% INVISIBLE PODCAST: NOT BUILT FOR THIS



HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS AFFECTING COMMUNITIES RIGHT NOW

In a 6-part series, 99% Invisible explores how climate change is laying bare the vulnerabilities in the American built environment and how communities across the country have been left to bootstrap their own survival.

We used to think of climate change in future tense, as something we’d have to deal with decades from now. But the past few years of seemingly never-ending disasters have made it clear that climate change is happening now. California’s fire season is no longer just a season, but a year-round event. 100-year storms now hit our coasts every few years. Intense rain events are washing away mountainsides and drowning downtowns.

And extreme heat is making parts of the Southwest nearly unlivable during the summer months. 99% Invisible will look at how these dynamics are playing out right now, in communities across the country, from Vermont to California, and from southwest Florida to central Arizona and the Louisiana coast.

OCTOBER IS WALKTOBER!

October in Maryland becomes WALKTOBER, a month where the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and other partnering agencies promote and host events and webinars spotlighting Maryland pedestrians' safety, health, and commuting options in current walk programs and Initiatives.

The Maryland Department of Transportation, the Maryland Department of Planning, the Maryland Department of Health, MDOT State Highway Administration, Maryland Highway Safety Office, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, America Walks, and AARP are sharing a series of informational resources and free webinars for pedestrians throughout the month of October. The four webinars are tailored to interest pedestrian enthusiasts, advocates, planners, and residents. Throughout Walktober, learn how walking is an easy and accessible exercise, how to safely use pedestrian infrastructure, and how to incorporate walking in your daily routines within the provisions of social distancing and other restrictions.

Click here for more information