PBC Board of County Commissioners Celebrates Florida Arbor Day | |
The Palm Beach County (PBC) Board of County Commissioners declared January 17, 2025, Florida Arbor Day in PBC. Vice-Mayor Sara Baxter, in partnership with the PBC Environmental Protection Cross-Departmental Team, presented this proclamation to encourage all of PBC’s citizens, businesses, and institutions to use this day to plant trees, care for existing ones, and promote the myriad benefits of trees. This year marks the 139th annual celebration of Florida Arbor Day, a statewide event that began in 1886 to recognize the importance of trees and forests for the environment. PBC is working to enhance climate resiliency and sustainability by promoting tree plantings and tree maintenance through its Resilient Glades Tree Campaign, which includes community plantings and residential tree giveaways. In addition, the Office of Resilience (OOR) will be evaluating how to incorporate more urban forestry recommendations in its climate action plan. | |
OOR Attends 16th Annual Southeast Florida Climate Leadership Summit in Key West | |
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OOR was excited to attend the 16th Annual Southeast Florida Climate Leadership Summit in Key West, from December 16–18, 2024. Monroe County hosted the event on behalf of the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact (Climate Compact). Established in 2010 by Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties, the Climate Compact collaborates on mitigation and adaptation strategies, builds bipartisan support for climate action, and forges partnerships with key stakeholders, fostering a regional voice and vision for future prosperity in Southeast Florida. The Climate Compact’s annual summit is an important avenue for strengthening regional partnerships and driving impactful climate action. With Keys to Resilience as 2024’s theme, over 300 public, private, nonprofit, and academic participants attended sessions on resilience initiatives and shared insights into Southeast Florida resilience successes and hurdles. OOR’s Director Megan Houston joined her chief resilience officer colleagues in the photo featured above to discuss PBC’s risk assessment and community engagement work.
SAVE THE DATE: PBC will host the 17th Annual Southeast Florida Regional Climate Summit on December 16 and 17, 2025, at the PBC Convention Center in West Palm Beach!
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OOR Hosts 'Paws and Relax' Event to Raise Funds for the United Way of PBC | |
On December 12, 2024, OOR hosted its second annual Paws and Relax fundraiser, which benefited the United Way of PBC. PBC OOR invited staff to take time out of their day to meet five friendly dogs from PBC Animal Care and Control. This year, 40 participants helped raise $410 for County’s United Way campaign while providing shelter dogs a chance to socialize and enjoy the fresh air. | |
Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact Advises Continued use of 2019 Regionally Unified Sea Level Rise Projection | |
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In 2011, the Climate Compact released its first Regionally Unified Sea Level Rise Projection. This projection anticipates sea level rise within the region and guides governments on including sea level rise projections in engineering, development, and planning. The Climate Compact updates the projection at least every five years, or whenever there are significant advances in scientific knowledge from peer-reviewed literature concerning global climate change. To date, the projection has been revised in 2015 and 2019 with the help of members from federal, state, and local governments, as well as the scientific and academic community.
After a review of the 2019 Regionally Unified Sea Level Rise Projection and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report, the Climate Compact recommends the continued use of the 2019 Regionally Unified Projection in Southeast Florida for resilience-based planning, designing, and constructing. The 2024 update reiterated statements from 2019 and found that after 2030, “the 2022 NOAA Intermediate-High and High scenarios remain within the planning range included in the Compact’s 2019 Report.”
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Part of minimizing one's carbon footprint is finding ways to reuse otherwise discarded waste. In PBC, approximately 40% of generated waste from single-family homes comes from yard waste. According to the Solid Waste Authority (SWA), PBC residents and businesses discard more than 200,000 tons of yard waste annually. Backyard composting is a way to combat this issue! Benefits include:
- Cost-effective way to reduce solid waste
- Reduces space taken up from landfills
- Recycles nutrients to use in your garden and especially helps with sandy and clay soils
Check out the SWA Backyard Composting page and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences' Compost Tips for guidance on how to start and maintain backyard compost setups, as well as what materials should be used for optimum results. Some tips include:
- Place your compost bin in an area that receives both sunshine and shade.
- Grind down or shred larger yard waste debris to better incorporate it into the compost pile.
- Alternate green (nitrogen-rich) and brown (carbon-rich) materials in four-inch layers to a maximum of three feet high.
- Create your mix from four parts green material to two parts brown material.
- Mix food and yard scraps well to prevent odor.
- Avoid using plants that are diseased or pest-ridden.
- Mix on a routine basis—it will take at least six to eight weeks for it to break down to usable compost.
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EPA Report Highlights Water Affordability Challenges in the U.S.
On December 17, 2024, EPA submitted a water affordability report to Congress. Using decades of research from utilities and associations, the report made recommendations to alleviate the 12.1 to 19.2 million households without access to affordable, clean water services. Both the consumer and producer of water feel the effects of increased costs. Utilities also must consider the operation and maintenance costs of aging infrastructure. In total, the cost of unaffordable water bills reaches nearly $9 billion nationally. To learn more about EPA’s findings about water affordability, read here.
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Adult GalleRE Workshop: Threads & Letters - Connecting to a Future Self
Location: Resource Depot, 2508 Florida Ave, West Palm Beach, FL
Date: February 8, 2025, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM
Details: Waste to Wonder artist Lori Arbel will lead a workshop using upcycled books and other recyclable materials to create an art piece, which will represent each person’s connection to their past, present, and future self. The workshop costs $30 and requires advanced registration by February 7, 2025. Click here to register.
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PBC Environmental Resource Management’s Natural Areas Festival
Location: Winding Waters Natural Area, 6161 Haverhill Rd, West Palm Beach, FL
Date: February 15, 2025, 2:00 PM–7:00 PM
Details: From kayak tours, guided hikes, wildlife presentations, demonstrations, and exhibits, there is something for everyone at the Natural Areas Festival! This free, family-friendly event celebrates the 31,000-plus acres of land in Palm Beach County. Signups for tours and activities are on a first-come, first-served basis the day of the festival, but the free 5K Fun Trail Run requires pre-registration. To learn more about the event, click here.
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Loggerhead Marinelife Center Celebrates 20th Annual Turtle Fest
Location: Loggerhead Park, 14200 US Hwy 1, Juno Beach, FL
Date: February 22, 2025, 10:00 AM–6:00 PM & February 23, 2025, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM
Details: Passionate about ocean conservation? Join Loggerhead Marinelife Center as they host their 20th Annual Turtle Fest. Visitors can learn about the work Loggerhead and other local environmental groups do through interactive educational exhibits. Guests will also be able to visit the outdoor sea turtle hospital and enjoy local food, bands, and artisans at this free, family-friendly event. Both parking and shuttle services are free for both days of the event at Florida Power and Light’s Juno Beach campus. To learn more, visit here.
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REfashion Weekend | Exclusive VIP Shopping Experience
Location: Resource Depot, 2508 Florida Ave, West Palm Beach, FL
Date: February 28, 2025, 5:30–8:30 PM
Details: Looking to enhance your wardrobe more sustainably? Join Resource Depot as they host a VIP second-hand shopping experience. Tickets cost $75 to have first access to their curated collection of pre-loved fashion. To purchase tickets for the event, click here.
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Palm Beach County’s Office of Community Revitalization (OCR) to Host NEAT Grant Program Workshop and Conference
Location: 2300 North Jog Road, West Palm Beach, FL
Date: March 6, 2025, 6:00 PM–8:00 PM, Deadline for Grant: May 15, 2025
Details: OCR is currently accepting applications for their Neighborhood Engagement and Transformation (NEAT) grant program for fiscal year 2026. This program provides up to $10,000 in funds for local and resident organizations implementing improvement projects within the Countywide Community Revitalization Team areas and the Glades region of Belle Glade, South Bay, and Pahokee municipalities. On March 6, 2025, OCR is hosting a mandatory pre-application conference and workshop for those wanting to apply for the NEAT grant program. To learn more and to sign up for the workshop by the March 5, 2024 registration deadline, click here.
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Climate Correction 2025: Leaders in Action
Location: The Celeste Hotel, 4105 N Alafaya Trail, Orlando, FL
Date: March 12–13, 2025, 9:00 AM–6:00 PM
Details: VoLo Foundation's Climate Correction 2025 Conference theme is "Leaders in Action." This conference will recognize individuals, organizations, and communities leading the change for resilience and innovation. The two-day event will host several workshops, interactive exhibitions, art, and other experiences. Tickets are on sale now. To learn more about what will be showcased or to register, click here.
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By: Kiera Zitelman
Within the energy sector, there are continual efforts to strengthen the grid and make it more resilient. One potential solution was investigated in 2018 and 2019 through solar photovoltaics and battery storage. Nine teams worked to increase the affordability, reliability, and resiliency of solar energy for the grid. This involved state and local stakeholders in workshops to address investment barriers. It produced three publications and several working groups, task forces, and partnerships.
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The Florida Department of Environmental Protection released its 2024-2025 Statewide Resilience Plan on Friday, December 13, 2024. In 2021, the Resilient Florida Program was created by the Florida Legislature to assist coastal and inland communities with vulnerability assessments. Palm Beach County has five eligible projects that were included in this plan.
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Off the Charts Heat: 2024 Global and U.S. Temperature Review determined 2024 was the hottest year on record for the U.S. and the world based on information gathered from 247 cities. Presented by Climate Central, the data demonstrated the economic impact of 27 individual weather and climate disaster-related events on the U.S. From wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, etc., damages totaled over $180 billion.
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The European Geosciences Union released a report titled The Assessment of a Youth Climate Empowerment Program: Climate READY. It analyzed the efficacy of the youth climate empowerment program called Climate READY – Climate Resilience Education and Action for Dedicated Youth. This program was developed by Florida Atlantic University’s Pine Jog Environmental Education Center and funded by NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program.
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