It's Your Business: City hard at work to be more sustainable, resilient to climate change
Earth Day is this Monday, April 22, and on this day we come together to celebrate and reflect on all that is provided to us as residents of our blue planet. From the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat, the Earth nourishes us and provides us everything we need to live healthy, productive lives. It is with gratitude that we work to protect our air, water and soil so that future generations can also enjoy the same gifts we are given each day. As the assistant director of sustainability, I am proud of all the work that the city of Bloomington’s Economic and Sustainable Development Department (ESD) has completed this past year to make our city more sustainable and to increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. Please join us in celebrating on Saturday, April 20, for the city’s second annual “Bike to Earth Day at Switchyard Park” from 1-5 p.m.
Over the past year, ESD has made tremendous progress toward addressing the planet’s greatest challenge of climate change. The city has significantly expanded solar production at residential, nonprofit and small business properties by providing $850,000 in grants for solar array installations. Energy efficiency audits on municipally owned buildings are being completed by Donovan Energy to identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption, utility costs and greenhouse gas emissions associated with burning fossil fuels across city operations. Potential projects include LED lighting retrofits, solar installations and geothermal heating and cooling systems. ESD is pursuing state and federal funding opportunities to support these projects.
Engaging residents has been a top priority for ESD. A Climate Resilience Plan is currently being drafted utilizing input from frontline communities. In 2023, ESD hosted two, full-day community climate resilience workshops to prioritize climate risks and vulnerabilities and the adaptation strategies to address them. ESD also is co-hosting Climate Talks with Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department in an effort to educate residents about the causes of climate change and the actions they can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change. Topics include strategies for home electrification with funding from the historic Inflation Reduction Act, tree maintenance for storm resilience, climate resilient gardening and the connection between climate change and health. For more information about upcoming talks, see the parks and recreation program guide. See the city’s newly created Climate Resilience Map to learn about temperature differences across our community.
Project 46 has seen remarkable progress during the past year. The three member communities of Bloomington, Nashville and Columbus signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2023, selected the Heritage Fund of Bartholomew County as the fiscal agent, and executed a funding agreement. Farallon Strategies has been hired to provide regional climate alliance consulting services and to conduct a regional greenhouse gas inventory. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has included six project proposals submitted by Project 46 in its Implementation Grant Application to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant. If awarded, Project 46 will be provided with more than $32 million for residential, commercial, industrial, municipal and nonprofit pre-weatherization, weatherization, solar array and electrification projects. EPA is anticipated to announce award recipients in July 2024.
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All of these climate actions work toward our goal of improving the health and vitality of our residents, economy and environment. Let’s celebrate the Earth together at the city’s second annual “Bike to Earth Day at Switchyard Park” on Saturday, April 20, from 1-5 p.m. Attendees can enjoy free tree saplings, live music by Busman’s Holiday, an electric vehicle showcase hosted by Greater Indiana Clean Cities, city of Bloomington Environmental Commission’s EcoHeros art competition winner announcements, parks and recreation volunteer recognitions, environmental organization tables, eco-friendly vendor tables and displays, and food and drinks. Kids will enjoy face painting and an arts and crafts table. See you there!
To learn more about all of the projects the city is implementing to meet our climate goals and to learn about individual actions you can take to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, visit our newly launched Climate Action dashboard. The dashboard is part of the city’s commitment toward making progress on local climate action more transparent and accessible to residents. To view and interact with the dashboard, residents can visit bloomington.climatenavhub.com. The dashboard was co-created with ClimateNav, a public-benefit startup that builds tools and resources to help local governments fight climate change.
Shawn Miya is assistant director of sustainability with Bloomington's Economic and Sustainable Development Department.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington hard at work for more sustainability, climate resilience
