September 2025
Photo Credit: Dreaming Out Loud
The signs are there: cool mornings, leaves on the sidewalk, and Halloween displays going up at the local store. We’re transitioning to fall! One of the many things associated with this season is the fall harvest: the time to reap the rewards of spring and summer plantings and celebrate a time of bounty before the winter months come. Take a look around and you’ll see organizations hosting harvest festivals around the District, from 11th Street Bridge Park to Georgetown Main Street.
With a robust urban agriculture scene and a Sustainable DC goal to increase the amount of acres under cultivation for growing food, the District provides plenty of opportunities to get involved in the fall harvest. Want to know where the urban farms, food forests, community gardens, and school gardens are? Check out the urban agriculture sites map at the bottom of https://doee.dc.gov/urbanag. If you grow food at one of these sites or volunteer to keep it maintained, you can celebrate the fall harvest!
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2025 District Sustainability Award Winners Spotlight
The District Sustainability Awards highlight businesses, individuals, and organizations that are working toward a more sustainable DC. This year, six winners were announced at Destination DC’s Sustainability Summit. We will highlight one every month in the newsletter. This month we are featuring Leonina Arismendi:
Leonina regularly dedicates her time to advancing sustainability through activities such as leading cleanups for the Anacostia River and growing food, flowers,and herbs in her community garden. She is passionate about teaching neighborhood kids how to garden, compost, and recycle, and she provides resources focused on healthy food access in the summer.
To learn more about Leonina and the other District Sustainability Award winners this year, read the case studies here.
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2025 Green Food Report Released
The latest Green Food Report was just published, documenting progress on the Green Food Purchasing Program, established by the Green Food Purchasing Amendment Act that became law in 2021. The program focuses on harnessing the District’s purchasing power to reduce carbon pollution and mitigate harmful climate impacts associated with food purchases, while increasing access to healthy, unprocessed foods. Read the report here.
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Request for Applications - Public Electric Vehicle Charging
The Department of Energy and Environment seeks eligible entities to expand public electric vehicle charging at or near District Government-owned sites. The grant will support one or more grantees to plan, purchase, install, own, operate, and maintain publicly accessible charging infrastructure. To learn more about this opportunity, visit the grant webpage. Applications are due September 22.
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Request for Applications - Small Building Re-tuning - Workforce Development Project
The Department of Energy and Environment seeks an eligible entity to train participants to conduct re-tuning analyses and implement energy conservation measures for buildings sized between 10,000 and 50,000 ft². Re-tuning is the process of making an existing building and its energy systems operate more efficiently at low or no cost. To learn more about this opportunity, visit the grant webpage. Applications are due September 22.
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Request for Applications - Multifamily Electric Vehicle Charging Assistance
The Department of Energy and Environment seeks an eligible entity to develop and administer a project to provide financial and technical assistance to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure in multifamily buildings in the District. To learn more about this opportunity, visit the grant webpage. Applications are due September 22.
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Whole Child and Educator Wellness Grant
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education is soliciting applications for the Whole Child and Educator Wellness grant. The purpose of the grant is to build the capacity of early childhood education facilities and public and public charter schools in the District to implement policies, processes, and practices that integrate health and wellness into the facility or school to create and sustain healthy learning environments and foster positive student and/or educator outcomes. To learn more about this opportunity, visit the grant webpage. Applications are due October 8.
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Notice of Request for Information - Standards for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
The Department of Energy and Environment invites interested parties to respond to and make recommendations for legislative and regulatory action to create standards for electric vehicle charging reliability and infrastructure in the District. To learn more about this opportunity, visit the request webpage. Responses are due October 20.
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Casey Trees – Multiple Positions
Casey Trees is hiring for an Urban Forestry Foreman, Horticulture Foreman, and a Design & Horticulture Manager. All positions support Casey Trees’ mission to restore, enhance, and protect the tree canopy of the nation’s capital. For more information and to apply, visit https://caseytrees.org/careers/. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Which D.C. blocks bake the hottest? City officials are creating a new map to find out: This article from The 51st covers the recent campaign to take new measurements of disparities in temperatures on extreme heat days.
How the Anacostia Tunnel System is transforming water quality and river access in DC: This opinion piece from Greater Greater Washington highlights the improvements resulting from the Anacostia River Tunnel System, a major component of DC Water’s multi-decade Clean Rivers Project.
Fix-It DC
Fix-It DC events are community repair events dedicated to changing the “throw-it-away” mentality. Visitors bring their broken items to the Fix-It DC event where volunteer Fix-It coaches provide guidance in troubleshooting how to repair each item. The next event is Wednesday, September 17, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the MLK Library (901 G St NW). Visit https://doee.dc.gov/service/fix-it for more information and to register.
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Spa Swap
Climate Classes is teaming up with the Department of Energy and Environment and DC Goodwill to bring you their first ever Spa Swap! As we head into fall, this is a fun, sustainable way to clear out your bathroom cabinet while connecting with neighbors. Bring something (or many things) that you aren’t using and swap for a “new-to-you” item. The event will take place on Wednesday, September 17, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Right Proper Brewing in Shaw. Check out Climate Classes on Instagram for a list of acceptable and unacceptable items.
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Sun Day in DC
Participate in the first “Sun Day” on Sunday, September 21 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. by visiting any of the more than 50 solar sites around the city to learn more about solar power. There will also be an info hub in every ward with more information about the event and about going solar. Learn more at https://sundayindc.org/.
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Clothing & Vinyl Swap
Join ReThread DC and the Southwest Business Improvement District for a combined clothing and vinyl record swap at the Southwest Duck Pond (900 6th St SW) on Thursday, September 25, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Bring any new or gently used items you want to swap and stay for the mallards, music, and mellow energy.
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Kingman Island Friends and Family Day
The Department of Energy and Environment and its partners are excited to host the 5th Annual Kingman Island Friends and Family Day on Saturday, September 27, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Explore, learn, and engage in a range of outdoor activities including live music, yoga, paddling, fishing, dancing, arts and crafts, nature exploration, a kid’s clothing swap, a stuffed animal repair workshop, a pre-event bike ride with Hill Family Biking, and much more. Learn more and register today here!
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The Future of Mass Timber Development in DC
Join WoodWorks and the DC Department of Buildings on Thursday, October 9 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Sycamore & Oak–DC’s first all mass timber commercial building–for an exclusive showcase of cutting-edge mass timber projects redefining the Baltimore-Washington region’s landscape. This event brings together leading developers, architects, and industry innovators to explore how mass timber is transforming urban construction with faster builds, high-performance, and striking design. Learn more and register here.
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