If you received a Root for Trees voucher this year, you have until May 15 to redeem it. If you meant to apply for a voucher this year, it is not yet too late! Root for Trees applications will be accepted through May 5, until 10 a.m. For more information, visit icgov.org/rootfortrees.
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 Local establishments looking to transition away from disposable food and drink containers can get help from the City under a new pilot program rolling out this month. While it is already customary practice at many coffee shops to accept patrons' travel mugs, other organizations or businesses looking to do the same or even expand their efforts often have questions about what is allowed.
The new pilot program provides both technical assistance and grant funding to help to offset initial costs for more durable options and can help connect businesses and organizations with one another for additional peer learning opportunities. By expanding the number of places residents can take their own containers or take advantage of reusable options, the program seeks to reduce waste entering the landfill.
Learn more and apply at icgov.org/ClimateActionGrants.
 Help Green Iowa AmeriCorps protect water and wildlife! On Friday, April 18, meet at Riverfront Crossings Park to collect litter along Highway 6 from Gilbert St. to Lakeside Dr. All ages welcome! Volunteers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a directly supervising adult.
- Friday, April 18, 10 a.m. - noon
- Riverfront Crossings Park, 1001 S Clinton St
- Sign up online
 Nadja Krylov
Climate Action Commissioner
 How do you take climate action?
I do what I can to support government laws and regulations that mitigate the tragedy of the commons. People at various levels of government need to know we have their backs. I’ve learned that elected representatives use metrics to count the communications they receive, and something very personal like a phone call can count as 1,000 people (assuming 999 others were close to calling). Personalizing e-mails or letters counts for more than simply forwarding a message with an automatically generated signature. In other words, putting in a little extra work counts, literally!
Why is it important to take climate action?
When I began my activism, our goals existed inside a framework we articulated as protecting or cleaning up “The Environment;” but because we, as a world, failed to protect “The Environment,” we’ve landed in a new framework, “Climate Change.” It’s obviously a direct progression. Doesn’t that beg the question about what the next framework will be, if we fail with the climate? Will it have to be “Survival?” Or worse, “Survival of the most heavily armed, or the richest?”
What can others do to take climate action?
Why not take the time to attend the Climate Action Commission meetings, and become familiar with the issues our local government is dealing with on the climate front? It’s also a way of finding out what local businesses and nonprofits are doing with grants offered to support their projects related to climate issues.
Alternately, build expertise around the issues. I tried to do that when I became a certified presenter for Climate Reality Project, a network that supports climate communication and alerts activists to opportunities to make our voices heard in government. A similar organization, Third Act, is directed at the older generation and offers a clearinghouse for finding ways to take climate action.
Iowa City’s Climate Action Commission meets monthly
Access upcoming and past meeting packets at the Climate Action Commission web page.
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