Deadline to apply to be a part of Community Climate Coalition is November 15

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV)- On Wednesday afternoon, the County of Monterey's Sustainability program was awarded a $300,000 Climate Communities Planning grant from the Transformative Climate Communities.

Monterey County was one of seven counties across the state that was awarded one of the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Planning Grants that in the fourth round of the TCC program. The county did apply for this grant in 2022.

As part of the funding, the County will partner with Regeneración- Pajaro Valley Climate Action in this effort.

County officials said the grant will focus on a five mile area which includes Pajaro and parts of Watsonville in Santa Cruz County.

The grant term is from July 2023 to June 2025.

Local leaders identified that area because of the low-income communities in that area that face disproportionate impacts of climate change, but also includes opportunities for redevelopment and reinvestment along the Pajaro River levee and the Watsonville Junction.

Cora Panturad who is the Sustainable Infrastructure Analyst for the County of Monterey said that this grant will allow residents to have their voice heard in the process.

"This TCC Planning grant will create opportunities for residents of the Pajaro Valley to co-design climate change solutions that sustainably improve their lives today and for future generations," Panturad said.

Regeneracion- Pajaro Valley will establish a Community Climate Coalition made up of residents and leaders from local community based organizations that will be responsible for exploring climate solutions,
and engage residents.

The deadline to apply to be a part of the coalition is on Wednesday Nov. 15.

Regeneracion- Pajaro Valley is looking for 10 leaders in total to join the coalition. There will be four to five positions available for community members and how climate change is impacting the area

There will also be four to five positions available for non-profit leaders whose organizations specialize in the areas of affordable housing, environmental justice, education and health.

Once the coalition is established, they will identifying three to five local climate greenhouse gas reducing projects that can be implemented in the Pajaro Valley.

The program will be in Spanish and people who are interested in joining must be 16 years or older.

Coalition members who serve on the board will serve on the coalition starting on Jan. 2024.

To apply, you can click here. The application is also available in Spanish here.

The Transformative Climate Communities Program was established by Assembly Bill 2722.