• Saving Energy & Money for Homeowners in Monterey County to
  be Focus of December 12^th Energy Upgrade California Event

• Join the $25 for 25 Community Challenge for the
  25th Anniversary of Bike to Work

• Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network:
  Your Opinion Matters

• Don't Miss Out on Earth Day Early Bird Registration Discounts
  Earth Day 2012 is now accepting vendor applications

• Ecology Action Partners with SCC Health Services Agency and Santa Cruz City Public Works Department to Secure Funding to Support Safe Routes to School

• Boltage, Active Transportation Program, at Three Local Elementary Schools

• Monterey Bay Regional Climate Action Compact Poised to Support Regional Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Initiatives

Help Ecology Action continue to provide innovative programs that benefit our environment by making a tax deductible donation now!

Saving Energy & Money for Homeowners in Monterey County
to be Focus of December 12^th Energy Upgrade California Event
- Bunny Tavares, Energy Upgrade California Marketing Communications Manager

For many in the Monterey Bay region, these issues are familiar: a utility bill too high, a home hard to keep comfortable and a local economy stuck in neutral. This month, homeowners and contractors in Monterey County and the surrounding area will gather to hear about a solution: Energy Upgrade California, the statewide program implemented by Ecology Action, that saves money, reduces energy use and helps create and sustain local green jobs.  

The next free workshop will be Monday, December 12, at 5:30 pm at The Sustainability Academy in Monterey. For more information and to register, visit http://monterey-euc.eventbrite.com.

Homeowners in Monterey County have access to rebates and incentives of up to $4,000. To learn more about the rebates, go to www.EnergyUpgradeCA.org, a one-stop-shop where homeowners can enter the county name and gain access to a list of participating contractors who have completed rigorous training and certification on home energy upgrades.

For more information, please email Angela Rocchio, Energy Upgrade Specialist.

Watch a YouTube video of a homeowner starting the upgrade process.

Join the $25 for 25 Community Challenge for the 25th Anniversary of Bike to Work
Let’s Raise $25,000 for 25 More Years in the Saddle
- Nick Mucha, Ecology Action Program Specialist, Transportation

This coming year marks the 25th Anniversary of Santa Cruz County's Bike to Work/School Day. Help us keep this long-standing event going by taking our Community Challenge and donate at least $25 toward our fundraising goal of $25,000.

Since 1987, the local Bike to Work Day campaign has inspired generations of
Santa Cruz County residents to bike to work and school. The simple act of bicycle commuting saves money, burns calories and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.  

To date, over 113,000 participants have ridden their bikes during Bike to Work/School Day, that's over 1,530,000 miles of bicycle commuting!

Why is this important? In Santa Cruz County 47% of greenhouse gases are contributed by transportation. Bike to Work Day is a cost-effective program that directly mitigates these emissions by empowering and encouraging our community to reconsider their daily commute and transform it into a healthy, money saving, life changing activity.
 

Contribute $25 or more to the county’s biggest
sustainable transportation campaign by clicking here.

Donate today for less traffic congestion.
Donate today for cleaner air.
Donate today for a healthier community.

Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network: Your Opinion Matters
- Piet Canin, Ecology Action Vice President, Transportation

Don't Miss Out on Earth Day Early Bird Registration Discounts
Earth Day 2012 is now accepting vendor applications
- Anna Hirst, Ecology Action Marketing Communications Manager

Earth Day 2012 is Saturday, April 21, 2011, from 11 am to 5 pm at San Lorenzo Park Benchlands in Santa Cruz. The Earth Day organizing committee is now accepting vendor and non-profit booth applications at a discounted rate through January 15th.

There are limited booth spaces available for environmental food, retail, product and service vendors, as well as non-profits. The early bird registration cost for a space is $105 for retail vendors and $52.50 for non-profit organizations if you register  by January 15, 2012. Cost for booth spaces (if still available) will increase after January 15.

Don't miss this discounted booth rate! Apply now and pay online via our PayPal secure payment account.

Register now and find out more information by clicking here.

Ecology Action Partners with SCC Health Services Agency and Santa Cruz City Public Works Department
to Secure Funding for Safe Routes to School
- Jeanne LePage, Ecology Action Program Specialist, Transportation

Ecology Action and Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency partnered to secure a $399,800 grant award from the Federal Safe Routes to School program (SRTS) through Caltrans. Initial planning will commence this March and the project work will be completed by June of 2014. This grant will support SRTS efforts at school sites throughout the county, with a particular focus on Ann Soldo, Mintie White, HA Hyde, Westlake, Bay View and Del Mar elementary schools, and Mission Hill, Shoreline and New Brighton middle schools.

The SRTS work plan includes bicycle and pedestrian education and encouragement. Additionally, Ecology Action was included in a Santa Cruz City Public Works Department grant of $503,100 to encourage more walking at Westlake Elementary by creating a Walking School Bus program. The city will construct sidewalks to complete safe walking routes to this neighborhood school.

Click here for more information about the Safe Routes to School Program.

Boltage, Active Transportation Program, at Three Local Elementary Schools
- Jeanne LePage, Ecology Action Program Specialist, Transportation

Good for the planet, good for the body! Boltage, a daily bike and walk tracking and rewards system, is going strong at DeLaveaga, Gault and Starlight Elementary schools. Here’s a snapshot by the numbers of accomplishments for the fall semester:

• 595 students enrolled
• 9,482 bike and walk student trips to and from school
• 11,326 active miles traveled and lbs. CO2 not released
• 485,919 calories burned

 
How Boltage works:
Students are rewarded for the number of times they use active transportation to travel to school. Enrolled students are issued radio frequency identification tags that are read by a solar powered computer mounted on a pole on school grounds. On the days that the student walks or rolls to school they pass underneath the reader and their trip is counted. More trips add up to more prizes. Each enrolled student has an account and can see how many trips they’ve logged, miles they've traveled, greenhouses gases reduced, and calories burned throughout the school year. Every bike and walk trip counts!

Click here to learn more about the Boltage program in Santa Cruz County.

Monterey Bay Regional Climate Action Compact Poised to Support Regional Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Initiatives

The newly minted Monterey Bay Regional Climate Action Compact, a coalition of local governments, planning agencies, non-profits, educational institutions and private businesses, is now poised to support regional climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives. The original Climate Action Compact, comprised of the City and County of Santa Cruz and UCSC, has gone through an expansion phase and now includes a wide range of partners in the tri-county region. The Compact’s upcoming initiatives include establishing a local carbon reduction fund, creating a regional greenhouse gas tracking system, and evaluating and pursuing funding for regional projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ecology Action has been the convener of the Compact since its inception, and has recently secured James Barsimantov and EcoShift to serve as interim staff to the Compact. Stay tuned for more climate updates as we move forward.