 Okay, oh, you're gonna give me a countdown? Okay, where are we at up there? Okay, welcome to the Longmont Museum, the Center for Culture in Northern Colorado, where people of all ages explore history, experience art, and discover new ideas through dynamic programs, exhibitions, and events. My name's Justin Beach, I'm the manager of the museum's Stuart Auditorium, and we are coming at you live this evening from the Stuart Auditorium. I'd like to thank all the people who make our programming possible, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, the Stuart Family Foundation, the Friends of the Longmont Museum, and our many museum donors and members. We simply couldn't do all that we do without you, so thank you. For more info about what we do here, or to find out how you can support the museum's work, visit www.longmontmuseum.org. Tonight is the culmination of a week's worth of climate change programming. On Monday we launched our Big Picture Climate Change series with four consecutive evenings of panel discussions dedicated to the elements, earth, air, fire, and water, featuring climate change scientists and other experts offering their thoughts on the current state of the world. The entire four-part series is available to view via the museum's website and Facebook page. We're so happy to partner this year with Sustainable Resilient Longmont in their annual celebration of Earth Day, and to co-present this evening's program. We're in this together, Equitable Climate Action in Longmont. Tonight's program is also being broadcast in Spanish on the City of Longmont's YouTube page. But before we proceed with tonight's presentations, I'd like to share with you that the City of Longmont has begun internal conversations to develop a land acknowledgement statement. In the meantime, we would like to acknowledge that this evening's program is being held on the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute Nation's traditional territory. Further, we acknowledge the 48 contemporary tribal nations historically tied to the lands that comprise what is now Colorado. We acknowledge the painful history and forced removal that has profoundly impacted and continues to impact native communities. We recognize the benefits we are receiving from these actions and celebrate the many contributions of native peoples to Western society. Let us take a moment of silence to recognize the original stewards and indigenous cultures of Longmont and Colorado. Thank you. I'd like to now introduce Mitzi Nicoletti, Sustainable Resilient Longmont Board Member. Thank you, Justin. Good evening, everybody. I want to thank the Longmont Museum for hosting Sustainable Resilient Longmont's Earth Day celebration. Earth Day has been recognized every April since 1970 to honor, celebrate, and highlight the necessity of caring for this planet we call home. Our issues of environmental sustainability and climate justice are more critical now, more than ever. Tonight, we turn our focus to equitable climate action in Longmont. Climate action, equity, and equality can be mutually supportive. Well-crafted climate policies can and will strengthen the abilities of frontline communities and neighbors who are disproportionately and systematically affected of the negative effects of climate change. Frontline communities are neighborhoods that experience the first and the worst consequences of climate change. These are our communities of color and low income families whose neighborhoods are often underserved and underrepresented. By prioritizing and lifting the voices of our frontline communities in the planning and implementation process, we can collaborate, build a more resilient community for all of us. SRL, our mission is to promote social equity within the context of environmental protection and we are honored to highlight the work that is being done in Longmont to promote economic and racial justice and equity while mitigating climate change. This evening, we are pleased to present a live panel with members of the Equity Climate Action Team, the City of Longmont Sustainability Program and a local participant from the City's Sustainable Business Program. There will be an opportunity for the public to ask questions and find out how to get involved. The City of Longmont Sustainability Program will also be sharing what the city is doing to uplift equity in the efforts to make our city more sustainable as we face the realities of climate change. It is also my honor tonight to introduce our Colorado State Legislator, Tracey Burnett. Tracey has served on the SRL Board in the past for a number of years and she is going to share two bills that she is currently working on. Tracey? Thank you, Mitzi. And thank you, Sustainable Resilient Longmont, for putting on this event and being such a great grassroots organization for change. And thank you, City of Longmont, the Sustainability Program and also the Longmont Museum. You know, according to the Colorado Greenhouse Gas Roadmap, there's four areas we need to focus on to fight climate change. Electricity, generation, transportation, oil and gas production, and buildings. I'm gonna talk about buildings tonight. Reducing the Colorado Greenhouse Gas Reduction Roadmap also says that reducing methane is one of the roadmap's main priorities. So what do most Coloradans use to heat their homes and their businesses and their water? Natural gas, which is methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas. Reducing and eventually eliminating natural gas in buildings and then incentivizing the transition, incentivizing going to, and in, I'm sorry, is that okay? Okay, thank you. Okay, reducing and eventually eliminating natural gas in our buildings is going to be the most challenging task and it's gonna take the longest to do. It's gonna take decades to reduce natural gas in our buildings and eliminate it. That's why I'm taking it on. I like a big challenge. And this is what I'm doing with the state legislator because we need to start now first by reducing the natural gas we use in our buildings and then incentivizing a transition to clean heat technologies. So one of my core values is also equity. We need to make sure that Colorado brings everybody along on this transition to a green energy technology. So this session I've introduced two bills that both address climate change and equity. My first bill, House Bill 1009, is headed to the governor's office in a couple weeks. This bill applies to the Colorado State's Division of Housing that provides grant and loan programs to public and nonprofit and private developers of affordable housing, such as the Longmont Housing Authority and the Habitat for Humanity. And this is applying throughout Colorado, is driven by local communities and what their needs are. So what my bill does is incentivizes affordable housing developers to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings through weatherization and insulation and upgrading to the latest building codes, thereby reducing and stabilizing rents in utility costs for low and moderate income households. So it also incentivizes building affordable housing near schools and town centers and transit centers so that these households, these low and moderate income households spend less time and money traveling for transportation. It reduces the congestion on our roads as well as our air pollution. You know, I've said for a long time, this pandemic is a window into what our world will look like if we do not address climate change. So as we emerge from this pandemic, I've been thinking a lot about what have we learned and how can we do things better? So I've talked to businesses who are downsizing their physical workspace because some employees want to telecommute sometime or part time or full time. And so there may be unused or underutilized buildings. So the state of Colorado is looking at this too. And so this bill also directs the state to look at converting unused state buildings into affordable housing developments. My next bill, it's House Bill 1238, it's been introduced and it's still going through a little bit of sausage making down at the state capitol. It's directed for investor-owned gas utilities under the regulation of the Public Utilities Commission. And there are four gas utilities. This is Excel, Black Hills, Atmos and CNG. It doesn't include municipal utilities like Laundat. But there's some ideas there. Okay, so what this bill does, it gives the Public Utilities Commission new tools to direct utilities to improve the gas energy efficiency of buildings through promotion and rebates like higher efficiency furnaces and water heaters and weatherization. It also allows for the adoption of new clean energy technologies as they become more widely accepted or cost effective. And this is the part I'm really excited about. It directs the Public Utilities to include in their benefit cost analysis the social costs of carbon dioxide as well as for the first time ever in Colorado, the social costs of methane. So people ask, what do you mean by the social costs of methane? Well, the wildfires, the floods, the droughts, the heat waves, the crop damage, these all cause pollutants, it causes health impacts. Those pollutants also cause more greenhouse gas emissions and it's a very vicious cycle. So the social costs of methane and carbon dioxide takes those costs into effect. So my bill directs the Public Utilities Commission to include the benefits of not use, of the benefits to the side of using less natural gas and natural gas when you burn it, it turns into carbon dioxide. All those things is including using less of those greenhouse gas emissions. But there's the equity portion because I know we really care about equity. My bill requires the utilities to dedicate a portion of their programs to help low income customers pay for the full cost of weatherizing their homes. This bill also creates jobs and weatherization. It helps create jobs with businesses that sell higher efficiency furnaces and water heaters and also clean heat technologies like solar thermal heat pumps, geothermal heat pumps and solar water heaters. It's estimated over the next 10 years, my bill will cut 800,000 tons of CO2 emissions in 10 years. It will double customers' cash savings and this represents 600 to $700 million of savings for customers here in Colorado. So that's my bills and I want to thank you all for letting me talk about them and now it is my pleasure and my privilege to welcome Atara Nusrat, the Longmont Sustainability Grants and Grants and Programs Coordinator to share what the City of Longmont is doing to highlight climate equity. Thank you. Let me get our little slides to work here. Ah, okay, here we go. Thank you very much, Tracy. As Tracy mentioned, my name is Atara Nusrat. I joined the city around this time last year so you can imagine it's been quite a year. I'm very happy to be here with SRL and the museum to mark Earth Day and thank you for including us in this programming. So to support this evening's focus on equitable climate action, I'm going to give you a brief overview of what the city's doing and you've heard both Mitzi and Tracy speaking about equity and I'm just going to give you a brief definition of what equitable climate action is. So we can think of it as the implementation of local policies and the adoption of personal habits that reduce climate-altering pollution and what's important is that these policies and habits must, one, not harm people or planet and, two, must support all members of our community according to their needs. So equitable climate action and sustainability go hand in hand. Generally, when we think of sustainability, we tend to focus on the environmental conservation dimension of it but sustainability is a lot more than that. It embraces caring for the natural world. It embraces building economic prosperity that doesn't harm and it embraces social cohesion. So in the interest of time, I'm going to say that let's assume economic prosperity should benefit everyone but that assumption is tied very closely to social equity and social equity is actually not about treating everyone the same, at least not at first. It's about providing specific support and resources to those individuals or communities that have historically, for one reason or another, not had the same access to opportunities and or have been more impacted by environmental pollution than others. As Mitzi mentioned, these are our frontline communities, often communities of color or lower income. And by appropriately resourcing different members of our community, in time we can realize a more equal share of opportunities, benefits and responsibilities towards each other and our shared environment. By making lifestyle choices and pursuing pollution reducing policies that embed social equity in their design, together the city and residents of Longmont can make equitable climate action a reality. So Longmont sustainability program is grounded in equity. We seek to create trusted relationships and advance the decades of work that has been done by frontline communities, nonprofits, community-based organizations, local businesses and city initiatives. But as we know, government hasn't always played a positive role in advancing equity. Indeed, it has often exacerbated the suffering of different members of its communities through unfair discriminatory and short-sighted policies. These have included zoning and planning decisions, particularly in neighborhood design, the location of community amenities, industrial developments and interstate highways. In some cases, such as the Globeville neighborhood in North Denver, two interstate highways bisect the majority Latinx community, both vertically and horizontally, which contribute to its isolation from Denver. So we understand that government bears responsibilities to address past and present harms. Here in Longmont in 2021, as a sustainability team, we aim to work inclusively with all members and sectors of our community to achieve sustainability for everyone and to support equitable climate action through our programs. So what is the city doing? So back in 2015, SRL was instrumental in bringing the city sustainability plan back to the table. This had lain dormant since 2011 and supported by changes in city council priorities. Our sustainability program manager, Lisa Knoblock, worked with the community to create the current sustainability plan in 2016. Here are the 10 sustainability topics that the plan covers. It includes environmental, social, environmental, social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability, and this year we're gonna start updating this and the public will be invited to participate in that process. In 2018, as a result of growing public concern regarding the impacts of climate change, the city of Longmont completed its first greenhouse gas inventory and adopted a resolution to supply its electricity from 100% renewable energy sources by 2030. Based on the results from the greenhouse gas inventory and to reduce its own impact, the city started switching its sanitation vehicles from diesel fuel to compressed natural gas produced from our own wastewater treatment plant. So far over half the fleet has been converted with the aim of the whole fleet switching over in 2024. So many of the waste and recycling trucks that you see on collection routes are powered by locally produced renewable energy and currently we're about 50% of the way to our 2030 renewable energy goal. So in 2019, again spearheaded by public concern and local activist groups, the city adopted a climate emergency resolution. As a result of climate action task force was convened, which included both community members and city staff. The task force produced a climate action recommendations report which resulted in 27 recommendations that the city can implement over short, medium and long-term time scales. These recommendations were accompanied by a complimentary equity guidelines which highlighted how to embed equitable and inclusive processes in the development and delivery of those 27 recommendations. You're gonna hear more about this work later. In 2020, the city commissioned an equitable carbon-free transportation roadmap. The aim was to provide an implementation process and timeline for all members of our community to have access to carbon reducing means of transport. This roadmap was recently presented to city council. And other relevant programs at the city is either leading or working in partnership with the community, includes the Sustainable Business Program that you're going to hear a little bit more about. That supports and recognizes local businesses making substantial efforts to become more sustainable. And for residents, some of you watching tonight might be members of the NGLA, the Neighborhood Group Leaders Association. This is a partnership between the city and over 55 registered neighborhoods with the aim to create healthy neighborhoods with a strong sense of community. The NGLA offers a number of funding and training opportunities, including the Sustainable Neighborhood Solutions Program, which supports community-driven projects that increase neighborhood sustainability. If your neighborhood is interested in joining the NGLA, you can find more details about that on the city website under Community and Neighborhood Resources. And you can also email us at sustainability at longmontcolorado.gov. Those details will be available later as well. The city is also running the SOL program, which stands for Sustainable Opportunities, Lifestyle and Leadership. This involves Longmont residents receiving free basic eco-upgrades in their homes and engaging in a long-term conversation with the city about local services that support sustainable lifestyles. People who either live or work in Longmont are trained as volunteers to perform these upgrades and share sustainability resources. So the program builds capacity and empowers Longmont residents by both developing local sustainability leadership and supporting individual and community resilience in our neighborhoods. We are actually currently seeking a bilingual English-Spanish volunteer for the program, and you can learn more about that on the city. So lastly, with funding from Boulder County Sustainability Tax, we're currently in the process of hiring an equity and engagement specialist who will support the implementation of equitable climate action. And this year we're also going to be commissioning the creation of a climate risk and vulnerability map for Longmont. The aim of this effort is to identify areas of greatest risk to climate impacts, such as extreme heat events or flooding, and map those risks against physical and social indicators at a neighborhood level. So in partnership with other programs such as the NGLA and city departments, such as planning and community services, we aim to apply an equity lens to the development of future city plans and actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change. So what I've laid out is not an exhaustive list of what the city is doing, but it hopefully gives you an indication of some of the actions that the city is pursuing to support equitable climate action. So next, we'd like to queue up a couple of short videos for you. We were scheduled to have my colleague, Bernice Garcia-Teles, the Sustainable Business Program, coordinated to speak about this, but unfortunately she can't attend tonight. The first video will give you an overview of the Sustainable Business Program, and the second is a short presentation by Haiti Carabillo Vasquez, owner of Oasis Fresh Fruit. They were recognized for their efforts as a Sustainable Business with the 2021 Bronze Award from the Sustainable Business Program. I'm just gonna see if we can get this to work. I've got it. Hang on. They will take care of it, okay. Building a sustainable community is more than caring for our environment. It's about making you, your family, and your business stronger by giving everyone a chance to participate. Left Hand Brewing Company has joined other businesses in Longmont to work toward a common goal, and we are ready to share the next step. By building on these three essential pillars, environmental sustainability, social sustainability, and economic sustainability. We can all get involved and get a little bit of arena to support us and be the favorites in this program. Help the company you work for take the first step. By learning more about the Longmont vision for sustainability, and see the free resources available to make it happen. Together, we can thrive. Today, and tomorrow. To have a better future for us. Hi, my name is Bernice Garcia Tejas. I am the Economic Sustainability Specialist for the City of Longmont. Learn more about how to become a sustainable business in our website. Together, we can thrive today and tomorrow. Next video coming up. I'm Kathy Kramer, the Public Information Office. The quality of our products and services is for our employees, and for us, it is very important to have an economic and social impact. Being a sustainable business is a form of social contribution, and also to ensure the long-term commercial success. We also take care of the environment for future generations. Another benefit of being a sustainable business is that it reduces costs. By saving energy and water, we are in the program of sustainable businesses in Longmont, and they helped us to change refrigerators, the water bottles, the light extensions, the bathroom cup, an intelligent thermostat, and we also recycle. They provided us with a bottle of garbage to recycle, and I invite you to also contribute to taking care of the environment as a sustainable business. Thank you. Those came through okay. If you'd like more information about how to participate in the sustainable business program, or any of the other programs I've mentioned, please visit the city website and also contact us at sustainability at longmontcolorado.gov. So now I'd like to hand over to my colleague, Francie Jaffee, Water Conservation and Sustainability Specialist at the City of Longmont. Francie will be giving you an overview of the evolution of the equitable climate action team. Thank you. Thank you, Autra. A little bit shorter. If you don't mind bringing up the presentation. As Autra mentioned, my name is Francie Jaffee. I'm the Water Conservation and Sustainability Specialist for the City of Longmont. One of my job responsibilities is that I coordinate the equitable climate action team that you'll be hearing from later tonight, and they asked that if I could give a little bit of a history of how the group came to be. You're in this right? So I'm just gonna bring up the equitable climate action definition that Autra stated earlier and just walk through it in a little bit more depth. So it starts with local policy and personal habits. So things we both can do both individually, but also system-wide from governments and institutions that reduce climate pollution. So things that make our outdoor air quality worse or can lead to climate change and increase community resilience. So if you were listening to any of the earlier climate change series this week, you would have heard that climate change leads to increased drought and wildfire. So increasing community resilience helps make sure we can be more resilient and stronger when that happens. And then in ways that do no harm and that support all communities according to their needs. So this is very important because we, each of our different communities have different needs and if we want to try to reduce climate pollution, we have to figure out how to meet communities where they're at. So throughout my presentation, I'm gonna be bringing up this long timeline. I'm gonna be boxing out the specific area that I'm focusing in. So you can see a yellow box in the top corner starting with the sustainability plan. I'm also just halfway through talking, going to make sure I switch to the slide that has the Spanish. I can figure out how to use, there we go. So it starts with the sustainability plan as Atra mentioned is grounded in equity, environmental action and economic vitality. And what really kicked off the process that led to the ECHET was the passing of the 100% renewable energy resolution. But before I talk about that more, I just want to talk a little bit more about the difference between renewable energy and energy efficiency because these are words that I'll use throughout my presentation and just want to provide a little bit more context. So renewable energy refers to energy sources that are self-refilling such as sun, wind. You can see solar panels on this slide or hydro, which is coming from water. Why energy efficiency refers to ways we can actually reduce our energy usage like replacing light bulbs with LED light bulbs by an energy star appliances. So energy efficiency is really important because it actually can help us reach a 100% renewable energy. So the 100% renewable energy goal by 2030 specifically called out that the city shall consider the needs of lower income residents. And one way of doing that is the just transition process. So a just transition focuses on inclusive engagement, recommendations and practices around climate action and energy services, but also the connection to community health, basic needs and jobs. So back to my large timeline, focusing on the section in blue. The first part that really was end of 2018 into 2019 really focused on engaging the community and a community survey and listening session that really worked to understand access to resources, connections to health and access to basic needs. So I'm gonna highlight some key takeaways that we learned from the survey. So this survey specifically targeted households making less than $50,000 per year out of the respondents. About 50% were very uncomfortable in set their temperature at a very comfortable range, had to reduce food or reduce medicine to afford their utility bill. So this was really highlighting that energy actually has a strong interconnection with community health and access to basic needs like food. We also learned that in 2019, 56% of the respondents had not heard of an energy assistance program, which is a disconnect that we were seeing in the survey and knowledge of programs. I do wanna highlight that we have since launched more programs like the Longmont Cares, which we've seen a great increase in participation in our community. So my guess in the past two years that this number would have decreased, but it still highlights the need to keep monitoring the knowledge of different energy assistance programs for those in most need. Now the next part of this was in late 2019 and to the 2020, we were gonna take what we learned from the survey and listening sessions and pulled together a group which at the time was called the Just Transition Plan Committee or JTP Committee. But as you can see before that happened in January of 2020, the climate emergency resolution passed in October of 2019. So what that did, it was a couple of things. One it called for the creation of the Climate Action Task Force, which was a city-appointed group that worked in the first part of 2020 to pull together a series of recommendations of how to move towards a non-carbon community. It also allowed the opportunity for the Just Transition Plan Committee to expand their focus from not just equity in energy but equity in climate action. So over the first part of that year, the Climate Action Task Force worked towards their recommendations but also met with the JTP Committee and applied equity lens with the focus trying to make sure recommendations were inclusive of all members of our community. So the final report focused on these six different topic areas. The Climate Action Task Force had 27 total recommendations, 12 of which are near term. The city is working on them over the next two years. One of them was actually the Climate Change Series this past week. So that was one of the efforts to increase climate education. And you can see there's a focus on equity that was centered throughout and the Just Transition Plan Committee recommendations were instead compliment... Well, they were complimentary recommendations that could apply to all Climate Action Task Force recommendations and returned into a equity checklist that could be helped, again, make sure that these recommendations are including all members of our community and working towards that. So that brings us to where the group is today and they're now called the Equitable Climate Action Team or ECAT. So before I hand it over to them, just want to highlight a little bit about what they're working on right now. So their two main focuses are community education and outreach. So this is the first event that they're doing. We're hoping to do a lot more communication and outreach this year focused on climate, equitable climate actions. So if you are interested in keeping up to date with that, feel free to reach out to the Sustainability Program. I know we'll be dropping in our email address at the end of my presentation. Also, the group will continue to apply an equitable climate action lens to support the city in making sure as we implement programs, we're being as inclusive as possible. And you can actually see us at our meeting this past Wednesday, actually giving feedback on one of those programs. So the last thing I just wanted to share and I'll bring this up again at the end is that we are recruiting new members. The group is growing. We are recruiting about five new members. So here's the application. Again, this will also be dropped into the chat and we'll bring it up again at the end of the evening. So at this point, I'd like to introduce our Katie Doyle-Meyers, who will be facilitating the panel. Katie began her professional life as an educator teaching Spanish and language arts in middle and high schools. In 2008, she brought her experience as an educator into her work with the Philanthropies Foundation where she serves as the executive director. She grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the granddaughter of Pennsylvania Dutch farmers who regularly delivered their potatoes, asparagus, and tomatoes for dinner. Katie's parents modeled the values of citizenship and kindness by working with communities of people experiencing homelessness, people living with disabilities, the youth, the elderly, and more. Katie moved to Boulder County in 2000 and has called Lewisville home for the past 16 years, where she lives with her husband, Brian, sons, Finn, and Leo. The city has actually been working with Katie and Philanthropies for the past almost about a year in partnership with working on the ECAD. And this year, Philanthropies is providing a financial appreciation to the members so they can have better access to our meetings and is also helping to make it possible that we can grow our membership. So I will let Katie come up next. Thank you. Thanks, Francie. I think I'm gonna stay down here, right? Awesome. Thanks, Francie. Thanks, everybody. As Francie noted, I'm here representing the Philanthropies Foundation this evening. Philanthropies is an operating foundation based here in Longmont. We pursue a just, equitable, and sustainable world. We recognize that systemic oppression exists and feel it is our responsibility to be part of creative solutions that make communities more inclusive and equitable for all. Our work focuses on building relationships and on collaboration, on creating partnerships and programs that focus on the intersection of racial, economic, and climate justice. We know that Boulder County is not immune to the harmful impacts of climate change. It is here and we feel it. I'll talk to you guys. We feel it in the floods and the wildfires. We feel it in the increasing number of summer days where we experience extreme heat. We feel it in the days when the air quality prevents us from going outside. And we know that these crises both expose and exacerbate inequity. At Philanthropies, we're also steadfast in our belief that we have many, many wise leaders in our communities who have insight on our current climate situation. Many of these leaders have been silenced or overlooked because of institutional practices that stem from white supremacy that is present in our country's institutions. We also know that if these community members have a platform for leadership, these leaders who represent immigrant and refugee communities, who represent the indigenous community, the black community, the Muslim community, the LGBTQ community, and other communities like those experiencing homelessness and those living with disabilities, the youth are elders and more, that these are the creative and resilient leaders who have the experience and the wisdom to guide us towards a future that is more healthy and sustainable for all. And that's why at Philanthropies, we've been so pleased to have the opportunity to partner with the Equitable Climate Action Team since late 2019, early 2020. We've supported this group of community members who are leading real transformational change and work that is rooted locally here in Longmont and that is focused on justice and inclusion. And this evening, I'm so honored to be here with four of these community members representing the Equitable Climate Action Team that we sometimes call E-Cat. So I just want to throw that out there. Oh, wow, I have a group of all stars up here with me. I'm so excited. First, I want to introduce you to Osvaldo Hanne Gomez. Osvaldo is originally from Cuba and he's called Longmont Home since 1995. He has dedicated his life to be an advocate for underserved people, immigrants, youth, and our elders. He is a defender of the people and the environment. He's an avid gardener and if you've been to his home, you know that he has a veritable botanical garden in his home reminding him of his homeland of Cuba. Osvaldo is a celebrated dancer and has taught dance to children, teens, and adults. One of his proudest accomplishments is creating a technique of Zumba that folks living with disabilities can enjoy. He teaches wheelchair Zumba currently to the residents of the Applewood and the Peaks Senior Care Centers. Along with his hope for creating a better environment, Osvaldo hopes that all can experience the joy and freedom of dance as he feels it's the best therapy in the world. Osvaldo, it's so great to be here with you this evening. I'm also really excited to present Rachel Zelaya who grew up in World New Hampshire and moved to Colorado in 1993. She's lived in Longmont since 2014. She's a small business owner as a yoga teacher and therapist. From 1999 to 2001, Rachel served as an agricultural volunteer in the Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa. There she saw the effects of climate change on people's lives through desertification. Rachel is the mother of a 19-year-old black young man whose father is from Mali. She supports the Black Lives Matter movement. Her awareness of racism and white privilege is heightened because of her son's identity. Rachel's interests include organic gardening, carbon sequestration, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. She's an organizer in the Longmont Neighborhood Leaders Association, volunteers for it, and is a former staff member of Sustainable Resilient Longmont, and is a founding member of ECAT, the Equitable Climate Action Team. Rachel, welcome. Iris. Iris Prieto Medina is originally from Mexico and she's lived in the United States for the past 12 years. She has dedicated her time to many, many community initiatives. I don't know if there's anything she's not involved with here. These initiatives have included the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, Intercambio Uniting Communities, and the Latino Chamber of Commerce, and the Family Leadership Training Institute. She's the founder of OLA, a community networking program for the Latinx population. Iris is a facilitator, a cultural broker, and a promoter. She loves creating access for her community, and she's passionate about her family. We're so glad you're here with us this evening, Iris. And Garrett. Garrett Chapel is a local photographer and designer originally from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Garrett has lived in Boulder County since 2015, and works with Circle Graphics as the company's first ever sustainability program manager. In their free time, Garrett enjoys escaping to the San Luis Valley, working on new photography and costume design techniques, and watching movies for the film club that they created with their friends. Conservation, social justice, and environmental sustainability have always been, and will always be, the driving forces for Garrett's passion and work. And they are honored to be speaking here tonight as a member of Longmont's community. Garrett, we're honored to have you here. All right, let's get started. This is great. We have some great conversation to be had this evening, and we're gonna kick off with you Osvaldo. Actually, we wanna hear from all of you on this first question, because this one is critical to get us started. How has your community been impacted by climate change? Osvaldo, can you tell us? Sí, como no. Como sabemos, la comunidad ha sido afectada por el cambio climático. El cambio climático ha afectado, como sabemos, todo el mundo. Como vemos, aquí en Loma, mira, ya sabemos, estamos en Mayo y tenemos nieve. So el cambio climático completamente se ha cambiado en el mundo, ha afectado la agricultura, ha afectado la industria, ha afectado a todo. Y en la comunidad, porque ha afectado muchísimo a la comunidad, porque los productos que vienen del campo cuestan mucho más caros, y nosotros como gente de la comunidad nos cuesta mucho trabajo. También adquirir esos productos que están tan caros. Y esa es una idea que yo tengo en cuanto al cambio climático. Muchas gracias. Así es, Osvaldo. Yes, of course. As we all know, climate change has impacted our community, it has impacted the entire world. It has impacted our agriculture, our communities, and for example, we are importing products and which makes them more expensive. And now our community is struggling to be able to afford those products, so yes, climate change has definitely impacted our community. Rachel, can you tell us from your perspective how climate change has impacted our community? Yes, thank you, Katie. So I think the main thing that is really coming up for me is around air quality, and in specific, the wildfires, the impact on air quality. So I think we're just starting to learn how dangerous wildfire smoke is to our bodies, to our lungs. And so last summer, when ash was raining down on our city in October, and I know, and the fires started, I think in August. So we were dealing with that for months last year and as far as I understand, it's not expected to get any better. So physical health impacts, mental health impacts, I think many of us love Colorado because it's so beautiful and we can be outside and enjoy nature and we can't do that anymore when we can't breathe outside or it's dangerous to breathe outside. My husband doesn't have health insurance and he coughs for about six months out of the year and it was worse last year and so there's a lot of fear and anxiety around the physical and mental health impacts of air quality right now. And then I feel lucky I have a house that I can go inside. We choose not to have air conditioning and we can't open the windows now. So this summer is going to be really uncomfortable but I'm lucky to have a house. What about people in our community who don't have any way to escape the air? So I think about them. And so that's the air and then as far as water, so I moved to Longmont in the hopes of starting a garden and originally we did have a garden in our backyard but the drought is just, it makes it really impossible to actually grow food for yourself. We did install water barrels but honestly there's not enough rain to fill up the water barrels or at least there wasn't last year. So I've stopped gardening and then to have any kind of, our lawn has turned into a desert because otherwise you have to pour so much water on the grass and I just don't feel good about using our water resources in that way. So you mentioned that I was in the Peace Corps and I lived in West Africa and I witnessed climate change happening to the village, the community that I lived in and how heartbreaking that was and now I feel like that's coming for us too. Thanks Rachel. I'm sure we'll dig into some of those arenas in this conversation. Iris, can you tell us a little bit about, from your perspective, what effects of climate change have you seen on our community? Well, I think Rachel mentioned a lot of them. Last year was something frustrating for many families including what happened with COVID but even with that, the fact that they were burning around here in our city was quite frustrating. I have a son who has allergic problems. I didn't have more changes, there were more allergies, more problems to breathe. Even though we couldn't go out because the air was quite contaminated, we decided to stay at home. Those are the most clear impacts I've seen without taking into account the fact that we had an inundation a few years ago that also impacted our community. Yes, I think Rachel covered a lot of the key points. As we know, we saw last year was a really tough year. We dealt with the pandemic and on top of that, all of our surrounding areas were burning and I have a child who has allergies and we really saw a lot more allergies last year on top of not even being able to go outside just to walk around. And a few years ago, we also had a flood so we have definitely seen the impact of climate change. Thanks Edis. Garrett, can you share with us? Honestly, I feel like climate change has really taken hope from my generation. It's taken away the ability to imagine a future for ourselves that we were afforded when we grew up. You know, most of my friends are in their late 20s, early 30s, around the time when you're planning a family and so many of them are wondering if that's even ethical to do, if they should even have children, if they should bring more people into what we know is coming and knowing that that's even a discussion, it both equally breaks my heart and makes me more furious than I can verbalize. My faith helps me remain hopeful but it's getting harder. And my faith is maintained by the people on the stage and the people watching tonight, people who do care and who are invested in their own communities. But when I see maybe the larger indifference or the larger deference to just creating profit hand over fist over protecting all of us from the worst effects of climate change, it's disheartening and I fear for my younger sister's generation. Thanks for sharing that, Garrett. So the evidence is there and one thing that I really admire about the equitable climate action team and you all is that you are dedicating your time and your energy, your experience to envisioning a different future. A future that's more resilient. You recently, I believe it was at the beginning of this year changed your name from the Just Transition Planning Committee to the Equitable Climate Action Team. Rachel, I'm wondering if I can look to you for how does your group, how does this community group that serves the city of Longmont, how do you define equitable climate action and maybe can you talk to us a little bit about what Longmont's doing or what other cities are doing that you are all referring to? Yes, thanks. So as has been mentioned, the definition that this group came up with in a very democratic way, none of us are experts, but as we learned more about what equitable climate action is, we were, had the opportunity to come up with our own definition and that's already been stated that it's local policy and personal habits that reduce climate pollution and increase community resilience in ways that do no harm and that support all communities according to their needs. So I think one of the things that I learned, I've learned over this past year is this really fascinating idea that climate action can actually support communities that need the most support and communities that have been traditionally ignored, actively harmed, that this is an opportunity to make amends, to have reparations. And so of course we wouldn't wish this situation on our planet, but given that we've found ourselves in it, how do we actually make the most of it and write past harms? So I was looking into some various different examples and I came across something that is a counter example so I wanted to start with that first, what is inequitable climate inaction? Or actually it's purposeful action that causes harm. So there have been news reports lately that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been intentionally granting permits to polluting industries knowing the harm that that was going to cause local communities. So this is an active harm that the state has done. So here's an example of why it is up to state and city and federal government to work to rectify those harms. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment knows the impacts that this is having on us and yet they have allowed these permits to continue anyway. So on their website they say, people of color, lower income individuals and historically underrepresented groups are all disproportionately impacted by climate change. So they know, the state knows and yet they continue to cause harm in this way. So moving into solution, there's so many different examples that are very heartening but I'll just give a couple that I found. So I know the city of Longmont is starting to work with something called the Climate Equity Viewer which uses census data and neighborhood data to help map out and identify areas that have been disproportionately impacted by climate change. So this will help the city to prioritize outreach to those neighborhoods that most need this, most need engagement. So that's one piece that's just starting to come online that I think I'm really excited and this group is excited to work with that. Another just really obvious example would be to train either people who are currently unemployed or people who are employed by polluting industries in green technology and green jobs. So taking people that need work and having them do the work that is most needed. One example I heard about on Colorado Public Radio is that e-bikes are being given to low income essential workers in Denver in order to commute to work. So obviously that's just a small piece but targeting low income essential workers just makes so much sense to target resources, governmental resources. Another example would be Habitat for Humanity which those homes are being built here in Longmont. So providing green homes, energy efficient homes to low income families. And then finally, as a local example too, the Colorado Affordable Residential Energy Program or CARE program is a program that I've applied to. I think it's on pause right now because of COVID but hopefully that's going to pick up. So that offers free energy efficiency upgrades to people who qualify, who meet income qualifications. So one final example that I saw recently is the Suncore Energy Oil Refinery in North Denver has spent years polluting that neighborhood. And so just recently they're starting to be fined for that and the money that the state is taking because of the air quality standard violations, some of that money is going to a local nonprofit. And so that nonprofit is going to help to monitor the pollution that's coming from those refineries inform the local residents, the Latinx community around that refinery as well as planting trees and improving air quality in local schools. So overall this idea that we start with the people who have been historically ignored and disproportionately harmed through American history and that this is really an opportunity to make reparations and invest in the communities that need it most. Incredible examples, thank you so much Rachel. And yeah, let's give a huge shout out to the community members in Commerce City. This was an incredible grassroots effort to get the funds necessary to the nonprofit Cotivando, which is a very small and very mighty nonprofit. So let's like put our energy behind them right now. This news just came out I think on Wednesday or Thursday that they earned the grant. And now SunQuer will not be monitoring the air quality. The community members themselves will be monitoring the air quality. They had won too many days with their children not being able to go out to play. So we're gonna be following that as an incredibly incredible community-led and community-driven example right down the street that we can learn from. And certainly I know that the Equitable Climate Action Team has so much to share as well. And Osvaldo, we wanted to hear from you as well. What do you think about Equitable Climate Action? What is it to you? What does it look like for you? Well, for me, it's been a miracle to enter in this group. Because, first of all, the people I know have been very, very special people. And each one of them has contributed to the group the best they've been able to. That's what I'm talking about. Richo is a person who is very dedicated, she's very devoted, she looks very devoted to her to what she's doing. She's committed, just like me. I'm working seriously. Also, Iris, like him. And Rich. Your name. I forget your name. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But we've worked very hard because we're aware of what we want to do. We want to change the situation, especially, as the saying goes, the future. We're not working for now. We're doing a job for the future. That's why I've always said that we must educate the youth. The youth is the one who really needs it. We work hard and we make them aware. And this group, I'm already talking about others, but, well, I'm very, very, very devoted to this group, really. And I hope we can do something. We don't think about doing everything, but we do think about doing something. That's right. Thank you. Well, for me, it has been a miracle joining this group, being a part of it, starting with the people. The people are truly, truly special. Rachel is committed. She is dedicated to what we're doing. Edie's, Garrett, they're all wonderful people. And they all provide from their own expertise. They provided and contributed to the group. And we're working for the future. We're working for the future. We're doing the work now, but it's for the future. And I've always said that we need to start educating our youth, educating our young people so that that future can be brighter. And even though we can't do it all, but we're going to try and hopefully we can do something. Awesome. Yeah, I just want to give a shout out to every member of the Equitable Climate Action Team, because this team got together, like December, 2019, January, 2020. They had two, maybe three meetings in person before COVID hit. But you know what? They just got stronger. You know, the pandemic brought them together in a way that we can't even imagine. And they just persisted every month. And not only did they meet every month, they decided, you know what? We need to meet twice a month. And so this is an incredibly dedicated group. And I just think that every story here that we're hearing from Garrett and Iris and Rachel and Osvaldo represents an idea of how any community member can get involved, can enter into being part of the climate justice movement. So we're going to hear a little bit from you, Iris. Can you tell us a little bit about how did you get involved in ECAT and the Equitable Climate Action Team of the city of Longmont, and why? What do you hope to change by being part of this group? In the beginning, what we did was a change of name. What, for me, was very significant. Because being a group of people to give ideas to the city of Longmont, we changed the action team. So for me, that word means that we had a one-year process. And right now we're ready to start doing something in our community. It's time to start doing action. And I think the fact that we're here right now is a small step to bring more knowledge and bring more reach to those communities that are always more impacted by whatever is happening in the city, whether it's economic, housing, or pollution. So for me, it's very important to be in this group because I'm going to be a small part of what it's going to take outside. Yes, for me, as a community member, I had the great fortune to be invited into this group. And it has been a very unique opportunity. I have learned so much. Now I'm informed about what's going on on a local level, on a state level. And it has been a great opportunity. As you mentioned, we did have a change of our name from a team that was planning and giving recommendations to the city to now we're an action team. And that's a huge name change for us because that's what we're about. We're about to create this action and to be able to help our community and to be that outreach to the people that need it most, whether they're suffering from impacts, whether that's housing, income, the economic level. We want to be there to be able to change and be that change so that everyone has equitable access. Yeah, I love that. I love highlighting the significance of changing the name and taking ownership as a group over the work that you are going to do. And I'm going to dig into that with Garrett in one moment, but I want to stick with you for a second, Iris, because when we introduced you, we introduced you as a cultural broker. And I know that that is a role that you play within the Equitable Climate Action Team, but the whole idea and concept of being a cultural broker can be new for some people. So I'm wondering if you can speak a little bit about what does it mean, what is a cultural broker and why is a cultural broker so critical in the climate justice movement? Yeah, well, since you mentioned it, I'm going to confess that it was a new terminology for me too. I had to learn from the word, it's a word quite strong at the community level. The mission that we have as cultural brokers is basically to be the connection or the bridge within an organization and for our community. The community that sometimes doesn't speak a specific language. We are that bridge that joins those barriers and gives access to those people who are not having access to what they owe. So our mission is to simply connect them with all the benefits that the city or organizations are having. Yes, and now that you mentioned it, I must confess that it was a new term for me as well. It's a very, very powerful and new term for me, especially in the community. And a cultural broker, we're essentially a bridge between organization or a city entity and the community. Whether they have a barrier for language that they don't speak a specific language, we're that bridge to be able to connect with the community and provide that equitable access to all of the services offered by an organization or the city. Awesome, thanks. Yeah, earlier Rachel mentioned to us that when she was talking about the definition of equitable climate action, you know, at the heart of it, she said it's an opportunity. And so I wanted to hear a little bit from you, Garrett. And you spoke so deeply from the heart and I so appreciate that about the fear of the generation that you're in and the situation that you are called to attend to. But I also see you showing up all the time and that's something I really admire about you. So for you, you took this opportunity to join and commit yourself to Ecat. Can you tell me a little bit about why you decided to do that? Quite frankly, same answer. I repeat fear. Honestly, I am really inspired by how much Longmont is willing to do and how really dedicated they are, I think to serving these communities and to recognizing the past injustices and how climate change exacerbates that. And I'm just honored to have a seat at the table with these folks, honestly. Thanks, Garrett. What actions, you know, we've heard from everyone this concept of getting into action, you know, certainly doing the work of building relationship, building trust, recognizing injustice, understanding the systems within which we're working and what we wish to change are important. We also want to parallel that with action. What actions has the Equitable Climate Action Team taken to address equity and climate change in Longmont? Can you give us some examples? Yeah, it's been mentioned a couple times, but I really think one of the coolest things that we've done is the recommendation like equity lens. We finished it, I think in like last summer, like last June is when myself and your sister brother Eric presented to city council our review, essentially of the Climate Action Task Force. And since then, it's been, I didn't necessarily think it would go this direction, but it's been really cool to see how much the city has ran with it. And, you know, just this past meeting we met with the Longmont Power Team to talk about electrification from an equity lens. We've talked to transportation folks. I know we're planning to talk to water and zero waste people. And it's really cool to see them so interested in what we think and what we think could potentially help the community or harm the community. And really quick, just again a comment on like what we've achieved. It sounds kind of naive, but I think one of the cool things about this group is that we've gotten to know each other over this past year and we've gotten to really work with each other. I know speaking personally, I'm victim of staying in my own social circle, staying in my own bubble, right? It's where we're comfortable. And I love that this group has afforded us all the opportunity to meet people that we wouldn't have met living in our own city. And I think that really just strengthens the work that we can do. Francie mentioned when she was going through the history of ECAT, the equity checklist. Is that what you were referring to when you talked about the presentation that you and Eric made? Will you just kind of tell a little bit more about what is that equity checklist, maybe an example of something that's on it and how it might be being applied right now in city government? It is so beautifully simple. It's just a handful of questions getting at the heart of who will benefit from this action, who could be harmed? I think that's if I had to boil it down to its simplistic nature, that would be it. What could the unintended consequences of this action be? And I think the electrification plan is definitely in its infancy, but I really like that we were able to kind of get in at the beginning and plant the seeds of can people afford this? Is this going to raise housing prices? Is this going to disproportionately benefit wealthy homeowners and not necessarily low income renters? So it's really things like that. Again, it's so simple when you hear it, but it does take that push from community members, I think, for the government to act. Yeah, one thing I think I'm hearing about the equity checklist that came out of the work of the community group, of the equitable climate action team, is that it's not so much about laying equity over a plan that already exists, like the electrification plan. It's going, it's being really, really strategic in getting into working with city staff and the city council on a plan as it's being reviewed or as it's being prepared or written and coming at it from equity from the start. Am I getting that right? I think that's certainly the intention. Okay, yeah, great. Thank you so much. Iris, I know that the equitable climate action team has a really great history behind it of these last 15 or 16 months. And I know you have a lot of plans for the future as well. Can you tell me about one of the things that the group, the equitable climate action team will be working on in the near or mid future? Something that's coming up. Ah, perdón. Quieres que te repito? Te repito y usted va a escuchar en español verdad. Okay, so I was saying that we got to hear from Garrett about some things that the equitable climate action team has worked on in this past year. Is there a project or an activity that's coming up related to the work of the equitable climate action team that is coming up in the near future or this year? Bueno, creo que próximamente a nuestro plan más cercano que tenemos es que acabamos de aplicar para... Bueno, van a poner un coordinador de grupo lo que va a ser el trabajo más... Pienso que vamos a tener más opción de crear más actividades para nuestra comunidad en relación al programa de sustentabilidad. Este, también el hecho de que estamos trabajando con Finanthropies también nos va a ayudar bastante a crear más oportunidades allá afuera. También estamos colaborando con otro equipo del Condado de Boulder y eso creo que también nos va a traer muchas oportunidades en cuestión de trabajo de equipo porque no nada más vamos a hacerlo de manera local, sino que vamos a traerlo... Lo vamos a extender un poco más y ahorita creo que es lo que tenemos a primera mano. Creo que nuestro próximo plan es que estamos en el proceso de obtener un coordinador y creo que eso va a ayudar a nuestro grupo a tener un gran impacto y para ofer más oportunidades para nuestra comunidad. Estamos también trabajando con el Condado de Boulder para ayudar a tener un gran impacto, no solo en el nivel local, pero podemos expandar. And then also the fact of being able to work with Philanthropies, Philanthropies, that will also be able to help us put more opportunities out there for our community. Thanks, Iris. I'm both a moderator and representing Philanthropies today, so I'll talk for just one moment about some of the work that we're doing to really honor the work of the Equitable Climate Action Team and see how we might bring this structure and this concept into Boulder County as a whole. And so one of the things that we've done via the help of all four of the people that are sitting here, the Equitable Climate Action Team helped create what we are calling the Climate Justice Collaborative of Boulder County, which is a frontline community member led group that creates and applies a racial equity framework to local policies and practices with the objective to shift traditional power structures and create inclusive approaches to climate mitigation and adoption. So what does that all mean? It basically means that community members who have been historically left out and intentionally left out of the conversation, incidentally, those who are already living at the margins and who have been most negatively impacted by the effects of climate change, that these are the voices who will become most important in decision making, in budgeting, and in using their voices to bring solutions to the table when it comes time to look at the transportation plan of a city or when it comes time to talk about taking the number of we're going to reduce greenhouse gases by 2030, OK, how do we do that within our communities? So it's really elevating and honoring these voices. So through this group in the county, we're seeking to, just like at ECAT, look at our individual practices, but then move that into the realm of systems and institutions like you all are doing at the city of Longmont. Yeah. So I know that ECAT has a number of goals. One of them is to increase your membership. Others are, too, as Garrett was telling us, be looking at the city's plans related to their climate action plan, sustainability plan, more specifically, transportation, housing, electrification, energy. What can Longmont do? What can folks that are listening to us this evening do to support the goals of the Equitable Climate Action Team? Rachel, I'm going to ask you this question. Yeah, sure. So a couple of different things. So as Francie had mentioned earlier, we are looking for new members. So we want to bring five more people onto this team. And I think the due date for that is May 10. So if you're interested, go to the website that will be given and learn more about what the requirements are. There is a small stipend that's available, too. So that is part of the equity piece. We want everybody to be invited to join. So that's one thing. Another piece would be just to continue to advocate for equity and an equitable implementation of Longmont Sustainability Plan. So whether that's talking to city council, writing letters to the editor, showing up at different organizations and activities that we're doing, please come and support us. And then if you are able to afford to make these changes to electrify your heating, your cooking, your transportation, do that not only for yourself and your own family, but for people who can't afford to make those changes right now. So a big piece of this is the personal habits, the personal changes that each one of us can make. So do that for yourself and for your community members. And let's see. And also, we're open to feedback. So if you have ideas, if you see a community or a neighborhood that's really in need of support, or maybe you have this brilliant idea to organize your neighborhood or your apartment building, we want ideas. So there will be an email address. You can send us your ideas, sustainability at longmontcolorado.gov. And yeah, we're all in this together and everybody can make a difference. And we have this really beautiful chance to build community as we're doing it. Yeah, I love that, Rachel. Thanks. Osvaldo. What would you say to the people out there about how they can support the work of equitable climate action? Well, as I would say, preserving the environment, helping us to preserve the environment, helping us to save energy, helping us to do all we can to fix this world that is destroying us every day. It's a sadness, I'm not going to see it, but I hope that young people take conscience and see the real problem that exists because they're not aware of it yet. We need to work very hard. And I think that we are one of the most indicated to clarify these things. We need to, I don't know, I have an idea to go out and talk to the community, to go here, to do, you know, to move, to tell people, to go out and tell them we have to open consciousness with people who don't have it, people who are asleep. They're still on the radio, on TV, everywhere, but people are like a cloth, they don't see it, they don't do it, they don't believe it, they're not so sure, they don't decide to fight. And I think that we are one of the most indicated, well, part of the most indicated, we're not all, to see, to make these people see what is important, what do we have to do, what is safe for our planet, what do we have to love, what do we have to love, as I love my plants, I put music on my plants, I sing to my plants, because that's what it is, it's nature, that's where we feed, that's where we live, we're born, so why not love it? I would start by telling people that we need to take care of our environment, we need to take care of it, whether that's by saving energy, but we just need to become aware, I hope that our youth becomes aware, because they're not at the moment, this is a huge sadness, I'm not gonna live to see it, but we need our youth to become aware, we need to open their eyes, and we need to work for this future. We must also focus on, I think that the people up here, we're the right people, we need to go out there, like for me personally, I wish I could go out and tell people to wake up, to open their eyes, to see that all of this is happening, I don't know why we're destroying this earth, it's being destroyed daily, and we come from the earth, we come from nature, and that's what we need people to see, we need them to take their blindfold off, because the same way that I love this earth, this is the way I love my plants, I sing to my plants, I play music to my plants, we come from nature, so why not take care of it? Yes, he is. This is, you know, this fire that you have Osvaldo is so important, and we're so grateful that you share it with us, thank you so much, and I think what you're talking about, about raising awareness every day, and those individual actions might come from making a change to our personal habits, the change about how we're treating our earth, but then we, like you all are doing, can take those personal habits and kind of go maybe one circle out and work from our home to maybe working with our HOA, or work from our, within our business, to work from within our whole city, and so that's how we start to make these ripple effects and see true systemic change when it has to do with climate and climate justice. Thank you so much Osvaldo, that's wonderful. We're here today because we're celebrating Earth Day, so let's come back to that for one moment, so thanks for bringing us back to the earth, to nature, to where we came from Osvaldo, and we just wanna kind of close out this part of our panel by asking, what are ways that your culture or your community honor and celebrate the earth? We heard from Osvaldo talking about how he sings to his plants, I think we should all go do that this evening. Osvaldo, tell us a little bit more about how your culture celebrates the earth. Bueno, en mi país, como ustedes saben, desgraciadamente es otro gobierno, es otro sistema. Ese es el comunismo, ellos hacen sus cosas según sus sistemas, según sus cosas. Ellos, en mi país, se celebra el 17 de abril y le dicen el día del campesino. El día del campesino se hacen ferias, se hacen reuniones en casas, se hacen fiestas en el campo, en los pueblitos de campo hacen ferias y así es como se celebra en mi país. Well, in my country, as you know, it's a different government, it's a different system. Communism, they have their own systems and their actions match those systems. But in my country, we celebrate April 17th and we call it día del campesino, which is a day of the field worker. And this is celebrated by having fairs, different events, different parties, out in the fields we have fairs and that's how my country celebrates Earth Day. Thanks so much Osvaldo. Garrett, can you tell us a little bit about how in your community you honor the earth? Yeah, I think I'll say kind of a, maybe more personal than a general celebration, but when I was growing up in the Black Hills, I think it's kind of like Colorado where you kind of have to work a little hard to not develop a personal connection to nature just because it's so beautiful and it's so all-encompassing, right? My parents were fairly a conservative evangelical couple and I think they would be very upset to be described as environmentalists, but what they taught us growing up, anytime we lived outside of the city, we lived in the country, anytime we were engaging in nature was to them and to us, God was the greatest artist and nature was the greatest masterpiece. There was never a time when I was with my mother on a hike that she wouldn't stop us and show us the intricacies of like a seed pod, right? And just explain the detail and the delicacy and the specificity of everything that was around us, crumbling the mic in our hands, blowing our minds that a rock could crumble. And it's just undeniable that that upbringing has influenced pretty much everything I do and the way that I live my life and work. I would truly encourage, it's very easy, obviously, to focus on the negative sides of what's happening and I think we then lose the reality of how amazing nature is, how amazing our planet is. I would encourage anyone listening to truly just drive to Sandstone Ranch. It's right outside of town, look west. Every time I'm there, it's almost an overwhelming beauty that is so indifferent to humanity. And I guess I remember why we're here and what we're doing and what we're fighting for. And it's worth fighting for. Thanks, Garrett, that's great. I get to turn it over to Justin here for a couple minutes from the Longmont Museum and he has a couple questions from the audience that's out there somewhere. So we'll see what else we get to hear from y'all. Let's see here, we have a few questions. If I can make Facebook work. Naomi wants to know on Facebook, what are you looking for in new members for eCat? Ooh, great question, Naomi. Anybody really excited to take that one on? Rachel, you look like you wanna answer. Oh gosh, I was hoping Francie would come up and answer. Let's see, well I'll take a stab at it and then Francie, if I miss anything, maybe you could be ready because I don't have the application in front of me and I haven't looked at it in a little while but you have to be a Longmont resident and just be willing to share a little bit about what you would bring to the table, how you would bring an equity lens, what community you would kind of speak for and then you need to make a commitment. I think we're asking for a nine month commitment and we meet twice a month for two hours and there may be additional things like these kinds of events on top of that. So yeah, I think there'll probably more information on the website but that's the main piece. A real desire to see equity come about in Longmont as we approach and relate with climate change. Thanks Rachel and you touched on this but one thing that I've noticed about the Equitable Climate Action Team is that you're not just practicing equity externally in the work that you're doing with the City of Longmont and the Sustainability Plan but you're practicing that internally as well and you've dedicated funds and resources and time and attention to removing obstacles from community members who may wanna participate. So if you're a community member who would like to participate but Wi-Fi is a problem or technology or you are a monolingual Spanish speaker or you may be experiencing once we're able to get together an obstacle with transportation. What I've noticed with this group is that you do everything possible to get those obstacles out of the way so people who wanna participate can participate and elevate their voices. Am I, did I get that right? Absolutely, yeah that's been a really beautiful piece to this is seeing that just in how we function equity is first. Osvaldo you're shaking your head. Did you wanna say something about becoming a member of the group? Si, si. No quería pero ya que me, ya que insisten. No, si mire, nosotros somos cuatro humildes personas, humildes personas, humildes de corazón. Estoy hablando. Somos cuatro humildes personas los cual amamos la tierra, amamos el planeta y hablamos el clima. Entonces yo creo que la persona que se una a nuestro grupo debe ser una persona que como nosotros tenemos esa pasión. Porque es importante lo que yo siempre he dicho del grupo. Hay que tener pasión en lo que estamos, y eso lo tenemos nosotros, lo hemos representado en todo el tiempo, que queremos, adoramos la tierra, adoramos el clima y queremos de corazón un cambio climático. Así es. Es todo. Yes, yes. I wasn't going to, but since you insist. We are four humble individuals, we're four humble people and I'm talking about humble in our hearts. We're four humble people. But what I want from someone that's going to join our team is for them to be passionate as we have all demonstrated. We are all passionate. We truly love, we adore this earth. We love this planet. We love our environment. We love our climate. So we want that same passion so they can join us in our group because we want someone that is as passionate about loving this earth as we are. Great, great question, Naomi. Back to you, Justin. Another from Naomi. If someone is unable to become a new E-Cat member, how can a Longmont resident support E-Cat's work and equitable climate action in Longmont? Did y'all hear that, okay? Yeah, Garrett, do you want to take that on? How can someone might not be able to be part of this group? But we know that climate justice and the movement is gonna require everyone. So how might someone support E-Cat, support climate equity and climate justice in Longmont? Join SRL. SRL is Sustainable Resilient Longmont. Yes, our great hosts for the evening. I think that's a very great local community that you can reach out to with any amount of time, right? Like you can commit as much as you want, as little as you can. And then I would say, continue to put pressure on local officials, continue to call city council, continue to hear more from our state representatives on the state level and the federal. These are things that anyone can do. It can be a call, it can be an email. So, you know, as little as, not little as cleaning up a park or calling a senator. There you go, yeah, and I think we'll have representative Burnett's bills up on our chat as well that people can visit. Thanks. And another question, this one from our very, very small audience. Can someone share some personal habits listeners can change to make a difference in their daily lives in terms of climate change? Iris, do you have any insight on a couple of ways that people may change personal habits to contribute? Yes, of course. I think, well, Rachel, at the beginning of our talk I mentioned a lot. I think it already has very sustainable habits, very good habits. I think making your own garden, if it's that you have the space, because I understand that there is, if it's in the department, sometimes it's difficult in that kind of things, but if you have a space to create your own garden, your own food, your vegetables that are going to be totally organic, to run your glass of water instead of consuming plastic, use your recyclable bottle. What else? Help me. The garbage. Separate the garbage. Separate the garbage. That helps the climate. The garbage, don't throw away the garbage, the plastic in a place, as you understand it, the different kinds of garbage. It's important too. Your plastic bags, taking your own bags to the market so you don't spend a lot of money. Oh, Luis, we have to remember you, sorry. Yes, yes, I think Rachel covered a lot of them at the beginning. I think Rachel has a lot of many very sustainable habits. I think she has really good habits, and we can all learn from that. Let's see, we can start with, reusing your own bottle instead of using plastic, we can focus on the trash, on sorting out and separating our trash, putting plastics on one here, and all the different classes of garbage, sorting that out, and then using reusable bags instead of wasting plastic ones, just bring your own reusable bag to grocery stores and then set up your own garden. If you have the space to set up your own garden, you can do that. I know that if you live in an apartment, space might be an issue, but if you're able to set up your own garden, that will also help the environment, and then you can have your fresh fruits and vegetables, and you know that they're 100% organic. There you go. You know, as I was preparing for this conversation with y'all, I was listening to a handful of podcasts, and remind me I wanna say what they are in a moment, but in one of them I learned about this program at Yale University that's called the Program on Climate Change Communication, and then their researchers found that on a personal habit level, like our member of our audience asked, there is a number one action that we can take as individuals, and that's to talk about climate change, how it impacts you and what we need to do and what we can do to mitigate further negative impacts and how we can be part of climate action and climate justice solutions. So what you are all doing together as part of ECAT is one of the number one things that we can do as a personal habit to make change, to be part of the change, and so I just wanna say great work to our audience members because they're doing it. They are here, they are listening, and I wanna encourage you all to take what you heard here today and share it with somebody else. Share it with a family member. Initiate a dialogue with someone at work. Talk about it with a neighbor. If you need more information or more ideas, certainly we'll have lots of resources about what's happening at the city of Longmont and with the equitable climate action team posted on this presentation and certainly with sustainable, resilient Longmont. Three podcasts I've been listening to that are informative and really center this, center justice and inclusion and equity are called A Matter of Degrees. One's called How to Save a Planet. I said three. I'll, sorry, I should have written down. I have to remember the next one. There's two for you right there. And another thing that's happening is what we've heard here, what's happening with the equitable climate action team is they are expanding out from what they are doing personally and individually to working within a city system. And so our personal habits, what I believe is that they keep us focused on the future that we want to create. They keep us focused on our values, as Garrett was talking about. And our actions can be a form of communication that lead to ripple effects of change and that's what we're seeing these four people doing here this evening. Even by talking as an action, you are inviting other people to be part of the climate justice movement and we need everyone to be part of this movement. There's space and there's need for all in this climate justice movement. So take a look at what you're good at, what your skills are, what your networks are, your areas of influence, what wisdom you bring. Take a look at what's needed, what's needed in your own home, what's needed in your neighborhood, what's needed in your area of business, what's needed in your city and see how that intersects with your skills. And also remember, as we heard here from our friends, to include your own passion. What is bringing you joy? Because if you are following what you are passionate about, as we're talking about the climate justice movement, then you're gonna stick with it and we need to sustain, we need everyone to sustain in this movement. So I just wanna say a huge thank you to Osvaldo and Rachel, Iris, Garrett, Luis. Thank you so much. Thanks to the panelists. Thanks to Sustainable Resilient Longmont and the Longmont Museum. Thanks to Francie and Atra from the city of Longmont. And a big thanks to everyone who joined us in the audience this evening. Happy Earth Day. And I get to turn it back over to Francie, I believe. Thank you, Katie. And also thank you to the great panel. It's great to hear from everyone this evening and hear just the great work that they're doing and I think will continue to do as the group grows. I just wanted to highlight different ways. Atra talked about it earlier this evening that you can get involved specifically with the city outside of joining the equitable climate action team. Atra mentioned a group program called Sustainability Opportunities Lifestyle and Leadership or SOLE, that's a great way. If you wanna kind of volunteer to help your neighbors do some energy efficiency sustainability upgrades. It's kind of a neighbor helping neighbor program. You can volunteer to help with that program. We also, if you're just interested in what's happening locally at the city with sustainability, you can sign up for a sustainability newsletter. We also have a group that meets four times a year called the Sustainability Coalition. It's an opportunity to do networking with other people in Longmont, passionate about sustainability and also keep up to date with what the city is doing. So there's a number of different ways to get involved from the city. And we just hope and excited in whatever ways you take to get involved going forward and just wanted to again also thank Sustainable Resilient Longmont for inviting the city to present on our programs this evening. And with that I'll hand it over to Mitzi to close out the event. Thank you. What an evening, this has been fantastic. Thank you to the city of Longmont and the museum for giving us a wonderful place to host this event to the panel. And you're probably thinking, what are some of the other opportunities to volunteer in our community? So SRL, our website is srllongmont.org. And we always have a lot of opportunities whether it's with our Zero Waste Committee, I'm with the Renewable Energy Committee, we've got ongoing seminars, activities, Electric Vehicle Week will be in September, we'll need a lot of volunteers. And then tomorrow is a great opportunity because we have a Earth Week community cleanup from one to three, we'll provide everything. You do have to register. So if you go to Sustainable Resilient Longmont's Facebook page and register, that would be great. So that's tomorrow from one to three. The other thing that's critical that I wanted to mention was to recognize our sponsors. Because without them we wouldn't be here tonight. So our presenting sponsor is Circle Graphics. We're so grateful. And other very important sponsors is Philanthropyce. Thank you so much. Rocky Mountain Paddle Board, 3D Tree Care, the city of, excuse me, the city of Longmont, Colorado Aromatics, Management and Engineering Services, Longmont Dairy, Resilient Restaurants, Eclipse Apparel and the Sierra Club of Colorado. So a lot of these are local and I encourage you to shop local due business with your local businesses. So thank you again to all of our sponsors. And for everyone that attended this event tonight, everybody have a great evening and happy birthday. Good night.