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April Newsletter

 
  

Highlights 

  • CASM in the Community

  • Upcoming: Climate Corps Club at Urth Caffe and CASM Earth Day Celebration 

  • LEED Gold Certified Modular Affordable Housing and other climate news

  • Earth Month events all month in the Community

  
 
  

CASM in the Community

 

Restoring the Dunes and Seeding Community

Last month, CASM partnered with The Bay Foundation to restore Santa Monica’s sand dunes by removing invasive bermuda grass and searocket. Removing these invasive plants allows native species to thrive and build habitat for coastal wildlife and pollinators. In conjunction with the dune restoration, CASM hosted our monthly picnic and had lively discussion about everyday climate action in the community.

  
 

Volunteers weed invasive species to prevent reseeding in nearby dunes

 

  
 

 

Snacking at chatting at the picnic, after dunes restoration

 

  

Touring Santa Monica’s Living Building

Last month, the Climate Corps Club had the opportunity to take a tour of Santa Monica’s City Hall East Building with staff from the Office of Sustainability. The City Hall East Building exceeds Santa Monica’s current sustainability standards and has set international records as the first municipal structure to receive Living Building Challenge Certification as a Net Zero Water and Net Zero Energy building. Some highlights of the tour included learning about the building’s ability to regulate temperature and air quality automatically using sensors that can open and close windows, seeing the state of the art composting toilet system, and picking tangerines from the building’s edible courtyard!

  
 

Climate Corps Club students look into City Hall East’s compost bins, where waste from the composting toilets is processed by worms

  
 
  

 

Upcoming CASM Activities

April 24th: Jan 9th: Climate Corps Club at Urth Caffe 

Meet new friends with shared interests, enjoy free food at tasty local spots, and find out what you can do right here and now to help the planet. High school and college students are welcome! This month we’ll meet at Urth and plan for our Earth day celebration ☀️

April 26th: Come celebrate Earth month with Climate Action Santa Monica with an event created by one of our Climate Corps Club students 

 

  
 
 
  

Climate News

Santa Monica’s sand dunes are mounting a low-tech resistance to rising sea levels

Berkeley Station opens as Santa Monica’s first modular affordable housing development

Santa Monica’s first modular affordable housing project opens.  The sustainably-designed (LEED Gold) Berkeley Station brings 13 affordable apartments and supportive services to a narrow infill lot, taking advantage of a challenging location with this new construction technology.

Watch the Project Drawdown webinar recording “Emergency Brakes in the News: Is mainstream media under-reporting the most urgently needed climate solutions?” 

 

  
 
  

Upcoming in the Community:

April 4: RED Kit: Introduction to Bike Care Workshop

April 4: “In the Garden” Immersive garden dance performance

April 8-15: LA Climate Week (Many Events!)

April 9: SMC Climate Week – Microforest Film Night: Celebrating Local and Global Greening

April 10: Food, Culture, Climate: Exploring Food Justice with Isaias Hernandez

April 12: SFLA x LMU OAR: University Club Network Beach Cleanup- Santa Monica T20

April 14: Surfrider Social: Ocean Friendly Restaurants Hangout

April 18: Heat Pump Week Community Fair

April 18: Santa Monica Dunes Earth Month Event

April 21: Extreme Heat & Resilience Community Workshop!

April 22: SMC Climate Week – Garden and Grow

April 23: SMC Climate Week – Sustainability Fest

April 23: Stand Up For Climate

 

April 26th: CicLAvia – a car free city active demonstration!

April 29th: Sustainable Quality Awards

For more events throughout LA and online check out the Climate Map.

 

Free Appliances for Santa Monica Renters through the REACH Program!

The City of Santa Monica is accepting applications for the Renters’ Energy and Cooling/Heating (REACH) Program, a new initiative offering free electric home appliances to renters in Santa Monica.

Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) Fellowship

LA Cleantech Incubator is launching the Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) fellowship, a FREE 8-week fellowship program to build new skills for the growing green jobs workforce. DERMS is an emerging and vital field in the Greater LA region, particularly as we look toward the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This program provides participants with an introduction to grid-optimization software essential to modern energy management, efficiency, and electrification. Application deadline: April 17, 2026 8pm. Interested Participant Info Session, April 8.

 

We hope to see you at an event soon! Until next time, thanks for acting with us 🙂

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March Newsletter

CASM in the Community

Last month CASM shared simple things you can do to cut our biggest emissions, first here in our newsletter, then with community members at the Reed Park Garden and Miles Memorial Open House. We shared that a third of all trips in Santa Monica are under a mile. Just by walking a mile instead of driving a mile, you can help reduce the 60% of our emissions that come from vehicles.

  
 

 

 

Under the partial shade of a magnificent cypress, community members gather for CASM’s monthly Picnic on the Planet, which was part of the Reed Park Garden Opening in February.

 

 

  
 
  

 

 

Upcoming CASM Activities

March 6th: Climate Corps Club Special Event: City Sustainability Tour

Calling all youth! Join us for a tour of LEED Certified Living Building, City Hall East, and presentation on city sustainability. We’ll tour the building, take a break with vegan sandwiches from B&T’s Deli, then take a dive into how the city of Santa Monica takes action towards sustainability in our community. Join us for this special collaborative event!

March 7th: Dunes Restoration and Picnic with CASM and The Bay Foundation

CASM is partnering with the Bay Foundation to assist in their dunes restoration project, followed by a picnic and climate conversations on the beach to follow. CASM brings the snacks. BYO picnic 🙂 

 

  
 
  

Action Alerts

Tell your state reps: Stop the Solar Property Tax

Without action from the Legislature, California homeowners could pay higher property taxes in 2027 if they add solar batteries, add solar panels, or install a new solar system.

 

Support Balcony Solar Legislation

An exciting new-to-California solar strategy is being considered for legalization by the Legislature. CASM encourages you to contact your State Senator and Assembly Member to encourage them to support the law, known as SB 868, Portable Solar Generation Devices. The technology is commonly called Plug-In or Balcony Solar.

Balcony solar systems can be up to 1.2 kW in capacity and are plugged into the 110v sockets we all know. The electricity generated directly offsets power being consumed by an apartment or house at the same time, such as refrigerators and computers. Balcony solar is revolutionary because it 1) is a do-it-yourself project, 2) is not connected to the local utility, and 3) does not require a permit. The systems need to meet the UL standards approved in January. Balcony solar systems currently cost about $2,000 from companies such as Craftstrom and Brightsaver. It is hoped that the cost will drop significantly with volume.

Not surprisingly, Southern California Edison is lobbying to require that these systems connect with them, which would kill the technology. Systems similar to balcony solar are being installed across the globe in countries such as Pakistan and South Africa. Utah was the first US state to legalize them, and legalization bills are being considered in many other states.

  
 
  

 

Climate News

One Year Later: Los Angeles Wildfires Reinforce Why We Must Rebuild with Less Plastic

Southern California air board rejected pollution rules after AI-generated flood of comments

The SCAQMD proposal that CASM and others supported last summer was defeated in part because of 20,000 AI-generated opposition emails. This proposal would have added a fee to gas water heaters and furnaces, while setting targets for sales of electric alternatives. From the NYT article: “The rules were expected to prevent the release of 6 tons of NOx each day, roughly the amount released by two natural gas power plants. The air district estimated nearly 2,500 premature deaths would be averted as well as more than 10,000 new cases of asthma.” Perhaps even more concerning is the use of AI in such campaigns, which produced thousands of emails of questionable authenticity. Let’s use this as an opportunity to remember the  importance of face to face engagement with real people and coalition building with respected known partners. We know it’s not always easy, but can build together through community. 

  
 
  

 

Upcoming in the Community:

March 4th: Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster

March 7th: East Pico Safety Project Celebration Event

March 7th: Compost Giveaway at City Yards

March 10th: Electrify Your Rebuild: Smart Home Solutions for the Palisades Zoom

March 16th: Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice, and the Environment

March 21st: PEACH OUT !! Fruit Tree Planting Demo & Bare Root Fruit Tree Distribution

March 21st: Repair Café

March 21st: UC Master Gardeners at Pico Farmers Market

March 28th: The Bay Foundation & Santa Monica Yoga: Morning of Mindfulness and Dune Restoration

March 28th: Celebrating the Arrival of Spring

Earn a Sustainability Certificate online at SMC

SMC is offering three non-credit certificates in sustainability to kickstart your career. These classes are offered online and completely free to all California residents. Programs include: Sustainability in Organics Aide, Sustainability Assistant, and Sustainability Services Technician. Enroll today for classes beginning  April 20th.

Take the California Ocean Access Survey

Researchers at UCSB want to know how California residents connect to the ocean to help impact state and federal management towards a sustainable and accessible coastline. Survey participants will be entered into a raffle to win an ocean-related trip. 

  
 

 

For official rules, email Garcia at gina@sustainableworks.org or see this video.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN, Uncategorized

Nuclear Power Isn’t Green Enough… And America Can’t Deal with the Waste!

Watch The Recording

 

CASM December SAMOCAN Webinar

How much do you know about high-level radioactive waste policy in the United States? In the face of a global increase in demand for electricity, many nations are looking to nuclear power as a low-carbon, round-the-clock power source to bolster electricity grids. However, only one permanent high-level nuclear waste repository has been established worldwide.

This webinar discusses the current status and history of radioactive waste legislation in the United States, explaining the struggle to establish a national nuclear waste repository over the last few decades. Then, explores the first permanent geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel, which has been established in Finland. Finally, we make some rough calculations to compare the buildout of nuclear power and nuclear waste facilities with renewable energy sources and battery storage facilities. How do these two advanced energy technologies compare to addressing the global demand for more electricity while also supporting people, planet, and future generations?

Mackenzie Devilbiss is a PhD physicist and environmental consultant. Through her background in particle physics, she has taken many radiation safety training courses and even used radioactive sources in experiments. Her environmental work recently brought federal radioactive waste policy to her attention, this webinar serves to start an informed discussion about the topic.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN, Uncategorized

Understanding and Adapting to Climate Change with Bill Selby

Watch The Recording

 

In June, CASM hosted Understanding and Adapting to Climate Change with Bill Selby, an inspiring Zoom talk, in which the professor emeritus shared what future effects of climate change could actually look like. As he said in one of our conversations, “put on your seat belt, we’re in for a ride!”

What will future effects of climate change actually look like? Everyone seems to have different views about climate change nowadays. There’s a lot of misinformation floating around out there. Which of the current changes are part of natural cycles and which are caused by humans? Will some places get colder, while others get much hotter? Put on your seat belt, we’re on for a ride! Let’s use some critical thinking to explore these greatest scientific experiments and learn how they are changing our landscapes and impacting everyone.

The good news is there are still plenty of opportunities for us to join together and make positive waves. From native plants to habitat restoration, and from greening urban heat islands, to living more efficiently, let’s explore the many ways Californians are reacting and adapting to climate change, severe weather events, and other environmental stresses. Join professor emeritus, naturalist, and author William Selby, with his most recent publication, The California Sky Watcher as we search for some silver linings during these uncertain times. You can follow his stories at www.rediscoveringthegoldenstate.com.

 

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February Newsletter

Climate Action Santa Monica  has been kicking off the year with a focus on collaboration! In communication with other local community and environmental organizations, we hope to meet mutual needs and reach people at a deeper level through collaboration. Here’s what we’ve got for you this month:

February 6th: CASM Climate Corps Club meeting at Samosa House

Our monthly climate club meetup for teens.

February 7th: Join CASM at Reed Park Community Garden & Miles Playhouse Open House Event

CASM and the Climate Corps Club will be supporting the event and sharing climate action resources. We’re back with our first monthly Picnic on the Planet of 2026! Meet us at 1pm at the new Reed Park garden, following Playhouse tours and class. BYO brunch, enjoy snacks and good vibes.

  
 
  

We’re sharing some key resources for climate action based on the Santa Monica CAAP and 5-Year Progress Report, which came out last summer. 

Our largest sources of emissions are energy (33%) and transportation (60%).

Here’s 6 easy ways you can help right now:

 

A woman signs the Climate Corps Club’s “What makes you want to walk” poster at the Downtown Santa Monica Farmers Market

  1. Walk your commutes under a mile. Nearly one third of residential trips in Santa Monica are under 1 mile, but two thirds of vehicle trips are driven alone. That’s a significant portion of trips that could be easily walked by those who are physically able, reducing our total emissions. Plus you get exercise, mental clarity, and nature. It’s a win win! 

  2. Thrift an electric appliance and cook electric with ease. Upgrading your gas appliances is a great solution for those who are able, but that option isn’t available to everyone. For $5-20, you can have your very own air fryer, crock pot, hot plate, or toaster that reduces emissions and makes cooking easier. Again, a win win! 

  3. Get a free portable heat pump AC/heater unit through Santa Monica’s REACH program (available to Income-qualified renters).

  4. Students, get a free TAP card to ride BBB & Metro. Available to SMMUSD and LAUSD students through their school, taking transit to school is one way to reduce vehicle emissions in your daily routine that has a big impact over time. If transit isn’t a good fit, try walking, biking, or carpooling with a friend. You’ll help reduce emissions and traffic congestion while getting outside for a better start to your day. 

  5. Use MODE – Mobility on Demand Everyday is a door to door rideshare mobility service for residents over 65 or with disabilities $1.50 or less/ride. Hours have expanded Sunday service and weekday service until 6pm.

  6. Attend a community event. We need each other! And community and climate just go together. Attend a CASM picnic, a beach clean up, a dunes restoration, or a community garden event and connect with your local community and nature, while working towards a big picture goal of a sustainable planet.


For more info and ways you can take action to help Santa Monica get to zero emissions, see our Climate Action Resources, and join us on the 7th!

The Plastic Pollution Coalition shares some beautiful perspectives in this guide –

Climate Anxiety: How to Remain Hopeful & Resilient in Difficult Times

Get Your Project Funded Through the HRC Community Wellbeing Program

YSA is developing new strategies to ensure that all young people are included in community service regardless of their background. You can support by taking the YSA survey. 

Sign Petition! Governments to Declare Climate Emergency and Act Now!

 

Upcoming in the Community:

February 7th: Santa Monica Dune Restoration Event

February 13th: Santa Monica Dunes Galentine’s/Valentine’s Day Evening Event

February 14th: ROOTED IN LOVE – Companion Planting & Lending Library Dedication 

9:00 – 11:00 AM, Main Street Community Garden, 2318 Main Street, Santa Monica, 90405 

February 15th: Wheel You Be Mine? Valentine Kidical Mass Bike Ride

9:00 AM – NOON, Meet atIshihara Park 2909 Exposition Blvd. (between the picnic tables and the playground)

Join City staff and Santa Monica Spoke for a fun, family friendly bike ride for kids of all ages through the Bergamot Area First/Last Mile Improvements Project. We’ll kick things off at 9:00 AM with a brief bike-handling refresher and safety tips, plus bagels, juice, and coffee, then roll out for a guided ride highlighting new street design features, treatments, and how to use them confidently. The ride starts and ends at Ishihara Park and will be approximately 2 miles total.

February 21st: Ishihara Park Learning Garden Citrus Orchard Care and Maintenance Workshop

February 28th: CHILDRENS’ (and adult) BOOK SWAP 

9 – 11 AM, Marine Park Community Garden, 1406 Marine Street, Santa Monica, 90405 

Every Sunday: Bahala hosts a weekly gardening club with coffee & doughnuts


See you at Reed Park on the 7th for more info sharing and community time 🥰

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Fire Resources for Those Impacted

Dear Community,

CASM extends its deepest sympathies to the many people whose lives are upended by the tragic fires.  As community members, we are experiencing this event in all its dimensions with you.  Several of us have met recently to share our experiences, to offer each other solace, and to begin thinking about how we respond. Below are some resources and support. 

Resources From the City 

Additional Resources

  • If you do need to evacuate, please remember to shut off your gas before you leave to prevent increased fire or explosion risk. Here are instructions for shutting off gas
  •  This new resource from Cal Fire provides a visual for understanding of home hardening strategies that may be relevant for you or friends and family living in higher fire-risk areas
  • Watch Duty For real-time wildfire mapping. (Also offer a mobile app)
  • Windy For detailed weather forecasting. (Also offer a mobile app)
  • Some in CASM have found masks like this helpful to address bad air quality, especially because of the ability to replace filters

We hope you and your loved ones remain safe. We know the impacts of the fires are significant and may be felt for some time, and we intend to respond accordingly. We are in this together. 

Sincerely,

The Climate Action Santa Monica Team

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN, Uncategorized

RECORDING: CASM’s September SAMOCAN with CJC Mario Melgarejo and Mia Levenson

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WxaDSbuWbIGhAbKqvZnQ483OY5Ph-2LE/view

For CASM’s September SAMOCAN we will be hosting two of CASM’s Climate Jobs Corps (CJC) Mario Melgarejo and Mia Levenson present their projects structured around their interests in sustainability. Mario will report on our recent initiative to promote non-car commutes at Samohi. This effort involved engaging with students during the “Get Your Stuff” days, leveraging Climate Corps, student input, and CASM resources to emphasize sustainable transportation as a priority for the school year. Mia will be presenting her research on Mass Timber. She has been working with the Office of Sustainability and the Environment over the past few months to conduct this research. A general overview of mass timber building as well as the market in Santa Monica, with an emphasis on emissions reduction in the building sector, will be discussed.

……..

Mia attended SAMOHI and recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BS in Environmental Science and a minor in Sustainability Studies. She has interned at Natural Bridges State Beach where she has worked with youth on environmental education and restoration projects. She has also studied abroad in Costa Rica examining the relationship between the people and the natural ecosystem. Now, she is studying for the LEED Green Associates. Mia joined Climate Action Santa Monica in April as a Climate Outreach Fellow. During her time she has worked on green building research, electrification projects, and community engagement events. As a Santa Monica native, she is excited to be back working on climate issues in the community.

Mario Melgarejo joined CASM in early 2023, as a member of CASM’s Climate Jobs Corps, a division of the State of California’s Youth Jobs Corp program. Since then, he has worked on a variety of outreach projects in electrification and transportation, been present at various community events, and assisted in the running of a summer youth program. Mario graduated from UC Davis in 2020 with a degree in Sustainable Environmental Design, and participated in a study abroad program on housing and urbanism in Barcelona in 2019. Inspired by his educational and personal experiences, Mario now seeks to dedicate his professional career to addressing social and environmental problems in California, particularly in the area of transportation and urban design.

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The Rise of Mass Timber

By Mia Levenson

Over the past few months I have been researching Mass Timber as a sustainable building solution in coordination with The Office of Sustainability and the Environment at the City of Santa Monica. The building and construction sector accounts for roughly 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making the switch to materials such as mass timber important to consider when working towards the reduction of local emissions. Mass timber is a large, solid, engineered wood product that can be used as an alternative to steel and concrete buildings. which has many environmental, safety, health, and convenience benefits. With the utilization of mass timber, there is a 43% reduction in carbon emissions compared to traditional building as there is a lower embodied carbon in both the product and construction stage. 

Mass timber has been prominent throughout Europe and Canada for the past 15 years as a less carbon intensive building model. Recently, California has recognized mass timber as a building strategy in the approved California Building Code. There are various finished and ongoing mass timber projects already in the Los Angeles Area (Chinatown, Los Angeles pictured above), demonstrating that mass timber is a possible solution. With the rise in awareness of mass timber buildings, Santa Monica will be able to implement mass timber buildings as a way of climate mitigation.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN, Uncategorized

RECORDING: Enjoy a Discussion with Denny Zane from Move LA!

Denny Zane created Move LA in 2007 to bring together business, labor and environmental leaders and community organizations with the goal of raising significant new funding for LA County’s transit system. Denny presents and discusses how we in Southern California can create a coalition and a regional voter initiative for a measure that if approved by a simple majority of voters will raise a boatload of money to invest in strategies to end air pollution, dramatically reduce climate pollution and enhance zero-emission regional transit mobility. 

Denny Zane is the Founder and Executive Director of Move LA, a housing and transit activist, and a former mayor of Santa Monica. He will investigate a “Grand Boulevards” strategy to promote transit-oriented, mixed-use multifamily housing along currently underutilized boulevards designated as Bus Rapid Transit corridors. He believes that a transit investment can create an affordable housing solution.

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NextGen Climate Summit Engages Local Youth

NextGen Climate Summit Engages Local Youth

By Mia Levenson

On Sunday, April 28 CASM Climate Job Corps members attended the 2024 NextGen Climate Summit at New Roads School. This event was hosted for the youth in Santa Monica and beyond by Sustainable Works and the City of Santa Monica. 

The room was filled with inspired young individuals eager to listen and share their opinions and outlook on climate solutions. Climate speakers and local Santa Monica climate-oriented organizations were there to support and share their knowledge with the group. Youth Climate Strike Los Angeles organizer, Sim Bilal, shared his story of getting involved in climate activism and the importance of continuing to fight for what you believe in. “I enjoyed hearing people speak about what made them want to get involved in environmental and climate issues. Every person had a distinct story, but they all shared a common concern for their loved ones, their communities, and future generations” shares CJC member Mario Melgarejo. Hearing the stories of experienced climate leaders sparked new ideas and curiosity within the group. 

Along with listening and gaining information, there was an opportunity for breakout group discussions led by Sustainability Expert Walker Wells. This was a conversation between the youth to envision and come up with ideas that work towards a sustainable Santa Monica. There, the voices of SAMOHI, New Roads, Santa Monica College, and UCLA students were heard. Solutions including, but not limited to, a switch to renewable energy, more green spaces, and better transit options were shared and discussed amongst the room. This was a time for the youth in Santa Monica to be brought into the discussion of climate and encouraged to use their voices. Being such a well-rounded event made it informative and enjoyable for all participants involved.