Forget Homelessness Plant Trees: California’s 150 Million Plan for School Green

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As California’s unprecedented heat wave engulfs the state, members of the Newsom Administration and state legislators, along with local leaders and environmentalists, gathered at a school in the eastern San Fernando Valley on Thursday, September 8 to promote a historic state investment. to expand school greening projects, which advocates say will help reduce temperatures for years to come.

The state will make $150 million available over the next two years so that school districts, nonprofit organizations and local government agencies can apply for funds to plant trees, create gardens and other green spaces, or erect shade structures in schools. campus. Projects may also include the planting of native or drought-tolerant vegetation.

Advocates say the state funding will allow schools or local entities to speed up efforts to reduce the so-called “heat island effect” caused by too many buildings or roads in developed areas.

State Sen. Bob Hertzberg and State Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, who represent San Fernando Valley residents, co-authored a bill now on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk to provide funding for such projects. Advocates say they are optimistic the governor will sign it.

Earlier this week, Newsom signed legislation to implement this year’s budget, which includes most of the $150 million for school green projects.

“This is a big deal,” Hertzberg said of the funding during a news conference at Pacoima Middle School, where, by mid-morning, the temperature in the asphalt-paved schoolyard registered 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

There are plans to install two gardens and plant 150 trees at the school.

Details about eligibility criteria and whether certain schools will be prioritized have yet to be finalized.

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said scientists initially thought Californians wouldn’t experience the kind of extreme weather conditions residents now experience until around 2050, but climate change has accelerated faster than anticipated. .

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