Mission Statement: Sustainable TC provides opportunities for people of the Tri-Cities to learn about and act on ways to protect our environment for a healthy and rapidly changing future.

  EVENTS

June 1 – Leslie Groves North Restoration Project.  Help clear out some weeds to make room for native plants. 9-11am. More info here.

June 4 – Potlatch and Presentation: 30 Years of Fire in the Shrub-Steppe. WA Native Plant Society Columbia Basin Chapter. An evening of food and flora talk with Dr. Simon Power who has been leading a project investigating the long-term effects of repeated wildfires on soil health and plant communities in the Columbia Basin shrub-steppe.  Free in-person event. Bring a dish to share!  BYO tableware and plate to help cut down on waste. Richland Public Library 955 Northgate Dr., 6:30pm-8:00pm

 June 7^th – Skills for Disagreeing Better workshop. Richland Public Library – the first in a series of workshops planned for SE Washington. 2-4pm. Space limited to 60 participants, register here.

June 24 – Troubled Waters: How Microplastics Are Impacting Our Ocean and Our Health. 10am. Online.

June 25 – TC Chapter Citizens’ Climate Lobby monthly meeting. 7pm. Attend the new monthly book club. Help bring funding to local clean energy projects. Contact Steve .

June 29 – Sustainable TC and CCL Party. Come with food and some good enviro news to share. STC will have a brief June meeting at this time, as well. At Bill’s place, 4953 W Skagit Ave, Kennewick.5-8pm. RSVP to Sustainabletricities1@gmail.com

ACTIONS FOR JUNE

Take the BF Transit survey. Help us bring these ideas to life at Moving Transit Forward. Deadline is June 14, 2025.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).  Draft Plan for the Region’s Economic Future (2026–2030) –This plan “sets priorities and strategies to strengthen our region’s economy, support innovation, build infrastructure, and create quality jobs for our communities.”

BF Council of Governments invites all residents, business owners, and community stakeholders to review the draft and share your thoughts to help shape the final version of the plan and ensure it reflects our region’s shared goals and values.  Public Comment Period: May 27 – June 24, 2025

Photo courtesy of Benton Conservation District.

Join the Benton and Franklin County VSP Work Groups. Apply by June 10. The Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP) creates a non-regulatory approach to meeting the goals of the state of Washington’s Growth Management Act by protecting critical areas on agricultural lands. VSP engages our local communities in identifying natural resource concerns and supporting conservation solutions on lands where agricultural activities occur. Most of Washington’s counties are using VSP to protect and enhance Frequently Flooded Areas, Wetlands, Fish & Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas, and more.  Sign up to be a Work Group Member! Work Group meetings will be held every other month before Conservation District Board Meetings– 11 AM starting August 13th (Benton https://www.bentoncd.org/board-meetings ) & August 19th (Franklin).

WHAT WE DID in MAY

STC Board and Core Group meetings- May 9 at Jenni’s. Discussed 2025/26 goals and events. Includes helping to implement recycling, littering, and other WA state bills, and changes to city comprehensive plans. Pursuing evening shelters for extreme heat and air quality emergencies.

May 25- Website updates, next events, and contacting our partners. Everyone please send your events and volunteer opportunities to sustainableTricities1@gmail.org so we can post them on our website.

CBC Wellness Fair. Welcome to new members! STC will meet with our new WSU-TC Enviro Club and CBC Enviro Club members to find ways to work together.

Climate Opportunities Action Plan. The (COAP) team, with STC and CCL members, continues to meet monthly. A regional planning group, which includes Bill Barlow (STC) and Steve Ghan (CCL), have met twice, and have two more meetings. There will be opportunities for public comment soon.

Sustainable Tri Cities Resource Directory . Now available on the STC website. It defines then lists who is working on each topic in our community. The three main categories are Environmental, Economic,  and Social Sustainability. Many thanks to STC member Les Stewart for this extensive resource for our community! If you see something to add to it, please let us know.

NEWS and THINGS to READ

June issue of Tumbleweird.

Pg. 20. Boots in the Basin: Becoming Habitat. By Jenny Rieke. A story about making seed balls, that “make mass planting of native species a fun activity for everyone!” There’s a seed ball crafting event at 10 am, June 14, Union Str. Kenn. library.

Pg. 22. The Sustainability Class by Steve Ghan. “In fact, the carbon footprint of most of those who identify as environmentalists is higher than those who do not.”

Books:

Saving Us by Katherine Hayhoe. A climate scientist makes the case for hope in a divided world. The CCL book group is now reading this.

Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It. Anna Lappe. Available at the Richland public library.

Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. Richland public library.

For more news and events, see the Sustainable Tri-Cities website  www.alsctc.org/events

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