Mission Statement: Sustainable Tri-Cities 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

Nov.  1. Cleanup on Bateman Island. 9 am- noon. Hosted by Tapteal Greenway and the City of Richland. Bring gloves and trash bags and meet at the lower Wye Park parking lot. Arrive by 8am for the monthly bird walk with the LCB Audubon Society.

Nov. 7.  Apple Gleaning with Fields of Grace. Prosser. Last chance for the year. Register for more information.

Nov. 8. Cancelled due to the federal government shutdown. “The trails are still open during the shutdown, so you are welcome to enjoy these fall days to explore on your own.” Second Saturday Bird Walk on McNary’s Quail Trail 9 am.  64 Maple St., Burbank 

Nov. 9. Leslie Groves North Planting Work Party. 1-3 pm. Also on Nov. 15. Details below.

Nov. 12. Tree Care Workshop. Open to the public as well as tree professionals. Hosted by the Mid-Columbia Community Forestry Council.

Nov. 14. Espresso Your Thoughts About Transportation. Fill out a short survey for the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and get a cup of coffee — on us! (see survey information below under “Actions – Reminders” 10 am – 2 pm. Tri Cities Food Co-Op, 1420 Jadwin, Richland.

Nov. 14. Sustainable Tri-Cities monthly meeting. Noon via Zoom. We’re planning a community workshop to apply climate action from the regional plan to each city’s 2026 comprehensive plan update.

Nov.15. Thrift Fest    9:00 am – 3pm.  Celebrate the value of sustainability and the art of giving secondhand items a new life. Name-brand clothing, shoes, antiques, accessories, tools, and more—all at incredible prices. 1401 W Kennewick Ave Kennewick. Event by The Family Resource Center of the Tri-Cities

Nov. 15. Leslie Groves North (LGN) Planting Work Party. 1-3 pm. We will plant about 450 plants grown by a Wiley Elementary School class from seeds they harvested at LGN) last winter. Meet at the east end of Snyder St., Richland, at the bike path, bring a small trowel, and sign in at the table.  Please RSVP to Debbie Berkowitz at secretary.lcbas@gmail.com so we have an idea how many plants to bring and so we can let you know if there’s a change in plans for a particular day.  We’ll be planting rain or shine as long as it’s not pouring or too windy. 

Nov. 16. Shrub-steppe Planting Party. 1-4 pm. Meet at Badger Mt. West Gate Trailhead (off of Dallas Road, Richland). Event by Columbia Basin Native Plant Society . RSVP to our Restoration Chair Alexis Spencer, carrotwarrior.botany@gmail.com

Nov. 21. Climate on Tap: Electrify Now! Hosted by Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Tri Cities Chapter. Order some pizza and learn how  electrifying your home and your ride can reduce your carbon footprint, reduce your energy bills, and improve your health. We’ll explore the many benefits of heat pumps, induction stoves, electric vehicles and more. 5:30pm – 8:30pm.

Nov. 22. STEAM Workshop: Seasons and Stories. Learn about the technology developed and used by local tribes to harvest plants and animals during different seasons. Discover what you can learn by paying attention to nature as the season changes and then create stories or art using your observations. Event by REACH Museum, 1943 Columbia Park Trail, Richland.

Dec. 3. TC Chapter Citizens’ Climate Lobby monthly meeting. 7pm. Via Zoom Participate on climate solution teams: Carbon Pricing, Healthy Forests , Building Electrification and Efficiency, Clean Energy Permitting Reform

ACTIONS FOR November

Apply for Pasco Planning Commissioner. Deadline Nov. 2, 2025. Two open positions. Term: Jan. 1, 2026 – Dec. 31, 2031. The Planning Commission reviews development proposals and long-range plans that shape how Pasco grows and thrives. Applicants must be City of Pasco residents.

Vote by Nov. 4^th. For a great guide for deciding on city council and school board members go to https://tricitiesvote.com/

Friends of Badger Mt. Trail Work.  A generous donor is offering $250 to the first four groups that successfully arrange to help our Trail master with trail work this season! Trail work happens Thu – Sun. mornings, 8 am –noon, now through Thanksgiving. Join us to help maintain our community trails and enjoy fresh cookies as a thank-you! 🍪 Email trailmaster@friendsofbadger.org

Supporting productive farms and clean water: Ecology’s guidance available for review.  As part of a multi-year effort, chapters of the Voluntary Clean Water Guidance for Agriculture are available for public review and comment. This technical resource outlines best management practices that agricultural producers can use to protect water quality. WA Dept. of Ecology is hosting a webinar on Nov. 5, 2025, 10 am – 12 pm where they will share an overview of the practices. They are accepting comments on all eight draft chapters through Nov. 21, 2025. Visit their  webpage to review.

November is America Recycles Month. Join the #AmericaRecycles Challenge – a 30-day movement to reduce waste, recycle right, and make a real difference in our communities. Here’s how it works:

1️⃣ Complete the Challenge of the Day from our America Recycles Month calendar

2️⃣ Share your action with a photo or video using #AmericaRecycles and tag Keep America Beautiful

3️⃣ Take the Greatest American Cleanup pledge at kab.org/greatest

Reminders:

BFCOG Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) survey This is our region’s long-range blueprint for transportation over the next 25 years and it only gets updated every five years. It guides how Federal, State, and Local funds are invested in roads, transit, biking, walking, and freight to support growth and keep our communities connected. The survey should only take about five minutes and is due December 2025.

Send your events and volunteer opportunities to SustainableTricities1@gmail.org  so we can post them on our website and put them in this newsletter.

Sustainable Tri Cities Resource Directory . 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.

WHAT WE DID in October

Provided opportunities to comment on the Tri-Cities Regional Draft Climate Element PDF.  Along with
the TC Climate Action Opportunity Planning (COAP) team, we commented at the public meeting in Pasco, the online public meeting, and online. Attendance was low. Deadline was Oct. 8. 

STC Riverfest Booth – Columbia Park, Kennewick, October 4. There was a lot of interest in the new moderate risk hazardous waste disposal facility, our fishing pond for kids, the eco-friendly landscape model for the Tri Cities, information on native plants and trees, and free books. Many replied to our survey telling us if they have noticed local changes to the climate (most replied more heat and smoke).

Requested a revision of a recent evaluation of WA State’s retail plastic bag policy by the WA
State Dept. of Commerce. WA state implemented a single-use plastic bag ban in October 2021. After a
required evaluation, the research report (WSU dr Eric Jessup) recommended removal of the plastic bag thickness requirement.

Despite the addition of a clarifying note, this report continues to circulate widely on social media by WPC, Todd Myers and through AI summaries as evidence that Washington’s single-use plastic bag law has failed.

Since the plastic bag ban, our volunteers have observed a notable decline in plastic bags along roadsides and natural areas. While anecdotal, these observations reflect the real-world environmental benefits that are missing from the report’s analysis.

Community Health Assessment (Bill Barlow Monday Oct 27) – STC is now a member of the Steering Committee for the 2026-2028 Benton-Franklin Health District Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) to prioritize health department actions for our region. STC sat at the Built Environment table along with BF Council of Gov’t. and BF Land Use/Water management supervisor and staff of the TC Inclusiveness and Diversity Council and concluded clean water must remain the BF Health District’s top priority in the upcoming 3-5 years. Many of the more complex problems including the plight of the increasing gap between the wealthy and the poor deserves commitments from our city officials to establish codes, regulations, and grant programs that redirect suburban sprawl via urban densification and constrain auto oriented design. The Health district should continue to coordinate and monitor the negative impacts of air pollution and heat stress on the most vulnerable members of our community. The Health District should promote all forms of alternative transportation, including Public Transit.

Tree Planting at Hanford HS. On October 24, we helped Kids for Urban Trees and the Mid-Columbia Community Forestry Council plant trees with the Hanford HS Ecology and Recycling Clubs. There was a great turnout of kids from the two clubs. Larry, Pasco’s arborist and member of MCCFC, taught them about correct planting, and the students were interested in how to protect the trees, looking forward to future shade. We also encouraged them to be involved in the community, and they want to plant more trees!

STC Monthly Meeting. Oct. 17 on Zoom. Guest speaker Candace Delany from Tri-Cities Distribution. TCD is a grassroots mutual aid network based in Richland, WA, focusing on supporting unsheltered individuals, community members with limited resources, and those with marginalized identities. Every Sunday they have a distribution from 1-2pm, at the Food COOP, 1420 Jadwin Ave., Richland. “We typically will have FREE clothing, shoes, backpacks/bags, food, hygiene supplies, and hot meals.”

NEWS and THINGS to READ

“Cutting red tape can help Tri-Cities meet increasing energy demand”. Opinion By Steve Ghan, Jim Conca, Matt Boehnke.  Tri City Herald October 4, 2025.

“Benton Policies Slow Solar Power”. Letter to the editor Oct. 19, 2025. Tri City Herald. By Roger Ovink

“Beneath our Feet.” About Geothermal Energy.  November Tumbleweird magazine pg. 12. By Steve Ghan.

Washington continues moving forward on clean trucks. October 16, 2025. The WA Dept. of Ecology has adopted changes to vehicle emission standards known as Advanced Clean Trucks and Heavy-Duty Low NOx Omnibus, which expand access to new zero-emission semi-trucks and other medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Ecology is keeping these policies current as the state challenges illegal federal actions attempting to overturn them and has temporarily paused enforcement as the litigation makes its way through the courts.   Read more here.

20+ Sustainable Thanksgiving Tips and ideas to help you go green. Minimize food and energy waste, all
while saving money.

Climate Optimist: Seeking connection – by Anne Therese Gennari. Oct 22, 2025.

How do we nurture our innate human qualities right now to make sure the days ahead are more connected and intentional, not less? 

🌲 We spend time in nature – as much as we possibly can. Time in nature has proven to heal our nervous systems, widen our sense of wonder, and give room for creativity, optimism, and play – all things essential to grow our human skills in this critical moment.

🏵️ We work on our inner development and practice tools for emotional resilience, reflection, and transformative leadership. We find out what it means to lead from the future that wants to emerge (Theory U principles) and practice our optimism, recognizing that the future is created in our thoughts and actions. (The Climate Optimist).

🤝 And then, maybe most importantly, we seek connection — to ourselves, to people around us, to nature, and to the present moment. Connection strengthens sensory intake, lowers stress, and brings clarity and focus. All of which will introduce serotonin and make us feel more grounded and inspired to enact change.

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