Events

Sept. 29, 6-8 PM. Tri-Cities Regional Climate Element Public meeting.  Virtual. For details: Calendar  City of Richland, WA  Will include a Draft Regional Climate Element presentation and time for questions and comments. Written comments are due Oct. 8. See Actions below for more information.

Oct. 1, 6:30 PM. Native Seed Swap + Sweet Treats at the Richland Public Library. 955 Northgate Dr, Richland. Event by Columbia Basin Native Plant Society

Oct. 4, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Riverfest. Columbia Park, Kennewick. FREE, fun, and educational family event with exhibitors, vendors, and entertainment. Sustainable TC and CCL will have tables and activities there.

Oct. 9, 10 AM. Little Explorers: Fall Fun 1943 Columbia Park Trail, Richland. Event by REACH Museum.

Oct. 11, 8 AM. Second Saturday Bird Walk on McNary’s Quail Trail 64 Maple St., Burbank. Event by Friends of Mid-Col. River Wildlife Refuges.

Oct. 11, 9 AM-1PM.  Tri-Cities Native Plant Sale. 2451 Logston Blvd, Richland. Cash or check only. Volunteers needed.

Oct. 11 at 11:30 AM. Native Plant Seed Saving 101 Waterfall Classroom at theDemonstration Garden, 1620 S Union St., Kennewick.

Oct. 11, 1-3 PM. Rattlesnake Mountain Trailwork Party. Rattlesnake Slope Preserve 93315 N, WA-225 Benton City.

Oct 16 at 10 AM (last 3 weekends in Oct.). In Person Fall Sales 2025 . Riverside Drive, West Richland. Event by Tapteal Native Plants

Oct. 17. Sustainable Tri-Cities monthly meeting. Noon via Zoom.  Guest speaker Candace Delany from Tri Cities Distribution. Report on River Fest and planning for Earth Day 2026.  Next steps to prepare for transferring climate action from the regional plan to each city’s comprehensive plan.

Oct 18 at 7:45 AM. Lower Col. Basin Audubon Society beginning birder event at Amon Creek Natural Preserve (ACNP).  For families, kids, and very new beginners to learn the basics of binocular use and bird identification.  Starts promptly at 8 AM and should last about 2 hrs.  Meet at Leslie Road access to ACNP in Richland. Contact lcbasbirdingevents@outlook.com 

Oct. 22 – 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

Oct 24, 5:30 – 8 PM. Screech at the REACH, for all ages. Explore the museum after dark, interactive activities, and a guided night hike.  REACH Museum, 1943 Columbia Park Trail, Richland.

Oct 25, 9 AM – 1 PM. Pasco Farmer’s Market. Last day for 2025. Peanuts Park, 426 W Lewis St, Pasco.

Oct 28, 5:30 – 7:30 PM. Nuclear Now Film and discussion. Richland Public Library, Richland. Free. Event by Citizens’ Climate Education.

Oct 31, 9 AM -1 PM. Halloween & Last Richland Farmer’s Market of 2025. Dress in costume and trick or treat your way through the market. The Parkway, Richland.

ACTIONS FOR October

Provide comments for the regional climate action draft plan. Due Oct. 8, 2025. Community members are asked to say what they like about the plan, or suggest changes at the online  Public Comment Form . The final regional plan is expected to be published fall of 2025.   We plan to provide opportunities to work together by city to incorporate the regional plan ideas into the city’s comp plans starting next year.

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. 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 September

Provided opportunities to comment on

• City of Richland’s community survey on parks and opens spaces,
• Implementing a mandatory statewide battery recycle program (deadline was Sept. 10)
• Reconsideration of the 2009 EPA Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards proposal (deadline was Sept. 22)
• Draft Regional Climate Action Plan – commented at the public meeting in Pasco. Deadline for commenting is Oct. 8. See Actions for October.

Saving Trees in Prosser.  In August, Bill B. and Jim C. attended the Comprehensive Plan Climate Element workshop in Prosser where shade trees were discussed and rose to a high priority for a near future action plan. A city councilwoman then contacted us looking for help. The parks are so hot that people don’t want to come to public events. They’ve been having trouble planting new trees in city parks to replace declining and dead trees that have to be removed. Gail T. then put her in touch with the Mid-Columbia Community Forestry Council. The MCCFC volunteers are helping the city change needed codes and insurance and organize a volunteer tree planting crew. The MCCFC will hold their annual tree planting in Prosser next month. Shade in public parks is a heat resilience issue. Kudos to MCCFC for helping out!

Parking and Landscaping in Richland. Off-Street Parking and Landscaping was discussed at the September 10^th Richland City council meeting. Heather attended and wrote: “The proposal completely removes any parking lot requirements for the entire City of Richland. The city council wants to put the onus on developers to know how many parking spaces to put in. There was talk about eliminating landscaping requirements as well. “

STC Monthly Meeting. Sept. 12 on Zoom. Guest speaker Bruce Rathbone told us the federal tax credits for new EV’s end on Sept. 30, and a downpayment is enough. Charging infrastructure continues to grow. Other federal incentives retire in December. Shared the  STC comments on the Dept of Ecology battery recycling program. We discussed helping sustain funding for the hazardous waste facility, commenting on the regional climate action plan, and tabling events.  

Tabled at Homeschool Night at the REACH. Sept. 16. There were about 72 parents with children. We shared resources for teaching children and a list of events regarding sustainability. The REACH Museum is looking for volunteers to teach home school STEM classes. Contact Pauline if interested.

Participated in the Electric vehicles showcase at the REACH museum for Drive Electric Month. Sept. 20. There was a small turnout of visitors but a great turnout of EV owners, including some from out of the area who enjoyed learning from each other.

Regional Climate Action Plan Advisory Team, CPAT, which includes Bill Barlow (STC) and Steve Ghan (CCL), provided input on the draft at their final meeting Sept. 26. See events for Sept. 29 public meeting.

NEWS and THINGS to READ

Trump’s repeal of climate rules threatens public health | Tri-City Herald by Steve Ghan. Sept. 5, 2025.

Community solutions for improving air quality: How The WA Dept. of Ecology supports innovation, public health, and underserved communities through the Climate Commitment Act.

October issue of Tumbleweird magazine:

1. See the Boots in the Basin section pg. 16 for:

Pg. 18 Discover Your Ticket to Adventure! by Lora Rathbone. Get a WA state Discover Pass and visit Sacajawea State Park in Pasco.

Pg. 19 Keep toxics out of the trash. Bring it in! See what you can take to the new Moderate Risk Waste Facility in Kennewick. By Sustainable Tri Cities.

2. Constitutional change for a livable planet: The Washington Green Amendment.  How will The Washington Green Amendment make lives better by enhancing environmental protection and environmental justice? By David Kipni.

Here Comes the Sun. By Bill McKibbon. A call to harness the power of the sun and rewrite our scientific, economic, and political future.

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