The purpose of the american rescue plan funded grant is to address urban heat island effects at a public housing complex, a park, and three schools in honolulu by training student scientists to…

The Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 awarded $150,000 under the Environmental Justice Small Grant Program (CFDA 66.604) to Trees For Honolulu's Future. The grant will support middle and high school students in measuring and mapping urban heat island effects in Honolulu through experiential learning opportunities. Students will receive training to take air temperatures, examine soil health, inventory existing trees, and estimate canopy coverage at a public housing complex, park, and three schools. They will identify heat mitigation solutions and produce final reports. Smart Trees Pacific will receive a $75k subaward to develop the curriculum and tree inventory training. PACT Youth Services will receive a subaward for student training, planning, and meetings. Deliverables include the student reports with environmental data and heat mitigation solutions, as well as a published step-by-step guide on applying the project approach in underserved communities nationwide. The funding period is from March 1, 2022 to October 31, 2023.

The purpose of the american rescue plan funded grant is to address urban heat island effects at a public housing complex, a park, and three schools in honolulu by training student scientists to measure and develop site-specific maps of current conditions and identify solutions to those problems through experiential learning opportunities. Elementary age students will be introduced to concepts intended to foster a lifelong love of science and nature while middle and high school age students will identify strategies and resources needed to mitigate the impact of heat. Through the project, the applicant hopes to increase disaster resiliency in an underserved community with vulnerable populations, mitigate the effects of urban heat islands, promote awareness of careers in the environmental sector, and provide a replicable model for other communities interested in a 'bottom up' collaborative approach by publishing a detailed step-by-step guide. People with moderate-to-severe or uncontrolled asthma are more likely to be hospitalized from covid-19. Air pollution may contribute to asthma. By addressing air pollution in CAA 103(b)(3) projects, the chances of severe illness from covid-19 are reduced. This agreement provides full federal funding in the amount of $75,000. Refer to terms and conditions. Pre-award costs have been approved back to 03/01/2022. Activities: middle/high school students will be trained to take air temperatures, examine soil health, inventory and quantify existing trees, and estimate canopy coverage. Students will have the opportunity to have discussions with experts on identifying solutions for heat mitigation. The students will produce a report and present their findings to the honolulu city council's committee on transportation, sustainability, and health. Outcomes: deliverables include final project reports from each student team which will have air, soil and tree and canopy coverage data, and will identify heat mitigation solutions. The grantee will also produce and publish a step-by-step guide on how to apply their project to underserved communities nationwide. The intended beneficiaries are students, the broader local community, elected officials and interested communities elsewhere. The expected outcome is to implement at least one of the action items from the student reports in the local area, increase awareness of heat as an issue, educate students and encourage them to pursue potential career paths in the environmental field/academia. The long term expected outcomes include improving air quality, reducing baseline temperatures and increasing disaster resiliency by reducing storm and water runoff by planting more trees in the future. Subrecipient: a subaward will be given to the non-profit group, smart trees pacific (STP). They will develop the curriculum and training on tree inventory, plotting, and entry. Another subaward will be given to pact youth services staff for training, planning, recruitment and engagement activities as well as meetings and direct service.