Thank you for your interest in the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan and for signing up for climate mitigation plan updates. We are excited to inform you about progress on Thurston County, Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater’s strategy to reduce local contributions to climate change.

On Monday, April 26, 2021 from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Thurston Regional Planning Council will host the second Climate Action Steering Committee meeting. Click here to access the meeting webinar registration link, and click here to access the meeting page and agenda. 

The committee will continue their discussion from the previous meeting to select and scope up to four climate action policy research papers. The committee will also discuss expectations for public outreach and monitoring tasks, as well as expectations for a long-term governance agreement between the four jurisdictions. 

There will be an opportunity for public comment at the start of the meeting – if you wish to provide oral comment during the meeting, please check the box to indicate this when registering. Written comments may be emailed to climate@trpc.org, and must be received by noon on April 23, 2021 to be provided to the Committee prior to the meeting. 

In addition to Climate Action Steering Committee work, there are many events and opportunities for area residents to engage in regional climate action.

• The City of Lacey is hosting an online Open House through April to gather community input on their climate implementation priorities. Lacey residents will be able to provide feedback through two surveys available to online attendees. 
• Intercity Transit is running a Green Transportation Challenge for the month of April. Youth who use a green transportation option six times in April can win a prize! Intercity Transit is one of the supporting partners of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan, and this program supports action T5.4 of the plan (school drop-off alternative modes).
• The City of Olympia is displaying a Climate Quilt in the front windows of City Hall as part of month-long Spring Arts Walk events. This exhibit shows off quilt squares from over 100 community members to “tell a story about climate action in Thurston County.”
• Olympia Community Solar is currently offering great discounts on solar group purchasing  Through September 1, 2021. Up to 50 Thurston County residents and businesses will be able to  access solar at prices more than 25 percent below market rates thanks to the solar group-purchasing program Solarize Thurston. To get involved, visit SolarizeThurston.org, and sign up for a public workshop or a virtual solar consultation.

We are excited to keep you informed about this latest phase of climate action planning, and will continue to use this newsletter to provide occasional updates on the region’s work. As always, we welcome your feedback! If you have questions or comments, please reach out to Allison Osterberg or Les Tobias at climate@trpc.org.