Asian Pacific Family Club (APFC)
The Asian Pacific Family Club (APFC) at Oregon State Penitentiary will build a Japanese Zen Garden on the penitentiary grounds. The project was proposed and developed by APFC members three years ago, with the goal of creating a restorative healing space within the penitentiary walls where inmates can go to meditate, reflect, and heal. Inmates worked with architects to develop plans, a vision board, and have gotten approval from the penitentiary superintendent and administration to start the project pending funding. See story about their work in The Oregonian.
Confederated Tribes of the Lower Rogue
Funds will support the Tribes’ ongoing work including gathering pow wow, language instruction, tribal lineage research trips to the National Archives in Seattle, The University of Oregon Library, and the Southern Oregon University Library. The tribe will also conduct water testing on the Rogue River as they prepare to launch efforts to protect a resource that is important to the tribes’ culture.
Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG
The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition / Technical Advisory Group is building on a 15-year history of collaborating with the community, organizations, and agencies to 1) ensure a comprehensive, health-protective cleanup of the Duwamish River Superfund site reflects the voice and vision of the communities it affects; and 2) address community and environmental health priorities not addressed through the river cleanup. Core to the DRCC/TAG’s current work is an effort to empower voices equity and environmental justice by ensuring decision-making is guided by health priorities and driven by the community’s voice.
Got Green supports people of color led community organizing that reframes solutions to climate change through racial, economic and gender justice lenses. Got Green will support our Young Leaders in the Green Movement in leading a campaign to make internships connect to sustainable careers subject to Seattle’s new living wage; it will advance and promote the leadership of low income women and women of color through the Food Access Team and Womxn of Color and Families Coalition; and it will support the Climate Justice Committee’s work in building resiliency within communities facing climate change and displacement.
HUG is working to build a neighborhood food system and teach community how to grow their own food. In the next two years, HUG will be able to continue providing neighborhood grown produce for at least 20 households each week, train a minimum of 30 Black and non-Black people how to grow their own food, expand onto 3.5 acres, and continue being an inspiration to our local and regional community. HUG invites people to have hope in our future.
Indian Peoples Action will fight to protect our traditional lands and waters from encroachment from commercial interests — building upon the impetus of the Standing Rock Water Protectors. Providing leadership and guidance for Montana tribes seeking to transition from coal dependence to green energy sustainability; Providing leadership and direct action organisation training for Indian people across Montana — with a particular focus on youth; Collaborating widely with Indian organizations, community groups, progressive organizations and environmental organizations to share knowledge, promote sustainable communities and advocate for policy change
Na’ah Illahee Fund works to build a strong network of Native women and girl leaders with the skills, knowledge, commitment and resources to affect positive social change, address the violence against women, girls and earth, and build a strong citizenry with the knowledge and desire to advance sustainable living in balance with the natural world.
Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment
Nimiipuu is organizing efforts and education for tribal members adult and youth to develop skills to take action and become active in resisting the exploitation of our land, water, forests and develop networks with other Environmental groups. We want to build leadership skills and grassroots organizing among our people to protect our interests within our Treaty area and beyond
Northwest Forest Worker Center
Northwest Forest Worker Center will build leadership skills among forest workers and harvesters for confronting traditional relationships of power, improving working conditions and engaging in policy making processes to enact better workplace protections for workers. Grant activities include training workers in leadership skills through active engagement in policy revisions and development of training materials, training workers in workers’ rights, preventing job-related injuries and illnesses and proactively seeking improvements in working conditions, and specific training tailored to the needs and career goals of staff.
OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon
OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon is the premier EJ group in the Portland metro region and across the state. OPAL will carry forward our strategic work at the intersection of transportation, housing, and climate justice. In 2017 and beyond, OPAL will build off significant victories, advance local and regional policy change, and develop the next generation of organizers, to influence climate policy for our communities’ benefit.
PCUN seeks to build the capacity of indigenous farmworker to reduce the exposure of toxic pesticides through education, capacity building and organizing. 70% of the farmworker who pick piece rate crops in the Willamette Valley like strawberries, cherries, cane berries, row crops and squash are indigenous farmworkers who don’t speak Spanish. The Willamette Valley is home to 16 different indigenous groups from Mexico and Central America. PCUN’s long range goal is to increase the life expediency of farmworkers, Reduce cancer exposure among farmworkers and work to put into place public policies to reduce cancer.
Progreso will increase access to environmental education that is presented in a linguistically- and culturally-relevant forum, and simultaneously increase engagement with pressing environmental issues among communities of color and low-income residents in Central Washington. Through community forums, cultivating local leadership, and one-on-one community organizing, Progreso will increase the knowledge of residents about issues such as water and air quality and climate justice, and train local leaders in advocacy and organizing skills. This will also include building the capacity, reach, and membership of a community-led environmental justice steering committee in the Yakima Valley.
Red Lodge recently purchased property for their women’s transition center. They will teach and infuse traditional Native American and contemporary conservation practices into a intensive Behavioral Health program for women returning to community from treatment centers, jails and prison. Red Lodge will provide housing for 7 to 8 women at a time and will teach them organic gardening, how to grow medicinal plants, solar energy, food preservation, recycling and composting. A sanctuary area for meditation will be built among a beautiful stand of trees located on the property. Healing and sustainability will be accomplished utilizing community volunteers.
Seattle Young People’s Project
Seattle Young People’s Project will support the development of Nurturing Roots, the urban garden that anchors healing and environmental justice programming. The organization aims to build on their infrastructure in the garden in order to help sustain more crops, create educational stations, as well as sponsor the creation of their first youth-led worker cooperative, that will connect health education, environmental stewardship and cooperative economics for in a collectively-owned business that benefits them and their communities.
Wind River Native Advocacy Center
Using organizing, advocacy and community education, establish a culture and empower for the means to develop environmental quality programs by the Wind River Native Advocacy Center on the Wind River Indian Reservation for the benefit of current and future generations.