Going Green – A Community Wide Effort to Mitigate Climate Change

Host: City of Monterey Park
Region: Southern California
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Public Health, Climate Adaptation, Climate Mitigation, Urban Planning, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy
Skills Needed: Community Engagement, Community Outreach, Communication

Service Needs & Plans

In 2021, the Monterey Park City Council identified climate change in a set of priorities to be accomplished within the City. This effort will help develop a process and provide direction to the Staff on how to address climate change. For the city to adequately address climate change, and allocate appropriate resources towards achieving that goal, it is important to create a roadmap that is comprehensive, understandable, and attainable. The first step in this process is to really define what the Council and Community mean when they say “climate change”. The core concept of this process will be community engagement and mobilization of the community to address climate change, health, and sustainability issues and create an implementation document that is usable and achievable.

Project Description

The overarching goal of this project is to make a dramatic impact on the reduction of greenhouse gases within the City of Monterey Park through the actions of residents, business owners, visitors, and City staff.

The CivicSpark Fellow will be a key member of the Go Green Team comprised of City staff from all Departments, including Community Development, Management Services (Finance), Police, Fire, and Public Works. As a member of the Go Green, the CivicSpark Fellow will:

  1. participate in monthly meetings to develop the outreach plan and other key components of this campaign;
  2. assist with preparation of outreach materials;
  3. participate in community outreach events;
  4. review the effectiveness of the current City goals and policies within the Climate Action Plan, Sustainable Community and Healthy Community Elements and determine if these plans are still relevant;
  5. research state and federal law and look at best practices as they relate to climate change;
  6. review material, conduct interviews, hold workshops and meetings, and help develop policies that will assist the City Council in developing effective climate change strategies; and
  7. assist with website design, among other activities.

Desired project outcomes:

  1. develop a process that identifies and analyzes potential programs and procedures that are understandable and relatable to the public; and
  2. develop a plan which includes programs, best practices, and activities to help mitigate emissions and adapt to climate change that is already occurring.

The CivicSpark Fellow will help increase the City’s capacity to tackle climate change by providing dedicated staffing to ensure that this campaign is successful. Existing City staff is limited and is already juggling various responsibilities.

Desired Skills

The ideal Fellow should have the following traits/skills:
– communication and writing skills
– ability to work well with others
– analytical skills
– research skills
– resourceful
– ability to use various computer programs
– organized
– strong work ethic
– website design skills

Organization & Community Highlights

Monterey Park City Hall is an excellent workplace where staff is respected, all necessary resources are provided, and City staff members are friendly and professional. The City is committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Serving here will provide an opportunity to learn about how local governments work.

The CivicSpark Fellow will be placed in the Community Development Department, Planning Division. Opportunities to interact with other Departments/Divisions will be abundant.

Remote or On-Site Placement

We would like our fellow to serve on-site, but there may be opportunities to serve remotely from time to time.

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