The Chesapeake Conservation Corps (CCCorps) is an awesome local program that trains and supports young adults to pursue professions that restore and protect the environment. CCCorps Fellows aged 18 to 25 are placed with a nonprofit or government agency in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for a one-year term of service. The CCCorps was created through legislation that was signed into law in 2010. The first CCCorps class was comprised of 16 members and the program has since expanded to place up to 35 Fellows across the watershed each year. 

The CCCorps has been behind many successful projects in the state of Maryland. Currently, they're supporting a Veteran's Engagement Mini-Grant Program. This project seeks to support veterans' groups and organizations that help provide outdoor recreation, community engagement, and green jobs training. Applications are currently being accepted on a rolling basis until funds are fully expended. For more information about the work the CCCorps has done and is doing, check out their Instagram or their LinkTree. 

Applications for placement in the 2023-24 program are currently open. Application details and additional information can be found here. The deadline to apply is Thursday, March 9th, 2023 at 4pm.

We are pleased to share that our Office will be working with AECOM and Assedo Consulting to support the technical and engagement needs of our Climate Action Plan Update (CAP Update). AECOM is supporting emissions reduction technical analyses as well as overall project management and Assedo is helping with community engagement efforts. They are providing much-needed additional capacity to ensure that the CAP Update will provide equitable and actionable pathways for Baltimore City to become a carbon-neutral city!

Baltimore was an early adopter of climate action planning, with the first plan developed in 2012, also with AECOM as the prime consultant. In January of 2022, Mayor Scott set a goal for the city to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 both city-wide and for municipal operations. The CAP Update will lay out the strategy for getting there. We are continuing to promote our public survey and youth survey and need more representation from BIPOC residents to ensure we are hearing from a population that is as representative of Baltimore as possible. We also want to share our workshop interest form as we will have many upcoming public workshops this winter and spring. For any questions about the CAP Update process or to learn about more ways to get involved, please contact us at climate@baltimorecity.gov.

The Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive program provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that makes discounts available for National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) flood insurance policies. The program rewards jurisdictions that have stringent construction requirements for structures located in the floodplain, which helps keep people and property reasonably safe from flooding.

We are happy to announce that in December 2022, our Office successfully completed our latest compliance process and received FEMA approval to remain a Class 5 CRS jurisdiction. The 25% discount on NFIP flood insurance policies associated with a CRS Class 5 is available to all compliant structures in the city, located both in and out of the FEMA-mapped floodplain. For more information on NFIP policies, please visit www.floodsmart.gov. For general questions about floodplains, and to find out if your home or business is located in a flood-prone area, please send us an email at sustainability@baltimorecity.gov.

The Baltimore Office of Sustainability and the Baltimore Food Policy & Planning Initiative are hosting a convening on the topic of urban agriculture on Monday, February 6th from 6-8 pm at the Baltimore City Department of Planning (417 E. Fayette Street, 8th floor, main conference room). Light refreshments will be provided. 

The goals are to share updates between city government, local farmers, and organizations supporting local farmers, gather feedback on urban agricultural land use policies for the City of Baltimore's 10-year Comprehensive Plan update, and strategize together on how we will collaborate in 2023 and beyond to create a stronger landscape for local agriculture efforts. Please RSVP here by midnight on Thursday, February 2nd if you plan to attend. 

Smart homes made affordable for Birmingham residents -- Cody Short, WBHM

Check out this article detailing new, "smart," energy-efficient, modular homes built by a non-profit in Birmingham, Alabama. Residents enjoy lower energy bills and reduce their emissions while living more comfortably. 

Explained -- Netflix 

This docuseries is produced by the American news and opinion website Vox and aims to dig deeper into topics, questions, and ideas that aren't usually part of the daily news cycle. Among the subjects covered are the world's water crisis, the racial wealth gap, the future of meat, and more.

Road to Nowhere - What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation

-- Paris Marx

“When we look more broadly at the tech industry’s transport solutions, we find that their refusal to contend with the challenges that arise from the dominance of automobiles is a common problem.”

After the holiday season many people find themselves bombarded with new stuff. This month we want to share a few ways to entertain yourself without having to acquire even more clutter. Puzzles and board games are pastimes loved by many. Luckily for Baltimore, we have No Land Beyond, a board game bar, game shop, and venue. The venue is family-friendly and their game library has over 300 games to play from and more titles are constantly added. They also have a ton of events if you're looking to try something specific. 

If puzzles are more your thing, check out Missing Piece Puzzle Exchange or Completing the Puzzle where you can rent puzzles monthly and return when you're done! If you absolutely fall in love with a game or puzzle, considering buying it used from another local game store, Games and Stuff, which has a huge inventory of used games to sell and they might even purchase some of your old games. Their brick-and-mortar location is just south of Baltimore in Glen Burnie.