Summer of Action 2022
This summer, with the support of a generous grant from the Environmental Defense Fund, CEC teamed up with the Houston Climate Movement to collaborate across the Houston climate and advocacy movement to host a Summer of Action. The purpose of this project was twofold: to educate our community about some important funding opportunities for the city and to advocate for solutions that work for all of us.
Through a series of events, we hope to facilitate community healing; provide opportunities for climate education and advocacy; and support frontline leaders and engaged citizens in building more resilient communities.
The Summer of Action aims to build connections among the organizations working for climate action in the Houston region. Our project planning process has encouraged participation from frontline community members, and includes partners/sponsors from the following organizations:
Air Alliance Houston | Bayou City Waterkeeper | Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience | Coalition of Community Organizations | Extinction Rebellion Houston | Greentown Labs Houston | Houston Advanced Research Center | Houston Climate Justice Museum & Cultural Center | Houston Youth Climate Strike | Port Arthur Community Action Network | Public Citizen | Rice University Center for Environmental Studies | Stop TXDOT I-45 | Sunrise Movement Houston | West Street Recovery/Northeast Action Collective
The Summer of Action began with two community listening sessions in June, through which community members came together to voice their concerns, process their climate grief, and connect with one another. Our intention was to unite communities together through collaborative efforts to support our collective home: Houston.
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the first two Summer of Action Listening Sessions! Because of your strength and vulnerability we were able to have great conversations that point us toward a brighter tomorrow for ourselves and our communities. Thanks to the combined effort and continued support of the Environmental Defense Fund, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, Houston Climate Movement, Greentown Labs, and the Diluvial Houston Initiative we are able to make community events like this possible.
Missed the events but want to know what was discussed? To access the Community Listening Session Report and Notes CLICK HERE. To access video recordings and photos from these events CLICK HERE.
In July, we hosted 3 Knowledge and Skill Building sessions to support the needs of community members as identified in the listening sessions. A huge thank you to COCO, Houston Advanced Research Center, Stop TxDOT I-45, Bayou City Waterkeeper, Air Alliance Houston, and Public Citizen for partnering with us to host these sessions! Check out the recordings below!
2. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law & Justice40 Initiative
Part 1: Michael Moritz, Stop TXDOT I-45
Part 2: Ayanna Jolivet McCloud, Bayou City Waterkeeper
3. Legislative Advocacy 101:
In August, CEC facilitated meetings with members of Congress. Community members were invited to join these important meetings to discuss the urgency of climate action.
If you missed these meetings, know that you can and absolutely should be in contact with your elected representatives even outside of facilitated and organized meetings. You can find out who represents you and get their contact information HERE.
The Summer of Action culminated with the Houston Community Climate Summit on September 10th. The Summit, which is intended to be an annual event, was a coming together for frontline community members, community leaders, organizers, activists, and environmental advocacy professionals to share resources, learn about neighborhood-specific issues, identify sustainability strategies, collaborate to support each other’s existing initiatives, and create a shared vision and action plans toward both short and long term goals to protect the health of Houston communities.
THANK YOU to our sponsors, without whom this event would not be possible:
