Overview
- As the United States and local communities work to combat climate change, Climate Corps is working to enlist the community in working to build a resilient future. On Earth Day 2024, President Biden announced a suite of key actions to stand up his landmark American Climate Corps . It is an initiative modeled after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps and looks to put more than 20,000 young Americans to work fighting the impacts of climate change today while also gaining the skills needed to join the growing clean energy and climate-resilience workforce of tomorrow.
- The American Climate Corps is an interagency partnership between AmeriCorps, NOAA, and the Departments of Labor, Interior, Agriculture, and Energy.
- Ann Arbor established its Ann Arbor Climate Corps program in 2023. The city’s program is part of the Michigan Community Service Commission’s “Michigan Climate Corps Network” portfolio, which includes 7-10 programs across the state. The program is designed to increase the Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability’s outreach capacity and help residents take action to help the city achieve its goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. The team also does fieldwork with the Natural Areas Preservation until in the City’s Parks and Recreation department, doing invasive species removal, trail maintenance and prescribed burns.
- In 2023, Ann Arbor received over $229, 000 to support 10 AmeriCorps members to implement neighborhood-focused decarbonization and resilience-building initiatives in the city.
- Maggie Halpern is Engagement Coordinator in the Office of Sustainability and Innovations and Program Manager for the Ann Arbor Climate Corps and the City’s AmeriCorps Program. She says “The Ann Arbor Climate Corps is in its first year, with 8 members in the first cohort, which began in October 2023. Most of the members are from the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area or came to the area for college. One member moved from out of state to join the program. The members all have a background in environmental science, with a wide range of interests, including urban planning, data analytics, public policy, environmental justice, and ecosystem science.”
- The inaugural Ann Arbor Climate Corps cohort has worked in 2024 on:
- Neighborhood Swap Reuse Events
- Sustainable Diet Education
- Assisting with Home Energy Assessments
- Urban Tree Canopy Free Tree Giveaway
- AAPS Environmental Youth Council
- Event Planning: A2ZERO Week, Green Fair
- Invasive Species Removal
- Prescribed Burn Crew
- Community Stewardship Workdays
Transcription
David Fair: This is 89 one WEMU, and today, we're going to look at a program working to combat the impacts of climate change and help Ann Arbor reach its goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2030. I'm David Fair, and welcome to another edition of Issues of the Environment. Now, the program I'm talking about is less than a year old, but it's been out there working in a variety of ways in the community. You may have even experienced it. It's called the Ann Arbor Climate Corps. Our guest today is Maggie Halpern, and she serves as program manager for the corps. And she's the engagement coordinator in the City of Ann Arbor's Office of Sustainability and Innovations. And Maggie, thank you so much for making time today!
Maggie Halpern: Absolutely! Thanks so much for having me!
David Fair: Now, if I understand it correctly, the Ann Arbor Climate Corps is functioning as its own entity, but under a larger network umbrella. Am I in the ballpark?
Maggie Halpern: Yes! Absolutely!
David Fair: And what exactly is it tied to outside of the City of Ann Arbor?
Maggie Halpern: So, the City of Ann Arbor--the Office of Sustainability and Innovations--hosts the Ann Arbor Climate Corps program. But we're very lucky to be part of a wider network, both in the state of Michigan and across the country. In the state of Michigan, the MCSC, the Michigan Community Service Commission administers the Michigan Climate Corps, which is an innovative initiative at the forefront of climate intervention and environmental resilience across Michigan. There are multiple programs throughout the state that are working with MCSC to do climate work--northern Lower Peninsula in southeast Michigan, working up in the U.P. as well. And then, nationally, we are part of the American Climate Corps, which was launched on Earth Day this year by President Biden. That's an interagency partnership between AmeriCorps, NOAA and the Departments of Labor, Interior, Agriculture and Energy. And Michigan is really excited to be in the inaugural cohort of those American Climate Corps programs.
David Fair: So, as the Ann Arbor Climate Corps goes about and does its work, does it have some self-identity? Is it allowed to determine the work it's going to do, or does it have to fit into a particular mission as set forth by those other entities?
Maggie Halpern: We are working very closely with all of the initiatives that the Office of Sustainability and Innovations have in the City of Ann Arbor, which, specifically, is working to implement all of the goals in A2Zero, which is Ann Arbor's program for climate action. We're pledged to achieve community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030. And so, really, any work that we do within OSI in Ann Arbor is also going to fall under those goals that MCSC, as well as the American Climate Corps have, working to both reduce climate emissions, be that helping people do weatherization or install solar panels in their home or thinking about how to be more resilient as a community, having increased canopy cover with trees to reduce the impact of heat waves, which is very relevant this summer.
David Fair: Yeah. No kidding.
Maggie Halpern: Yeah, right. Also helping people think about the choices they make with their diet, how we can reduce food waste, choose specific foods that have a lower impact on the environment. And all of these things are really important for getting the community as a whole to work towards that ultimate goal of carbon neutrality.
David Fair: That is a whole lot of work you just listed!
Maggie Halpern: It is!
David Fair: Yeah! WEMU's Issues of the Environment conversation with Maggie Halpern from Ann Arbor's Office of Sustainability and Innovations continues. Maggie is program manager for the Ann Arbor Climate Corps. It was last year, 2023, Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Ann Arbor announced more than $229,000 in funding to support up to ten AmeriCorps members who will implement those neighborhood-focused decarbonization and resilience building initiatives you kind of lined out. Is all of the money that was announced being applied specifically to the Climate Corps?
Maggie Halpern: Yes. That is all specific funding that comes from the AmeriCorps agency, which is the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps across the country. Yes, so that is dedicated funding specifically for those AmeriCorps members that are working with the City of Ann Arbor.
David Fair: Now, again, it said up to ten. How many people are in the Climate Corps right now in Ann Arbor?
Maggie Halpern: We currently have eight. They are wonderful. I love working with them. They make every day and week exciting and a joy. The program is set up to have up to ten members serving what is considered a full term with AmeriCorps, which is 1700 hours. There is the possibility in the future that that could get adjusted a little bit. The program is really focused on that total number of hours that get work in the community. So, for instance, instead of having ten people doing a full term, you could decide to have 20 people do half-terms. It's a really valuable part of the structure of AmeriCorps is they sort of fold those flexible options in, so that you're able to respond to changes in the community or the applicants that you have and really just make sure that the program has that long-term, continued success.
David Fair: You mentioned you love working with the team you have in place right now. How was the selection process carried out? What kind of backgrounds were you looking for?
Maggie Halpern: We are looking for people that have a obvious interest in climate work. If people come to us already having that background, we absolutely love and appreciate that. And that is the case with our current cohort. We have a really wide variety of interests within the scope of environmental work. We have people that have backgrounds in policy and data analysis planning. We have a paleontologist on the team that always brings a really unique perspective, as you might imagine. But, really, what we're looking for is people who want to be engaged in this work. And so, even if you don't necessarily have that specific training, we want that interest and dedication and curiosity. And part of the programming within AmeriCorps is helping members build those skills and explore new avenues that might lead to a career path down the line.
David Fair: We're talking with Ann Arbor Climate Corps program manager Maggie Halpern on 89 one WEMU's Issues of the Environment. You mentioned there's varied backgrounds and varied interests. And it's one thing to select a bunch of qualified individuals and quite another to build a highly functioning team. It's been a relatively short period of time in less than a year, but would you say they've come together and everyone's rowing in the same direction?
Maggie Halpern: Absolutely, yes! They get along very well and are a lovely complement to the overall team structure that we have in the Office of Sustainability and Innovations.
David Fair: Well, you mentioned that the climate core team is out there and working on a number of endeavors and projects with specific goals in mind. How do you go about assessing the successes of community engagement so far in the work they're providing and presenting?
Maggie Halpern: A couple of different ways. You know, one is always trying to collect metrics of the events or initiatives that you have--how many people come to an event, how many events do you have in a given program. And so, we have some pretty awesome numbers when you look at those events that we have helped with. The Office of Sustainability and Innovations has been hosting neighborhood swap days throughout the community. Currently, we're holding those about once every quarter or so. AmeriCorps members are involved in the planning and promotion of those, as well as the day of logistics. We had one at Pioneer High School in May or June. The summer is a whirlwind!
David Fair: It sure is!
Maggie Halpern: We had, I think, well over 500 community members came to that event, and we inventoried more than 5000 items that residents brought to the event to help redistribute to other members of the community. We've also helped with distributing trees as part of the 10,000 Trees Initiative that OSI has. And we had three events that the AmeriCorps members helped with in the spring. And we gave away more than 3000 trees.
David Fair: You have people doing all that work!
Maggie Halpern: Well, that was definitely in concert with other members of the OSI office and some additional community members volunteering. But yes. They're doing a lot of work in a lot of different areas. And those numbers really add up, which is awesome when you look at that overall goal within the Office of Sustainability and Innovations and helping as many residents in Ann Arbor as possible know about OSI, know about A2Zero, the climate action plan that we have and all of these programs that OSI is putting out in the community to help us reach those goals. And we've got so many members of Ann Arbor that we know are interested in climate issues that either are finding ways to implement changes and improvements in their own lives. And so, we know that they want this information. And so, getting the AmeriCorps members into the community and helping residents know what the city is putting together to help that work is the ultimate goal of the program.
David Fair: Well, Maggie, it sounds as though Ann Arbor Climate Corps is going to be a good part of the multifaceted approach in trying to achieve carbon neutrality in a relatively short period of time.
Maggie Halpern: Yes! And, like I said, the members that we have are amazing and have such dedication and momentum. And that helps motivate the whole office.
David Fair: Well, thank you for taking time with us today, Maggie! I certainly appreciate it!
Maggie Halpern: Absolutely! Thank you so much for having me! I really appreciate the opportunity to talk to you today!
David Fair: That is Maggie Halpern, engagement coordinator in the City of Ann Arbor's Office of Sustainability and Innovations. She serves as program manager for the Ann Arbor Climate Corps. If you'd like to learn more about it, simply go to our website at wemu.org. Issues of the Environment is produced with support from the Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner. We bring it to you each Wednesday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89 one WEMU FM, Ypsilanti.
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