Initial Awardees

On August 6, 2024, the CSCI announced its initial round of awards, providing funding, technical support, and additional resources to help these communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis accelerate their climate resilience efforts.

Brentwood, Maryland

An award of $50,707 will allow local officials, community organizations, and residents in this small town near the nation’s capital to work with experts from the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center to advance priority projects from their Climate Action Plan. The town is increasingly susceptible to flooding, and the project team will involve the community through diverse engagement strategies to build climate resilience through community education and empowerment, green infrastructure, and landscapes designed to accommodate the impacts of a changing climate.  Contact:  Stephanie Dalke, Program Manager, University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center

Charleston County, South Carolina

Stronger storms, rising sea levels, and associated flooding are widespread concerns for the communities of Charleston County, South Carolina. A grant of $121,821 will enable county officials and the local community-based organization, Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC), to work with practitioners from Fernleaf and Adaapta to develop two fundable strategies: 1) scaling up and sustaining flood mitigation investments and 2) catalyzing community-driven and climate-resilient brownfields redevelopment. Through these parallel efforts, the team will be paying particular attention to the neighborhoods disproportionately burdened by environmental contamination and the unique vulnerabilities of historic African American communities and low-income households in the region.  Updated Contact: Stephen Julka, Resilience Planner, Fernleaf 

Cook County, Illinois

An award of $115,516 will enable collaboration in resilience planning across five municipalities in Cook County. This support will allow the City of Markham and the Villages of Bellwood, Franklin Park, Justice and Lynwood to work with experts from ICF, Geosyntec and Metro Strategies to evaluate how resilience measures such as green infrastructure can reduce runoff and heat island effects and exchange that information as part of an ongoing collaboration. The five municipalities are currently developing community-driven resilience plans to address flooding, extreme heat and other climate impacts. Cook County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability allocated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for planning and implementation in recognition that these communities, selected for participation in the program after a competitive application and interview process, have already faced environmental injustices and generations of disinvestment. Contact: Adam Parris, Senior Consultant, Climate Planning + ICF Climate Center Senior Fellow,  ICF  

Coushatta Tribe, Louisiana  

Under an award of $80,089, the Coushatta Tribe and the University of Oklahoma will be partnering to update the Tribe’s climate vulnerability assessment, solicit community input, and draft a corresponding climate resilience plan.  The Coushatta people have called the piney woods of Southwest Louisiana home for more than a century, but now their lands are increasingly vulnerable to climate related impacts, including flash flooding, extreme heat, and wildfires. These impacts risk limiting culturally significant activities such as foraging, traditional cooking, powwows, and religious ceremonies that rely on intact and healthy natural areas. With this support, the Tribe can develop a plan that reflects and addresses community concerns, while building collaboration with surrounding parishes. This project will follow all Tribal protocols, including the first step of Tribal Council review and adoption of a formal resolution. Contact: Sharon Hausam, Climate Adaptation Planner and Research Scientist, South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center at the University of Oklahoma 

East Palo Alto, California

This redlined community in the Bay Area of California is facing challenges related to a changing climate, including sunny day flooding from rising seas, overland flooding from extreme precipitation events, and poor air quality from more frequent and intense wildfires. A $115,000 grant will enable the City of East Palo Alto, Climate Resilient Communities, and Coastal Quest to prioritize the voices of historically underrepresented residents through multilingual community workshops, surveys, and focus groups. The community concerns and priorities collaboratively identified through these activities will be the foundation for the City’s new Environmental Justice Element and updated Safety Element of the city’s General Plan–a guiding policy vision for the next 8+ years of climate resilience and environmental, social, and racial justice. Contact:  Emma Koeze, Project Manager, Coastal Quest  

Fremont, Nebraska

The families that live in mobile and manufactured homes on the southwest side of this small city in eastern Nebraska are especially at risk with a changing climate. Increasingly intense storms and ice jams are causing flash floods that put lives and livelihoods at risk. Thanks to a grant of $114,978, community leaders from the City of Fremont and the Fremont Area United Way will be able to work with the experts from Headwaters Economics to augment their existing plans, and identify feasible solutions for these neighborhoods, exploring options for improved gray and green infrastructure. Contact: Nate Kommers, Communications Director, Headwaters Economics 

Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, Louisiana

The Grand Cailou/Dulac Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, who have been living along the Louisiana Gulf Coast for centuries, now face a number of climate related challenges, including severe storms, intense flooding, sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, and land erosion, losing by some estimates the equivalent of a football field every 100 minutes. Support in the amount of $122,000 will allow the tribe to develop a community resilience plan that combines the lived experience of local residents and the traditional ecological knowledge of the tribe with the planning expertise of Climigration Network. The plan will define specific climate resilience goals, enable community participation in proposed approaches, and identify additional resources for further implementation. Contact: Devon Parfait, Tribal Chief of the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians of Louisiana

Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, South Dakota
The droughts, floods, and wildfires that are becoming more frequent and more severe with a changing climate are threatening the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe’s way of life, including their ceremonial and spiritual practices.  These climate related concerns are especially stressful in the context of the area’s high poverty and high unemployment, as more than 30% of the local population lives below the federal poverty level and nearly 20% of the local workforce is jobless.  With support in the amount of $121,400, the Lower Brule will work alongside the Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance and the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center at Colorado University to develop a climate adaptation plan that is rooted in the Tribe’s principles of respect, inclusivity, and collaboration. Contact: Kynser Wahwahsuck, Tribal Climate Resilience Liaison, Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance 

Ottawa County, Oklahoma

Representatives from the county, the city of Miami, Oklahoma, the Inter-Tribal Council of Northeast Oklahoma and L.E.A.D. Agency, Inc, will collaborate with Fernleaf under a $119,000 award.  This support will allow the partners to engage the local community, conduct a vulnerability analysis, and develop a corresponding climate resilience plan.  This area in Northeast Oklahoma already was ranked “very high” on the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), and is now experiencing additional pain from climate related impacts, including severe storms and toxic flooding, as well as extended drought and extreme heat.  The plan will identify a path forward, with a focus on building the capacity and securing the funding needed for success. Contact: Matt Hutchins, CEO, Fernleaf

Sandpoint, Idaho

Sitting on the shores of Idaho’s largest lake, the community of Sandpoint is already feeling the impacts of climate change. More frequent and more intense extreme weather events and temperature fluctuations threaten the forest, lakes, and streams that underpin the town’s world-class recreation industry and natural resource-based economy. Support in the amount of $122,629 to the Model Forest Policy Program (MFPP) will enable local officials,community groups, and vulnerable populations to work with MFPP to develop a climate resilience plan that delivers effective, durable, and fundable strategies.  Contact: Gwen Griffith, Program Director, Model Forest Policy Program    

South San Francisco, California 

The Tree Canopy Pilot Project is a collaborative climate resilience effort led by Rise South City, Coastal Quest, and the City of South San Francisco that aims to provide frontline communities with access to climate resilience education and relief from urban heat through the implementation of part of the city’s Urban Forest Master Plan (2020). Thanks to this award of $95,000, trees will be planted to mitigate urban heat and combat air pollution, two major climate-related issues facing frontline communities across South San Francisco. The community engagement and education portion of this project will bridge the gap between frontline communities and the city to facilitate tree planting where it is most needed. Contact: Emma Koeze, Project Manager, Coastal Quest