Sustainability & Climate Justice

February 2025

Introduction

In honoring February as Black History Month, and at the encouragement of the PPS Board to commemorate that occasion, we want to illustrate the overlap between racial equity and climate justice.

Climate justice is rooted in the acknowledgment that frontline communities are the most impacted physically, socially, and economically by climate change. In Portland Public School's groundbreaking Climate Crisis Response Policy, the district states that "Climate change disproportionately impacts the vulnerable members of our community" and that "implementation of this policy will prioritize serving people with disabilities, communities of color, and other vulnerable populations" while developing a culture of climate justice throughout the organization.

As PPS continues to take action to mitigate climate change, we also want to include voices of the groups of people most impacted. We welcome you to use the resources listed below to learn more about the history of environmental injustice in Portland and how it has impacted the Black community and how some amazing organizations are addressing these issues today.

Vanport Mosaic: https://www.vanportmosaic.org/

Oregon Black Pioneers: https://oregonblackpioneers.org/about/

“Priced Out” 2018 film: https://www.pricedoutmovie.com/

Albina Vision Trust: https://albinavision.org/

And so many more...

You can also check out the Oregon Department of Education for more resources about how to bring Black History Month into your classroom and school.

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Student-Led Climate Projects

Over the past few months, PPS students and schools have submitted over 40 project proposals to turn climate action ideas into reality! Students have worked diligently to prepare projects for success by creating detailed project plans, designs, and outreach information so that their entire school can be part of the work.

Students imagined and are now implementing a wide variety of projects, from writing children's books on climate change to refurbishing an out-of-use wind turbine on campus. So much thought and effort has gone into all of these projects, and students are letting their passions shine through their work. Take a look at the graph listed below to see what the makeup of student projects is looking like as we head into this first year.

We have so many students who are passionate about getting their hands dirty and helping their communities become champions of environmental justice. We are excited to continue supporting these student-driven projects and can't wait to see them in action. Keep an eye out for these efforts around your schools and stay tuned for more stories about their progress in the coming months!

School and District News!

Innovation Studio 2025 Innovation Summit

Last month PPS staff, students, and community members gathered at the second annual Innovation Studio Summit for a day of transformation, collaboration, and bold ideas. The Innovation Studio aims to address long-standing barriers that keep people from reaching their goals- with particular attention to obstacles faced by Black and Native students and staff who have been excluded and discriminated against over time, and the summit featured community members actively working to push against and remove those barriers to success. Panelist speaker Lestarya Molloy, CEO & Founder of Fridie Outdoors, sustains momentum for innovation within systems slow to change by, “[understanding] innovation takes vision and knowing your deepest why to create the future you want to make a reality.”

In the afternoon, attendees participated in a Facilitator Design Sprint. The design sprint focused on problem identification, community engagement, needs finding, and synthesis. With the help of some amazing facilitators, each group put their heads together to help center the voices of historically marginalized groups in a hypothetical curriculum development. The sprint emphasized the importance of intentional stakeholder engagement by incorporating perspectives from students, educators, families, and community leaders of the communities that needed to be represented. Finally, teams explored priorities and actions to achieve their goal in a timeline activity. After the sprint was finished, each team enjoyed a gallery walk and spent time connecting their work with their peers. The Innovation Summit was a great reminder of PPS’s commitment to breaking down systemic barriers, fostering collaboration, and creating student-centered solutions for a more equitable future.

Justin Timberlake joins Portland Bike Bus!

Coach Sam Balto started Bike Bus PDX back in 2022 as a way to encourage

students to stay active while also promoting environmentally friendly modes of transportation. This initiative aimed to create a fun and safe way for students to get to school while staying active. And over the years Bike Bus PDX has only grown in popularity.

Each bike bus is accompanied by an amazing soundtrack from Coach Balto, and one of Coach Balto’s favorite artists to play during these bike buses is Justin Timberlake. It has been a goal of Coach Balto to have Justin Timberlake attend a bike bus. On January 12th that's exactly what happened! While Justin Timberlake couldn’t make it during the school week, over 200 families held a special Sunday bike bus to ride with the star.

Coach Balto continues to support biking to school and now runs the non-profit Bike Bus World which encourages students and parents all over the world to start their own bike buses.

Naturehood Mason Bee Program

As the first buds of spring appear, it is the perfect time to celebrate one of our native pollinators and a local community partner organization that is introducing elementary students to them. Meet the Mason Bee– in this region the native species is the Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia lignaria), which is a beautiful (mostly) stingless blue bee that is one of the earliest pollinators to return and circulate in spring.

Mason Bees are a vital part of our local ecosystem, and unsurprisingly, they are threatened by climate change, especially warming temperatures. What can be done to help the local mason bees? Learn about them and how to support their nesting. Advocate for planting trees and shrubs that increase shade and reduce high temperatures.

Llewellyn Elementary and ACCESS Academy have partnered with Naturehood to receive hands-on science lessons where they learn about and even raise mason bees. Now in its third year, Naturehood’s Mason Bee Program provides multi-year lessons to students in kindergarten through fifth grade where they learn about the importance of plants, pollinators, and our interconnection to the natural world.

Follow this link to Naturehood’s Mason Bee Program website to see fabulous pictures and testimonials and find out how you could bring this partner organization into your class.

Portland Public Schools CCRP Dashboard

The CCRP Dashboard has officially launched. Did you know that in the 2023-2024 school year Portland Public Schools produced over 4 million kilowatt hours of solar energy! That's enough energy to power around 4000 homes for a month.

Click the button above to see how PPS has been taking steps towards meeting its climate goals.

Student and Community Opportunities!

Earth Films

Calling all filmmakers! Making Earth Cool & NW Documentary are looking for short film submissions for their Earth Films for Earth Day screening.

Honoring Our Rivers

Honoring Our Rivers: an anthology of student art and creative writing celebrating Pacific Northwest rivers and watersheds. Any student, age kindergarten through grade 12, is eligible to submit their work. Selected entries will be published in our student anthology alongside esteemed invited Oregon writers and artists. The authors of published pieces will receive a free copy of the anthology and a chance to be featured in upcoming events such as our annual student reading at Powell’s City of Books!

Submit here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQAiEQmygI0vXyZwFugbBk0wodXbGxxLF8N_ftHU8Uj-_bTA/viewform.

Portland Parks & Recreation Urban Forestry

Join Portland Parks & Recreation for the final open house on the Portland Urban Forest Plan to learn about our vision for the future of trees and how we’re planning to care for them.

At this event, you can see our vision and goals for the future and the actions we will take to turn the vision into a reality. There will be opportunities to provide feedback on key components of the plan and speak directly with the project team.

Everyone is welcome, bring your friends and neighbors! Interpretation services and light refreshments will be provided. Learn more about this event.

Can’t make it to the event? Check the project website in February for details about how to read the draft plan and share your feedback online. The public comment period will be open for 30 days.

What are you doing for EARTH MONTH EVENTS?

April is just around the corner… we would love to join you in celebrating the one and only Mother Earth. What's happening at your school for Earth Month?

Let us know sustainability@pps.net