The United States Environmental Protection Agency last week awarded $20 million toward the GREEN SGV Collaborative to support projects aimed at creating a more sustainable San Gabriel Valley. The “GREEN” acronym stands for “green, resilient, energy efficient neighborhoods.”

The local investment was made possible by the Community Change Grants Program, which is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, according to a news release at epa.gov.

“The funding announcement today is the first tranche of nearly $2 billion from the [Community Change Grants Program] that was designed based on community input to award grants on a rolling basis,” the announcement read.

The grant will fund local climate action and pollution reduction strategies including tree planting initiatives led by TreePeople; green schoolyard projects led by Sustainable Claremont; electric family and cargo bike incentives, bike repair stations, rain gardens by ActiveSGV; clean energy home projects by GRID Alternatives; clean water refill stations by Day One; and a “multi-benefit stormwater capture greenway,” known as the Merced Avenue Greenway, by Council for Watershed Health.

“The Greener SGV Project embodies all the work Sustainable Claremont has developed throughout its history: leading local environmental education and mobilizing community action to plant trees, build school gardens and rain gardens, compost for schools, and so much more,” Sustainable Claremont Executive Director Stuart Wood wrote in a statement.

The awarded proposal resulted from extensive collaboration with community partners and strategies were selected in response to public requests received over years. Projects are designed to be implemented over 36 months.

For a full list of projects awarded in the first round of grant making, visit epa.gov/newsreleases.