Airport Community Ecology (ACE) Fund Commission Briefing Andy Gregory Program Manager Environmental Engagement Ali Yeates Lakehart Senior Project ManagerGreen Cities Forterra Item No. 7b Meeting Date: September 24, 2019 1 Airport Community Ecology Fund (ACE Fund) • Commission-directed • $1 million fund • Supports park improvements and environmental projects • Focus communities: Burien, Des Moines, SeaTac 2 Two-pronged approach Small Matching Grants Program • $550,000 • Administered directly by Port • Small-scale, community-based projects • Bi-annual disbursements • Port and city representatives serve on grant application review panel to select projects Green Cities Partnership Program • $450,000 • Contract with Forterra • Urban Forest Management through Green City Partnerships • Large-scale projects • Des Moines Memorial Drive historic Elm tree planting 3 Green City Partnerships • 15 Green Cities/ 1 Green County • Commitment to restore 13,000 acres • 1.2 million trees and shrubs planted • 284 forest stewards trained • Over 1M volunteer hours since 2005 4 Green City Partnership Process in Burien, Des Moines and SeaTac 5 Land Cover Analysis 6 Canopy Cover Analysis- Burien 7 Canopy Cover Analysis- Burien 8 9 738 Acres of Forested Parklands 10 Forested Park Health Assessment 11 Implementation Green City Days • Angle Lake Park September 21, 9am-noon • Burien Community Center October 12, 9am-noon • Des Moines Kiddie/City Park October 19, 9am-noon 12 Accomplishing the Work: Kiddie City Park 13 Next Steps for Green City Partnerships • Finalize 20-Year Plans • Conduct planting and tree distribution events • Elm tree planting on Des Moines Memorial Drive • Continued event support through 2021 14 Small Matching Grants Program • $240,000 distributed • 20 organizations • 28 unique projects - Urban forest restoration - Healthy food access - Parks improvements - Environmental education - Waste reduction and recycling 15 ACE Funding Awards by Jurisdiction Percent of $240,000 per city Grants per city 9 8 7 Burien 6 22% 5 4 3 7 8 7 29% Des Moines SeaTac 6 2 28% 1 21% Two or more cities 0 BURIEN DES MOINES SEATAC TWO OR MORE CITIES 16 Small Matching Grants Program - SeaTac 17 Small Matching Grants Program - Burien 18 Small Matching Grants Program - Des Moines 19 Challenges • 3:1 match favors organizations with larger budgets and staff • Port processes for application, selection, and reporting were not co-created with the community, and are difficult for small, diverse organizations to manage. • "Ecological" messaging of the grant excludes groups that experience the environment differently. 20 Recommended Solutions • Government Relations working reduce or remove required 3:1 match through 2020 state Legislative agenda. • Collaborate with Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to conduct equity evaluation and restructure program to serve historically under-represented communities. • Utilize results of equity evaluation to co-create culturally relevant messaging to connect with community sense of place. 21 Thank you! Questions? 22