Ecology Action Center

DESCRIPTION:THIS AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING UNDER THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT (IRA) TO ECOLOGY ACTION CENTER (EAC). THE RECIPIENT AND PROJECT PARTNERS WILL IMPLEMENT THE BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL CLIMATE RESILIENCY COMMUNITY (BNCRC) PROJECT WHICH WILL IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR DISPROPORTIONATE CLIMATE IMPACTS WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (EJ) AREAS OF THE BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, ILLINOIS COMMUNITY, AND INCREASE TREE EQUITY IN URBAN AREAS TO REDUCE TEMPERATURES DURING EXTREME HEAT EVENTS, INCREASE FILTRATION OF NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS (NAAQS) POLLUTANTS, AND SEQUESTER CARBON EMISSIONS IN A COST-EFFECTIVE MANNER. PROJECT PARTNERS INCLUDE THE MCLEAN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT (MCHD), THE UNITED WAY OF MCLEAN COUNTY (UWMC), ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY (ISU) AND THE WEST BLOOMINGTON REVITALIZATION PROJECT (WBRP) AND ALL, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE WBRP, WILL RECEIVE SUBAWARDS FROM THIS GRANT AWARD.ACTIVITIES:THE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: A.1 BRACE PLANNING: BUILDING RESILIENCE AGAINST CLIMATE EFFECTS (BRACE) IS THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL'S (CDC) FIVE-STEP FRAMEWORK THAT ALLOWS COMMUNITIES TO BETTER PREPARE FOR THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. THESE STEPS INCLUDE ANTICIPATING CLIMATE IMPACTS AND ASSESSING VULNERABILITIES, PROJECTING THE DISEASE BURDEN, ASSESSING PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONS, DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLAN AND EVALUATING IMPACT. THE BNCRC WILL USE THIS METHOD TO DETERMINE AN INCLUSIVE PLAN THAT PREPARES AND PROTECTS RESIDENTS OF OUR COMMUNITY. DR. BECK FROM ISU WILL ASSIST THE EAC AND MCHD IN DESIGNING AN ONLINE SURVEY USABLE FROM MOBILE DEVICES. THIS SURVEY AIMS TO COLLECT INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH DATA FROM BOTH RESIDENTS LOCATED IN EJ AREAS AND THE PRECARIOUSLY HOUSED. DR. BECK WILL ALSO WORK WITH THE WBRP TO ENSURE THE SURVEY CONTENT CONNECTS WELL WITH THE INTENDED POPULATION TO PROMOTE A GOOD RESPONSE RATE. DRS JIN AND YANG WILL PROVIDE TECHNICAL INPUT AS WELL. STUDENTS WILL DISTRIBUTE THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT, COLLECT AND ANALYZE DATA. A COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY RESPONSE (CASPER) IS A RAPID NEEDS ASSESSMENT THAT USES SAMPLING METHODOLOGY TO COLLECT INFORMATION AT THE HOUSEHOLD LEVEL TO INFORM DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE. ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY PARTNERS WILL WORK WITH THE MCLEAN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT WITH CONDUCTING CASPER SURVEYS FOLLOWED BY MAPPING AND ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS. DR. KOSTELNICK WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS TASK. STUDENTS WILL ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE CASPER DATA COLLECTION ALONG WITH SPATIAL ANALYSIS AND CREATION OF MAP VISUALIZATIONS OF THE RESULTS. THE CASPER SURVEYS WILL PROVIDE DATA ON FUNCTIONAL NEEDS POPULATIONS IN EJ AREAS AND WILL EXPAND UPON AND UPDATE A 2016 CASPER SURVEY COMPLETED PREVIOUSLY BY MCHD WITH SUPPORT FROM ISU. STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE CASPER DATA COLLECTION ALONG WITH SPATIAL ANALYSIS AND THE CREATION OF MAP VISUALIZATIONS OF THE RESULTS. DR. WODIKA WILL WORK WITH THE MCHD AND DR. KOSTELNICK REGARDING STEP THREE AND FOUR OF THE A.2 CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLANNING THE EPA DEFINES CLIMATE ADAPTATION AS TAKING ACTION TO PREPARE FOR AND ADJUST TO BOTH THE CURRENT AND PROJECTED IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. CREATING A CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLAN WILL ALLOW US TO ASSESS THESE RISKS AND PREPARE OUR COMMUNITY INCLUDING THOSE WHO ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE BY TAKING MEASURES AND DRAFTING STRATEGIES TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT. THE EAC WILL ACT AS THE FACILITATOR AND ALONG WITH OUR PARTNERS WILL LEAD A COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY PLANNING PROCESS TO RECEIVE DIRECT INPUT FROM RESIDENTS IN UNDERSERVED AREAS. WE WILL HOLD ROUTINE MEETINGS AT LOCATIONS LOCATED WITHIN THOSE COMMUNITIES FOR EASY ACCESS BY RESIDENTS. THESE PLACES INCLUDE CHURCHES AND COMMUNITY CENTERS. MEETINGS WILL BE HELD OUTSIDE OF REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS SO THAT THEY CAN BE MORE ACCESSIBLE. A VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE OPTION WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE. THE NAACP AND WBRP HAVE COMMITTED TO ASSISTING WITH THE PROMOTION OF THE COMMUNITY PLANNING MEETI

DESCRIPTION:THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMPETITIVELY SELECTED AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN (ARP) FUNDED GRANT AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING TO ECOLOGY ACTION CENTER (EAC) THE ABILITY TO CONDUCT AMBIENT AIR MONITORING OF POLLUTANTS OF GREATEST CONCERN IN COMMUNITIES WITH ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH OUTCOME DISPARITIES STEMMING FROM POLLUTION AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THE EAC WILL DEPLOY STATIONARY AND PORTABLE AIR MONITORS TO COLLECT AND IDENTIFY NEAR REAL TIME LOCATION-SPECIFIC AIR QUALITY DATA AT SELECTED COMMUNITY SITES.ACTIVITIES:EAC HAS CHOSEN MULTIPLE MONITORING SITES, INCLUDING A LOCAL PRE-SCHOOL AND A COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN THE BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL AREA. RESULTING DATA FROM LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM AIR QUALITY MONITORING, ANALYSIS, AND DATA COMPARISON WILL BE USED BY EAC AND ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY (ISU) TO IDENTIFY THE DISTRIBUTION AND CAUSES OF PM2.5, NO2, VOCS, AND OZONE POLLUTION. THE INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THIS ANALYSIS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY ON THE BN-CARE'S PUBLIC WEBSITE. THE ACTIVITIES WILL BE USED TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY AND LOCAL EFFORTS TO MONITOR THEIR OWN AIR QUALITY AND TO PROMOTE AIR QUALITY MONITORING PARTNERSHIPS THAT: LEVERAGE EXISTING AIR QUALITY EXPERTISE, EXPAND USE OF COMMUNITY MONITORING GROUPS AND OTHER APPROACHES THAT GIVE THE COMMUNITY A VOICE IN THE MONITORING OF THE AIR QUALITY, AND BUILD A FOUNDATION OF TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS AND ENHANCED UNDERSTANDING FROM WHICH SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS TO COMMUNITY AIR POLLUTION PROBLEMS CAN BE FOUND.SUBRECIPIENT:A SUBAWARD TO ISU WILL BE ISSUED BY ECOLOGY ACTION CENTER TO CONDUCT AMBIENT AIR MONITORING AND PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY OUTREACH IN BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL, IL. ISU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) AND QUALITY CONTROL (QC) ASPECTS OF THIS PROJECT TO MEASURE PM2.5, VOC'S, NO2, AND OZONE THROUGH STATIONARY AND PORTABLE MONITORS.OUTCOMES:THE ANTICIPATED DELIVERABLES INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT OF PORTABLE AND STATIONARY AIR QUALITY MONITORS IN/NEAR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES TO CONDUCT PM2.5, VOCS, NO2, AND OZONE MONITORING DATA. THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE 1) INCREASED COMMUNITY ACCESS TO AIR QUALITY INFORMATION AND AIR QUALITY MONITORING TOOLS; 2) INCREASED AWARENESS OF AIR QUALITY AND HEALTH EFFECTS THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS; 3) INCREASED COMMUNICATION WITH EMISSION SOURCE ENTITIES. THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE RESIDENTS OF THE BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL COMMUNITY IN MCLEAN COUNTY, IL.