The Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience (MOSR) announced that it will host a series of initiatives throughout April in commemoration of Earth Month.
With a focus on sustainability, resilience and climate action, the “educational and community-focused” events aim to address Atlanta’s biggest climate challenges: extreme heat, drought and flooding.
Already taking place on April 1 was the city of Atlanta’s pledge to join the UN-backed “Race to Resilience,” a global campaign to strengthen climate resilience — with the goal of building “a resilience of 4 billion people to climate risks by 2030.”
The event put a spotlight on various local sustainability efforts, including the expansion of Atlanta’s tree canopy, the city’s boost to solar energy access, along with its overall reduction in food waste.
On April 22, for Earth Day’s 55th anniversary, MOSR will highlight the next generation of climate leaders by announcing the latest grant recipients for the city’s Youth Climate Action Fund.
This year, the city will award $85,000 to local youth-led projects aimed at tackling climate challenges in their communities.
The grant announcement will be followed by the Atlanta Youth Climate Action Summit at city hall, where young leaders will gather following the official Earth Day proclamation from Atlanta City Council.
Later in the month, on April 24, Atlanta’s city hall will host “Sustainability in Action Day,” a day-long event dedicated to sustainability initiatives, with a focus on local food systems and urban agriculture, according to MOSR.
The event will inform the public about initiatives like AgLanta, which repurposes vacant city land for local growers, and other projects that support Atlanta’s ecological systems.
Community partners will also be in-attendance to provide informational booths, workshops, along with a showcase for locally-sourced foods.
Finally, the month will conclude with the launch of the “Climate Resilient ATL Plan,” Atlanta’s first comprehensive climate resilience blueprint.
According to MOSR, the initiative, developed through 18 months of community input, research and planning, will outline strategies to help the city prepare for, adapt to and respond to climate change impacts.
