November 5th is the deadline to apply for a grant for your project to make a difference in Bellevue’s climate readiness and sustainability. Grants between $1000 and $5000 are available for Bellevue youth and young adults aged 15-24, and Bellevue has a total of $50k to award. This program has enabled youth in other cities to create over 1,600 green spaces, plant over 1.8 million plants and 235,000 trees, develop nearly 5,000 gardens, launch 268 composting stations, and collect more than 405,000 pounds of trash and recyclables.
I hope Bellevue’s youth will show what’s possible with the use of data to create the greatest impact per dollar, demonstrating future best practices. It is also an opportunity to take charge of our climate future and have fun working with friends – teams are encouraged to apply!
engagingbellevue.com has the details and application form.
There was a student-led event at City Hall to provide info to potential participants, and let them meet the subject matter experts from the city who might be able to support their efforts. I think some of the projects will include work on air quality, riding transit with other students, and Green Teams at schools. Some of the potential projects could have multiple actions between now and March 30, 2027, organized around a central objective like maximizing transit usage or reducing food waste, and others will focus on a single deliverable.
Eligible projects include:
Climate education and awareness, like courses, experiences, or the arts
Research and data collection, like mapping environmental health
Resilience and adaptation, such as addressing water quality or heatwaves
Green Infrastructure, reforestation, and environmental protection, like creating parks, community gardens, or green roofs for community buildings
Sustainable agriculture and food systems, like urban farms that would enrich community access to fresh food
Promotion and advancement of circular economy, like sustainable fashion or rethinking the use of discarded materials
Sustainable waste management, like sorting, collection, or cleaning
Sustainable transportation, like encouraging walking, cycling, and using public transportation
Climate governance, like youth councils or consultation of youth for public decisions
Paying a local environmental scientist a fee to lead a hands-on soil testing workshop with youth participants over three sessions.
The projects can also be quite simple, such as these from the Youth Project Examples PDF:
Create a climate preparedness campaign for young people focused on preparing for hazards such as extreme heat, wildfire smoke, or flooding
Conduct a Bellevue youth climate survey to understand what young people know, care about, and want to do about climate change
Host a Climate Solutions Fair connecting youth and community members with local organizations, programs, and climate solutions
Map climate resources and community assets such as cooling locations, emergency resources, community organizations, and climate programs
Start a school energy-saving campaign
Organize workshops on home energy efficiency
Create and distribute energysaving kits to students and families
Conduct an energy-use study of a school or community building
Organize a bike/walk to-school challenge
Create a campaign promoting public transportation
Survey students about barriers to walking, biking, or taking transit
Organize a bike repair or maintenance workshop
Organize a series of zero-waste community events
Start a clothing or school-supply swap
Conduct a waste audit at a school
Create and distribute a foodwaste reduction campaign
Organize a community repair event
Organize a series of community tree-planting events
Organize a stream or habitat restoration event
Create and distribute native plant kits
Create a pollinator garden at a school or community site
Organize a water conservation campaign
There is also an example of past projects from Columbus OH here, and you can probably find other lists from other cities.
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