The EcoCity Community Sustainability Grants program has awarded more than $240,000 to nine Edmonton organizations to help them reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
"Reaching our greenhouse gas reduction targets and achieving the goals of Edmonton's Energy Transition Plan will take commitment from the entire community," said Paul Ross, Manager of Economic and Environmental Sustainability with the City of Edmonton.
"The EcoCity Grant Program gives local organizations, which otherwise might not have the funding required to achieve their goals, a financial leg up and allow them to reduce their environmental impact in a meaningful way," said Ross.
For four years the City has worked with Alberta Ecotrust to provide the grant funding. This year, the Edmonton Community Foundation has joined the program.
This year's recipients include:
- The Bissell Centre and the Yellowhead Tribal Development Foundation. Both organizations will use the money to install solar arrays on their buildings.
- Women Building Futures. The group will use funds to develop a solar panel installation training program for female aspiring electricians.
- SHAPE (Safe Healthy Active People Everywhere) Society. The grant will be used to encourage students to use more active modes of transportation to get to school.
The grants were awarded and the organizations celebrated at a public event on June 4th at the Riverdale Community League.
The grants program provides up to $50,000 for not-for-profits, community leagues, schools and charities to move to more climate-friendly energy sources. Grants also provide education to help communities make better environmental choices.
A complete list of grant recipients is available at edmonton.ca/EcoCity.
