San Diego Climate Week

We are still buzzing from last week! Thank you to everyone who joined us for Generational Voices in Climate Leadership and made us part of your San Diego Climate Week. Our panelists from across the building industry talked about how the County of San Diego, San Diego Community Power, San Diego International Airport, and JLL are responding to an ever-changing climate. They shared stories about the growing pains in their own careers and the mentors and pivotal moments that shaped their path forward. Above all, they stressed the importance of the language we use and including everyone in the conversation to create true progress. The panelists also encouraged thinking creatively about climate solutions, and we put that into practice with a zero-waste collage activity from BE CREATIVE ZONE. The morning also opened with San Diego Environmental Film Festival films spotlighting women driving climate action. We couldn't have done this without our sponsors, JLL, Stok, San Diego Community Power, Behr Paint Company, and Haley & Aldrich, and to our partners at Women in Cleantech and Sustainability. We can't wait to keep building a better future with you. 💚

Last week at San Diego Climate Week, co-hosted with Seatrees, we launched the Planetary Vital Signs Initiative: an effort to protect the long-term Earth observations our society runs on. They are the planet’s medical record. Stream gauges that help farmers prepare for floods or drought. The data behind the fire models firefighters use to save lives. The decades of data insurers need to price risk. Once a record breaks, it can never be rebuilt. Thank you to Ralph Keeling, John-O Niles, Kevin Whilden and Ted Fogliani, to Leah Hays for moderating, to Seatrees for co-hosting, and to everyone who came. Know someone in science, data or philanthropy who should hear about this? Our inbox is open!

We hosted the Women+ in Green - San Diego Breakfast last week during San Diego Climate Week! The panel of incredible women including Alaina Ladner, eden brukman, Paula Morreale, and Jen Lebron shared inspiring stories about their career journeys and mentorship. It was a highlight for me, along with pouring coffee with Mikayla Vincent ☕ Proud to say this event was sponsored by Stok! Along with JLL, Behr Paint Company, San Diego Community Power, and others, thank you all! Joining the SD WIG Committee has been such a joy this year, love being a part of this dream team💚 Monica Contreras Hannah Sawyer Teja Crawford Elizabeth Arsenault Brenda Arriaza Chloé Rigby Mikayla Vincent

So incredibly proud of the Women+ in Green Breakfast our Women+ in Green - San Diego team hosted last week, the first one ever held during San Diego Climate Week! Bringing this many amazing women from our industry together in one room is such an honor. Our panel theme, Generational Voices in Climate Leadership, left so many of us feeling hopeful and empowered about where our field is headed. A huge thank you to our panelists, Alaina Ladner, eden brukman, Paula Morreale, and Jen Lebron, who filled the room with so much warmth and inspiration. Grateful for our sponsors JLL, Stok, Behr Paint Company, and San Diego Community Power, and our event partners San Diego Environmental Film Festival and BE CREATIVE ZONE. As always, we couldn’t have pulled this off without our powerhouse of a team: Hannah Sawyer, Teja Crawford, Mikayla Vincent, Elizabeth Arsenault, Brenda Arriaza, Kamila Haselman, Chloé Rigby, and Eva Holman, our USGBC-CA champion. 💚

The final event I attended during last week's San Diego Climate Week was the Land Summit, held at Barron Creek Farm in Oceanside. The day included powerful opening and closing ceremonies featuring Luiseño drumming and dancing, a beautiful performance by Raza Roots, a farm tour and tree planting, nourishment from local healers, a vibrant marketplace, and conversations exploring our relationship with the land and what a regenerative future for San Diego can look like. One of the most meaningful parts of the experience was learning more about Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), the wisdom of the region's first caretakers, and the sacred relationship between people and the land. It was a beautiful reminder that our relationship with the land can be rooted in respect, reciprocity, stewardship, and connection. There was something really special about being able to learn, experience, connect, and simply be nourished by the day. Thank you to all of the panelists, performers, city officials, merchants, farmers, healers, sponsors, and organizers who helped make this gathering possible and created such a rich space for learning and connection. I left this event feeling inspired, grateful, and with a very full heart. Wishing I could attend all of the amazing this events this year. Looking forward to the 3rd annual event next year! #SanDiegoClimateWeek #LandSummit #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge #TEK #Sustainability #LandStewardship #ClimateAction

Clean Energy Alliance joined Frontwave Arena and community members for a Day of Service at Agua Hedionda on Oct. 3 as part of San Diego Climate Week. Volunteers helped remove overgrown vegetation and non-native plants, install mulch and support native pollinator planting, all while giving back to an important local habitat. Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation is also a CEA Green Impact Champion, receiving 100% renewable energy through CEA. Learn more about CEA at TheCleanEnergyAlliance.org

San Diego Climate Week wrapped up last Thursday. 200+ events, incredible panels and thoughtful discussions. There is a strong appetite for change – people desperately want to make this planet better but it can be challenging to understand how to get involved in a way that you can sustain. I loved this framework from Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. - What are you good at? - What work needs doing? - What brings you joy? I notice I fall prey to a lot of "shoulds" in my mind. I should want to do XYZ. This person shows up like this, I should too. This framework is so empowering because it is specifically about what YOU can provide and what the world needs. Try filling it out for yourself!

San Diego Climate Week just wrapped up its second year, bringing together advocates, experts, communities, and organizations from the San Diego-Cali Baja region for a week of collaboration to advance climate action across the region. As the policy lead, I was proud to help make this year’s Climate Week a success, contributing to a bi-national movement featuring more than 225 events in just one week. Our Sierra Club San Diego Chapter organized and supported events that engaged more than 600 attendees, built partnerships, and connected new people with opportunities to take action for our environment. A few highlights from the week: Tijuana River Tour: Brought community members and leaders to the Tijuana River pollution crisis while elevating critical water issues and the need for regional collaboration. Led by the #TijuanaRiverCoalition Water Summit: We kicked off Climate Week with a paddle out demanding a permanent solution to the Tijuana River pollution crisis. We then had a tri-national expert panel. Thank you to Serge Dedina, Ph.D. , Paloma Aguirre , Senator Steve Padilla, Phillip Musegaas, Octavio Lopez, and Bobby Wallace for your leadership. Led by Melanie Croce and me. Climate Action Plan Report Card & Advocacy 101: Partnered with Climate Action Campaign and local leaders to highlight where local climate commitments are falling short (and succeeding!) and equip residents with practical tools to ensure policy needs are implemented. Led by Anthony Dang and me. Beyond the events themselves, one of the most meaningful outcomes was connecting with new leaders and building relationships that can strengthen our work long after Climate Week ends. The real measure of success is what happens next. We’re excited to turn this momentum into sustained engagement, stronger community partnerships, and meaningful progress on climate resilience, clean water, and conservation throughout San Diego County. A huge thank you to the San Diego Climate Week volunteers, meg ferrigno and Erika Rodriguez, community partners, and everyone who showed up ready to connect and take action. Together, we’re building a stronger movement that will lead to sustained progress and unity for the region. #SanDiegoClimateWeek #SierraClub #ClimateAction #ClimateResilience #CleanWater #Conservation

Last Tuesday a few of our members attended HandsOn San Diego's VolunBEERS event at Embolden Beer Company. All together, the attendees made over 3,000 seed balls with native wildflower seeds for the The San Diego River Park Foundation's habitat restoration efforts along the San Diego River. 🌻 The event took place during San Diego Climate Week and celebrated #CleanAirDayCA and #GreenSportsDay. Our Public Image Chair, Jessie Case, serves as HandsOn San Diego's executive director. She was recognized at the event for her 10 years of service at the organization.