PORTLAND, Ore. — More money is coming into the metro area to fight the impacts of climate change.
The Environmental Protection Agency awarded Multnomah County Public Health nearly $1 million dollars over the next three years through a federal grant focused on climate resilience and environmental justice.
“We’re going to be able to work with residents who live right here in the Rockwood neighborhood to help them be better prepared for the impacts of the climate crisis," said John Wasiutynski, the director of Multnomah County's Office of Sustainability.
The county identified Rockwood in Gresham as a historically underserved community and say the neighborhood stood out as one that needs increased investment and action.
Wasiutynski and his colleagues says Rockwood is also one area in the county that suffers greatly during extreme heat events, like the heat dome of 2021.
“Before the summer of 2021, in a typical year, Multnomah County would have zero heat related deaths and we lost dozens of community members that year and we’ve lost dozens since," said Brendon Haggerty, the manager of the Multnomah County Healthy Homes & Communities program.
Rockwood is affected more extremely because of its lack of tree canopy. Wasiutynski says right now, there's an 8% tree canopy in the downtown Rockwood core. He says the canopy coverage should be at least 30%.
“We don’t have the shade and the other services that trees provide in this neighborhood to the same level we have them elsewhere," explained Haggerty.
While the county hopes to plant at least 100 trees, they're also putting money toward preserving the climate. Once the money is awarded in February, Rockwood families can apply to have energy efficient heating and cooling pumps installed in their homes. There are also plans to improve air quality monitoring by deploying new sensors around the neighborhood, with the help of the Blueprint Foundation.
“We’re trying to help communities have the tools they need to stay safe in a changing and warming climate," Wasiutynski said.