Community-led projects span the state – Alameda (Bay Area), Fresno (Central Valley), Orange County and Southeastern San Diego
2026-27 RFP Is Now Open for Applications in Greater LA, Redwood Empire, Central Coast, and Inland Empire Regions!
Los Angeles (June 25, 2026) Reclaiming a long-neglected community’s space; providing outreach, education, and on-site audits in a mobile home community; supporting food sovereignty and community gardening; and facilitating tree-planting, placemaking and stewardship. This year, for the first time, USGBC California (USGBC-CA) is partnering with not one but four Environmental Justice (EJ) projects over the course of 12-18 months, in four communities across the state: Fresno, Orange County, Alameda, and San Diego.
“Real climate action happens where people live, work, learn, and gather. These projects show what is possible when communities are empowered to shape their own future: creating cooler neighborhoods, healthier homes, stronger local food systems, and more vibrant public spaces. We are proud to partner with these local leaders and help demonstrate how environmental justice and climate resilience can go hand in hand to improve quality of life throughout California and beyond,” stated Ben Stapleton, CEO of USGBC California.
The 2026-27 EJ Project application is now open for new regions (North to South): Redwood Empire, Central Coast, Inland Empire, and Greater Los Angeles. RFP Info Session is July 7th. Submissions are due August 10.
“Real change more often starts from the bottom than from the top. When we are feeling let down by people in positions of power, our communities are there to offer hope, and more importantly, impact. From advocacy and education to shovels in the ground, these organizations are transforming the places we work and live in real time. We are humbled by and grateful for these partnerships,” stated Katie Freeze-Becker, Director, Leading Edge and Co-Chair, Environmental Justice Committee.
These projects empower local communities to lead initiatives that promote sustainability and social justice, driving real change. Since late 2025, the following four EJ projects have been working with their communities and with USGBC-CA volunteers to progress their specific goals, from North to South:
Bay Area: Food Sovereignty and Community Gardening at Alameda Point Collaborative (APC):
The APC is the largest permanent supportive housing community in Alameda County, home to more than 500 formerly unhoused residents. This project revitalizes the community garden to support food sovereignty, climate-adaptive gardening, and ecological education.
According to this 2023 study, food insecurity and the lack of access to affordable, nutritious food are associated with poor dietary quality and an increased risk of diet-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer, and this disproportionately affects racially diverse and minoritized populations more likely residing in under-resourced food environments.
The Alameda project will provide resilience and education for residents, addressing improved physical and mental well-being through active gardening, access to healthier food, farming and sustainable practices, and opportunities for income generation through workshops, products, and skills transfer.
Phase 2 is currently focusing on designing and installing a permanent shade structure in the center of the garden as a long-lasting structure, a gathering and educational space for gardeners, volunteers and visitors.
Volunteer Opportunities:
- APC is open to hosting your organization or company in their garden for a volunteer team-building opportunity! Please contact eva@usgbc-ca.org.
- To volunteer with APC individually, please visit their website.
“The APC Community Garden is a resident-led space dedicated to food cultivation, wellness, and community connection. Growing interest among our residents, combined with broader community participation from Alameda neighbors, is strengthening our program and fostering lasting relationships with donors, volunteers, and local partners,” said Jordan Taylor-McLeggan, Nursery Manager. “We are proud to partner with USGBC California, and through transformative partnerships like this, we are able to expand our residents’ access to wellness activities. The hands-on involvement of USGBC-CA’s members during our volunteer days has helped us make tremendous strides — and their ongoing commitment will have a lasting impact on our residents and our mission for years to come.”
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA: The Healing SPoT – Pláticas Center and Shade Structure
Freeway development has at times shaped odd spaces within communities and can be a blight, or at best, wasteful. From this 2025 UCLA Study, “the effects of freeway development were not limited to individual residents but resulted in the destruction of entire communities. Freeways weakened social institutions, damaged the local economy, disrupted the social fiber, and physically fragmented neighborhoods. These changes lowered the quality of life in already marginalized places. In other words, the impacts cannot be measured in just monetary terms.”
This project, which broke ground in February and is a collaboration between South Tower Community Land Trust and Black Zócalo, reclaims such a space for affordable housing, urban farming, and cultural resilience. The apt-titled Healing SPoT will heal a triangular scar left by the CA-180 highway (above image), and serve as an educational urban farm and community hub.
While considered a food desert, South Tower residents have pride in their modest craftsman style homes and this project also plans to utilize the passive solar design and craftsmanship of the existing neighborhood fabric. Goals include increasing healthy food access; celebrating Indigenous heritage through storytelling and education on land stewardship, cooking, and urban farming; and building sustainable futures for both Indigenous and Black labor through cooperative economics and hemp-crete construction knowledge.
Volunteer Opportunities:
- Sept. 12: From mixing to casting to cleanup, build the hemp-line insulated wall system. Hands-on. Open to public.
- Ribbon-cutting TBC
“We hope that whatever we build here at the Healing SPoT serves the needs of the community both now and for many generations to come,” said Elliot Bailey, Community Construction Manager, South Tower Community Land Trust. “Our mission with this project is to provide the South Tower neighborhood and surrounding areas with a true sense of belonging in who they are and who they will become.”
ORANGE COUNTY: Energy Audits and Outreach to Mobile Home Communities
Targeting environmental justice initiatives in Orange County’s draft Climate Action Plan offers a very different focus among this year’s EJ projects. This program aims to help low- and moderate-income residents—particularly those living in mobile home communities. Outreach and education (in five languages) is provided, leading to on-site audits and access to rebates, incentives, and resources for energy efficiency upgrades and solar adoption.
The program, which also assists with navigating forms and vendor connections, will not only reduce indoor air pollution, and greenhouse gases but significantly lower utility costs, saving these households critical funds.
USGBC-CA has extended its support and partnership with this project through 2027, looking to replicate and potentially scale similar energy audit and outreach programs across the state, one of the key goals for the EJ Projects.
“Partnering with the U.S. Green Building Council California will help improve the health, comfort, and financial well-being of our residents while reducing emissions countywide. By focusing on mobile home communities, we are ensuring that some of our most vulnerable neighbors, many of whom experience some of the highest utility bills, benefit from clean energy solutions that make homes safer, healthier, and more affordable,” Chair Doug Chaffee, Fourth District, Orange County Board of Supervisors, said.
SAN DIEGO: Euclid Corridor Community Stewards
This southernmost community-led project – serving Chollas View, Lincoln Park, and surrounding SD City Council District 4 neighborhoods in Southeastern San Diego – connects two urban green spaces along Euclid Avenue. Through tree planting, placemaking, and stewardship, residents of historically redlined and underinvested neighborhoods have co-designed and are maintaining sustainable, vibrant public spaces. High youth engagement is encouraged, with a library and multiple educational institutions nearby.
The design expresses the artists’ desire to feel connected with the Earth, to be at peace,
and wanting to unleash their full potential. Photo by Alix Aceituno; Art by Noah,
Christ, Damien, and Tony from Miss Jessi’s Class at Lincoln High School.
In particular, this project acts as a pilot project around maintenance and providing paid workforce development in environmental restoration, land remediation and greenspace care. Detailed benefits include improving climate resilience by addressing urban heat, unsafe streets, and fragmented green spaces; activating the neighborhoods with green infrastructure and public art, and building community pride through direct engagement, storytelling, and art.
Volunteer Opportunities:
- Volunteer Days (“Stewardship Saturdays”): July 25, Aug 22, Sept 19 – click here to sign up!
- Watch for an end-of-summer event with student workers.
- The project is open to hosting your organization or company in their garden for a volunteer team-building opportunity! Please contact eva@usgbc-ca.org.
“This project marks a defining moment of our collective approach to urban greening, climate resilience, and public right-of-way maintenance. Beyond planting trees, installing art, and litter abatement, we are building a community-driven foundation of care that aims to change how we experience our environment and our role as stewards,” said Alix Aceituno, Environmental Justice Programs Manager, Urban Collaborative Project CDC.
Once scheduled, all Environmental Justice Projects’ USGBC-CA volunteer days can be found on USGBC-CA’s Events page.
The USGBC California Environmental Justice Project was initiated to close the divide between social justice and environmental resilience, addressing how the impacts of climate change disproportionately impacts vulnerable communities. The EJ Project Committee works to ensure that the chosen projects have strong community support, educational value, sustainability, and replicability. The Committee also provides guidance, volunteer support, and resources (monetary support from USGBC-CA and assistance in the areas of design and development, and resource referrals) to help each project succeed and effectively serve its target community.
Past impactful Legacy Projects include RootDown LA’s KitchenPod, the Reverence Project Survivor’s Healing Garden the Boyle Heights Resilience Hub, the EcoUrban / Arroyo HS Garden in El Monte, the Veggie Bus Project in South Central LA, the EcoTech Makerspace in Gardena, and more.
If you would like to get involved in the Environmental Justice Committee, please contact kim@usgbc-ca.org. To contribute to this project or any other sponsorship support, please email ben@usgbc-ca.org.
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About U.S. Green Building Council California
USGBC California is a 501(c)3 non-profit and member-based organization whose vision is to transform California through the built environment into a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable place for all. USGBC California, an independent chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, comprises green building communities across the state. We lead by inspiring leaders throughout our communities to take action on climate change, public health, and environmental justice while educating, developing, and empowering a diverse talent pipeline through our training, mentorship, and direct-to-community programs. We connect by merging interdisciplinary perspectives and collaborations to create positive systemic change. We advocate through promoting innovative, impactful policy solutions addressing the most urgent environmental and social challenges of our time. (www.usgbc-ca.org)
