Local social justice groups receive state grant to improve climate messaging equity 

For all the hard work that organizations like the Diversity Coalition of SLO County have put in in recent years to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) locally, Executive Director Rita Casaverde said that climate justice is one issue that's somewhat fallen through the cracks.

That subject came up recently during a climate-focused roundtable attended by several local DEI leaders, including Casaverde.

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• Photo Courtesy Of The SLO Diversity Coalition
• ADVACING EQUITY Eric Vieum, of the SLO Climate Coalition, gives a heat pump tour to Rita Casaverde of the Diversity Coalition, Courtney Haile of R.A.C.E. Matters, and Zach Rizk from BlocPower (right to left). The latter three organizations received a grant to work on ways to improve climate messaging equity.

"We didn't have any project going on that had to do with climate equity," she said. "We started talking about climate, and we realized that a lot of the current messaging being used was just not getting through our communities, and the communities we serve and work with."

Too often, the marketing and messaging around climate action isn't targeted and doesn't speak to communities of color, she said. Whether it's information about buying an electric car or guidance on how to switch to all-electric appliances, the language isn't inclusive to typically underserved groups.

"The people featured in commercials around electric vehicles, for example—we've never seen people who had indigenous features," Casaverde noted. "The person who mentioned it [during the roundtable] had Mexican indigenous heritage and she said, 'None of the ads include people who look like me.' That alone made us see that the messages don't relate."

That casual roundtable conversation inspired the Diversity Coalition, R.A.C.E. Matters, the Central Coast Coalition for Undocumented Student Success, and a Brooklyn-based tech company, BlocPower, to apply for a grant centered on improving the equity of messaging around climate action.

Last month, the groups received $340,000 from TECH Clean California, a state program funded by California gas ratepayers. The project's stated goal is to develop "targeted and inclusive marketing and educational materials for equitable electrification."

"For many low-income, communities of color, electrification and climate are concepts in the abstract," the project's website reads. "This pilot will address knowledge and education gaps by funding trusted stakeholders to conduct education and awareness events for underserved populations."

Casaverde said that the grant partners will go directly into underserved communities of SLO County to test out different types of messaging about climate action.

"Really the strategy behind the grant is not necessarily to explore this at climate-related events, but to go where the community is already going—to meet people where they are and use language that relates to them," she said. "We want to go to Juneteenth in Paso Robles and events in Shandon and Nipomo. We want to blend in with other events that bring value to the same population, and that don't usually get access or interest."

Climate topics at the outreach events will range from simple tips to lowering utility bills to why heat pumps and inductive stoves are more economical and environmentally friendly.

The grant partners want to cut through the jargon that's often part of climate activism and find a message that connects with the people.

"The language used a lot of times includes words that are very specific to the industry and don't bring it down to common terms that people can relate to," Casaverde said. "We're going to try out different things and find out what really resonates with the community."

Fast facts

• Locals can now spend their CalFresh/SNAP benefits at the Saturday Farmers' Market in San Luis Obispo, which is held in the parking lot of World Market on Madonna Road, from 8 to 10:45 a.m. According to a press release, the Saturday market now has 35 vendors whose goods are available to purchase with CalFresh benefits. The market is the ninth in SLO County to accept CalFresh, and those customers have spent more than $345,000 at them since 2017, according to the press release.

• The El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO)'s newest campus in Paso Robles recently got a makeover thanks to A-1 Glass. "A call went out to A-1 Glass to see what they could do to help us improve our space," an ECHO press release read. "Not only did A-1 Glass answer that call for service, they made the decision to support the local nonprofit, and donated the work." The Paso-based company installed "architectural window film" in ECHO's offices and rooms, which "combine glare control with heat rejection to increase thermal comfort," according to ECHO. "We decided to partner with ECHO because we are just so grateful for this community," A-1 Glass owner Bryan Carroll said in a statement. "We just want to give back to what's been given to us." Δ

Assistant Editor Peter Johnson wrote this week's Strokes. Reach him at [email protected].