Resources for Green Workspace Actions 

Submit this form to commit to five new sustainable actions for this year and help us gather data for the COE's Green Ribbon Schools application.  A full list of Green Workspace Actions can be viewed here.   

COE Policies and Resources:

• COE Environmental Policy Statement - This document outlines environmental policies and practices that apply to all COE operations

• HR Orientation - Environmental Sustainability Resources Overview - Provides new staff with links to key policies and guidelines

• Green Purchasing Guidelines 

Resources to Support Taking Action:

Waste Reduction Resources:

• Questions about Staff Participation in Trash, Recycling and Food Waste? Here are our COE Guidelines for the staff participation system

• Wondering what goes in each of our 3 waste bins? Here is the City of Santa Cruz Recycling Guide (applies to 399 and 400 Encinal bins).

• Getting ready for a meeting? Use this Waste Introduction Script so participants dispose of things properly. They may come from cities with different bin systems.  Also, if you are offering food, make sure to request a green bin as part of your room set-up request to M&O. 

• Want to request a 3-Stream Waste training for your department? Email Richard at rreid@santacruzcoe.org 

• Zero Waste Event Guidelines - Tips for reducing environmental impacts at meetings and events

• NOTE: Recycling and food waste guidelines vary by city! If you work or live in Watsonville or unincorporated Santa Cruz County,  your waste system will be different than the system at the COE's 400 Encinal and 399 Encinal offices. Here are the waste management contacts for each region of Santa Cruz county

• Campus Clean-up Toolkit and Neighborhood Clean up Toolkit

• School Waste Audit Tools from CalRecycle

• Pitch In Santa Cruz County

Resources for Nature Connection and Benefits to Health

• Sit Spot introductory video

• How to Teach Nature Journaling (free download or use the website guidance)

• Collaborative Nature Scavenger Hunt - Try this by doing this activity in pairs with friends, colleagues or family

• Bay of Life - You've seen the pictures on the Metro buses! Get inspired by the amazing biodiversity of the Monterey Bay region. This COE designed Bay of Life Project website provides access to photos of world-renowned photographer Frans Lanting and pairs photo themes with instructional resources and local field trips curated to match the book themes. The Bay of Life book tells the story of biodiversity in the Monterey Bay Region on land and at sea. 

• Benefits of Nature - Health and Wellness Infographic

• Mental Health Benefits of Nature from NAMI California

• Families in Nature Together's 4 Ways to Practice Self-Care in Nature with accompanying Recorded Infographic

• NEEF Infographic - Children & Nature Learn and share NEEF research on the benefits of environmental education with others! 

Understanding Climate Change Impacts and Solutions 

• Resilient Santa Cruz County Climate Action Portal - Create a profile for your home on this interactive climate action platform and then choose different actions to receive calculations of energy savings and money savings related to actions local residents can take. 

• Project Drawdown Climate Solutions Library - Learn about Project Drawdown’s set of 93 technologies and practices that together can solve the climate crisis.

• Energy Monitor: This energy monitor role can be adapted for use by departments. Energy monitors can carry out a selection activities on a regular basis to support reducing energy use.

• EnRoads Climate Solutions Simulator: En-ROADS is an online simulator that provides policymakers, educators, businesses, the media, and the public with the ability to test and explore cross-sector climate solutions 

• Using Data Science to Fight Climate Change

Understanding Green Business Certification

• Monterey Bay Area Green Business Program - Santa Cruz COE was certified in 2022.  We can encourage businesses and schools to get free support from this network to achieve green certification. 

• Green Business Directory - Use this directory to support green certified local businesses

Resources for Understanding Environmental Justice and Sustainability 

• Exploring Environmental Justice in Santa Cruz County : Virtual Town Hall Recording provides an overview of environmental justice--what it is, who is most impacted, and perspectives of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, Regeneracion: Pajaro Valley Climate Action, and Youth for Environmental Action. Access the presentation slides with links to featured resources here.

• CalEnviroscreen  - An interactive mapping tool that combines data on environmental health and sensitive populations 

• Collection of articles on the intersection of environmental justice and environmental racism

• UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Land Acknowledgement Resources - Learn more about land acknowledgements and access the version co-created by the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and UCSC Arboretum. This version is also used with permission by our COE.

• The Nature Gap - Report examining the distribution of parks and nature areas to understand disparities in access for different communities

Suggested videos or documentaries

• Young Voices for the Planet - Get inspired by these short videos of real environmental action projects by young people!

• 2020-2021 Santa Cruz County Youth for Environmental Action Summit (virtual - use the links in the youtube description to jump to different sections of the agenda)

Data Maps of local environmental impacts and community demographics

• CalEnviroscreen 

• State Parks Community Fact Finder

Volunteer Opportunities

• Environteers - Environmental volunteer opportunities in Santa Cruz County. Subscribe to the weekly update!

• Save Our Shores Beach Clean-up Calendar

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