goNewHavengo: goNewHavengo & the New Haven Road Runners received a $1,000 micro-grant from the Greater New Haven Green Fund in 2016 to support their 5k Clean Air Run. Grant money was used to purchase Nalgene water bottles for participants at the Clean Air Run on May 8, 2016. The Clean Air Run offered subsidized registration to those who committed to getting to and from the race using sustainable forms of transportation to directly engage participants in goNHgo’s mission.
Over 150 people registered to run, there were 10 volunteers and over 15 local businesses helped support the Clean Air Run, either by contributing financially or by donating products. By the end of the Clean Air Run, goNewHavengo & the New Haven Road Runners raised $2,400 for goNHgo’s work on sustainable transportation. In 2017, goNewHavengo received another grant from the GNHGF- $5,750 to help support their fourth annual CarFree Challenge and raise awareness about sustainable transportation, as well as the first-ever New Haven Parklet Design Competition. The Challenge was covered in five different stories in the local press, including the Independent, The Register, and The New Haven Herald.
With the help of the Green Fund, this competition elevated discussion about safe driving, public space, and sustainable transportation in New Haven.
Photo courtesy of the Yale Daily News
New Haven Climate Movement: After receiving a $6,000 grant from the Greater New Haven Green Fund in 2020, the New Haven Climate Movement Youth Climate Action Project worked to educate the public on different climate solutions and city investments.
This grant allowed the New Haven Climate Movement to complete many initiatives, including meeting with the City Engineering and Planning Department heads to discuss advancing electrification efforts, organizing press events and marches to publicize demands and meeting with the Board of Education members to advance their Climate Justice Schools proposal.
These initiatives were successful; starting September 2021, the Climate Justice Schools project will be implemented in five high schools with $15,000 in city funds and the New Haven Electrification Resolution has passed. Additionally, the city formed the Climate Task Force with the goal of pushing the administration on moving faster on climate solutions.
The New Haven Climate Movement continues to use their media presence to inform community members about the importance of taking action to prevent further climate change.
Photo courtesy of thechainlink.org
New Haven León Sister City Project: In 2012, the Greater New Haven Green Fund granted $2,000 to support the New Haven/ León Sister City Project, WalkBikeTransit Campaign. NH/LSC was able to complete many activities pertaining to their project, including collecting 400 postcards to send to former governor Dannel Malloy to encourage more support for biking, walking and public transportation.
NH/LSC also sent out monthly emails to the community about updates on transportation in the state and wrote letters to the New Haven Register and published an article in The Yale Daily News. During summer 2012, NH/LSC began an outreach program in the East Rock neighborhood, distributing information, getting petitions signed, seeking donations to support canvass. Currently, NH/LSC is deepening its commitment to limit greenhouse gases and the resulting economic and environmental damage of climate change. NH/LSC received a microgrant from the Green Fund in 2016 to be used towards fall outreach for the Let’s Talk About Climate Change Campaign and for outreach for the 350CT Hartford climate march in December 2016. The grant was used for staff supervision of interns, printing, and tabling/event resources. From July to December 2016, the NH/LSC created and hung posters for both marches around New Haven and used tabling and online media as outreach for their events.
In addition, NH/LSC collected about 400 signatures on their climate change petition, which was sent to former governor Malloy. Their social media outreach, fliers and tabling directly reached about 2,000 people in the New Haven area.
In 2017, NH/LSC Sister City received a $1,000 microgrant from the Green Fund to fund interns for the Summer Climate Change Education and Mobilization Project.
The project, spread awareness of climate change to the New Haven community with the following activities: outreach to Board of Alder members to support the adaptation of the New Haven Climate and Sustainability Framework; public educational events on global impacts of climate change on different regions of the world, specifically downtown New Haven; and the organization of a grassroots fundraising event called Environmental Arts Night at BAR in early August 2017.
Photo courtesy of New Haven Bike Month
New Haven Bike Month: 2017 Open Streets: With the support of the Greater New Haven Green Fund, New Haven Bike Month planned and organized eight Open Streets events in eight neighborhoods throughout May 2016. Open Streets projects temporarily closed down streets to automobile traffic, so that folks could use them for walking, biking, dancing, playing, and socializing.
These events mutually promoted the vision that New Haven Bike Month and the Greater New Haven Green Fund share of advancing environmental justice and community sustainability through locally organized, celebratory, and collaborative events. Each Open Streets event ranged in programming depending on the needs of the neighborhood. These include tabling from various local organizations, free helmet-decorating, free bike maintenance workshops, and more.
In particular, NHBM focused on three specific actions:
A youth-oriented push to promote helmet usage the fitted and distributed free helmets.
A bike advocacy photo campaign called 4 Lanes 4 New Haven — a call for the City of New Haven to build 4 protected bike lanes in the city by 2020.
Two pop-up temporary bike lanes built by the neighborhood.
Photo courtesy of goNewHavengo
Photo courtesy of the Yale Daily News
Photo courtesy of thechainlink.org
Photo courtesy of New Haven Bike Month