June/July Newsletter
We Have a New NAME!
We are excited to announce that our organization is rebranding. With our focus on the Quad Cities region and our emphasis on partnering and collaborating on local climate actions, the Board adopted a new name - Quad Cities Climate Collaborative or QCCC. We believe this aligns well with our mission as we move forward!
Quad Cities "GO SOLAR" CO-OP Campaign
We are thrilled to share that the Quad Cities Solar Co-Op has reached 106 members, far exceeding its original goal! Households (and 2 churches) have signed up from across the region, from Mayer to Paulden; Prescott Valley and Prescott to Skull Valley and every town in between. What an amazing response from our community. Now the solar consultations and installs begin with co-op members, through the leadership of Solar United Neighbors and the solar company that co-op members selected through a competitive process - Icon Power. We thank our sponsors, including QCCC, the Interfaith Climate Action Team, the Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance, and the Sierra Club-Yavapai Group.
The Quad Cities Climate Profile and the Local Climate Actions report, just released in February, set the foundation for this work. (See the Quad Cities Climate Action Hub).Climate Actions and Events
Climate Action Presentation to Prescott Valley
On June 1, QCCC members, Patrick Grady and Greg Murray, made a formal presentation to the Prescott Valley Town Council. With a brief overview of climate impacts facing our region, the focus shifted to climate actions across key strategic areas of local concern, including water resources, green infrastructure, wildfire resilience, energy use, and land use. We highlighted energy and stormwater initiatives already underway in their town as well as including some other recommendations to consider locally. All of these elements are interdependent; addressing them will lead to a more sustainable future of enivonmental integrity, economic vitality and community health in our region. We appreciate their invitation! (This link will take you to Archived Meetings; click on the video prompt for the June 1 Study Session; we are around minute 34.)
Climate Adaptation Working Group
As you will recall, this Working Group of broad-based, regional stakeholders was invaluable to our work on both the Quad Cities Climate Profile and the Local Climate Action Options report. We reconvened this collaborative team in May to discuss specific potential local climate priority actions. In addition to partner updates on relevant activities, we focused on "green infrastructure," nature-based, ecosystem management policies and physical solutions to lessen flooding impacts and convert stormwater into a valuable resource for municipal use, aquifer recharge, and wildlife habitat. We heard presentations from the City of Prescott, the Citizens Water Advocacy Group and the Yavapai County Flood Control District. We are exploring ways to elevate this conversation and share best practices with the larger community in the near future.
Prescott General Plan
As we have reported, the Prescott General Plan is underway. Their website is now "live" - 2025 General Plan. Moreover, the City and the General Plan Review Committee want citizen input. They have a survey that includes a number of topical areas that are very important to the community and to our newsletter followers, including several questions related to energy, water, open space, transportation and land use and growth management. All of these elements intersect for a community striving to achieve a sustainable, thriving future. Here is the link to fill out the survey.
We encourage you to take the time to fill out the survey. There is also an open-ended comment section. Please consider writing a comment or two about following up on the Climate Profile and the Local Climate Action Options report by integrating some of the proposed climate strategies into the General Plan.
Fire Adapted Communities
Have you heard of this strategic approach to achieving community wildfire resiliency? It represents an important step beyond the good work of Yavapai Firewise, spearheaded by the PAWUIC, our Prescott Area Wildland Urban Interface Commission. Each community in our region can improve their wildfire resilience by using steps and strategies unique to them. For more information, see this FAC website. Prescott Fire Chief Holger Durre will make a presentation on this strategic initiative to Prescott City Council on June 13.
CLIMATE EXTRAS
Join the Granite Peak UU service at the 35 minute mark and hear Doug Bland's (Arizona Interfaith Power and Light Ambassador) message about care of the Earth and listening to the trees, as seen through the story of The Lorax. Inspiring story-telling around the environmental movement and our connection to nature.
